Enacts the "pedestrian safety enhancement act of 2009"

6 Co-sponsors

• Ruben Diaz
• Shirley L. Huntley
• Liz Krueger
• George Onorato
• Kevin S. Parker
• Antoine M. Thompson

Title of bill

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to enacting the "pedestrian safety enhancement act of 2009"

Purpose

Enact, the "Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2009" which authorizes, the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the State Consumer Protection Board (CPB) and the State Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped to promulgate roles and regulations establishing a statewide minimum sound standard for hybrids and other inaudible motor vehicles.

Summary of provisions

The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section 397-c: (Minimum Motor Vehicle Sound Standards).

Justification

Technological advances in motor vehicle fuel efficiency have led to the increased popularity of alternative fuel motorized vehicles.These technologies are changing the way pedestrians, especially the blind and visually-impaired, utilize audible cues to cross streets and move through traffic. The engines in these vehicles operate with significantly less sound than the traditional combustion engine.

An article from the July 2008 issue of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MAGAZINE , Are Hybrid Cars Too Quiet to be Safe for Pedestrians, describes test, performed by perceptual psychologist Lawrence D. Rosenblum of the University of California, Riverside. Blindfolded subjects listened to recordings of cars approaching at five miles an hour and could hear Honda Accord's internal combustion engine 36 feet away. However, they failed to identify the Toyota Prius, running in electric mode, until it came within 11 feet - affording them less than 2 seconds to react before the vehicle reached them. The second test added some realistic background noise to the recordings; the Prius glided past the objects over 40 times undetected. In November 2007, the Society of Automotive Engineers created a special committee to examine whether hybrid cars should be made more audible; in June 2008, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration held public hearings on the topic, both determined that sound-emitting safety measures were inevitable.

This legislation would allow DMV, DEC, CPB and the State Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped to research, identify and make recommendations on strategies to ensure that all motorized vehicles emit sound sufficient to be heard and identified by pedestrians, especially those who are blind or visually impaired.

Fiscal implications

None to the State.

Legislative history

2008: A.10248/S.7151

Effective date

Immediately.