Are Hybrid Cars to Quite For The Blind ?

Gas-electric Hybrid Vehicles

Hybrids are one of the main symbols in the market of environmentally friendly vehicles. Now Hybrid makers facing another challenge, by people who are not even able to drive. The blind are no longer safe to cross streets because they rely on the sound of the cars as they pass. The new Hybrids make virtually no noise when the are cruising at lower speeds. This is because at low speeds the car only runs on electric power. Blind people say they pose a hazard to those who rely on their ears to navigate through a parking lot or even cross the street.

I'm used to being able to get sound cues from my environment and negotiate accordingly. I hadn't imagined there was anything I really wouldn't be able to hear," said Deborah Kent Stein, chairwoman of the National Federation of the Blind's Committee on Automotive and Pedestrian Safety. "We did a test, and I discovered, to my great dismay, that I couldn't hear it."