07.06.08: News story by KFOR in Oklahoma City.
Transcript of news report:
News Reporter Linda Cavanaugh (LC): Now whether you want to save money on gas,
or do your part for the environment, a hybrid car may be just the answer. Hybrid
vehicle sales have increased 50 percent just from last year.
News Reporter Kevin Ogle (KO): Well one group says they’ve also created a new
problem that threatens public safety. In fact, earlier this year a Minnesota
woman claimed her 8 year old son was hit by a hybrid that he never heard coming.
LC: News Channel 4's Ed Doney has more in this consumers alert.
Jay Wilson (JW): The city mileage is higher than the highway mileage.
Reporter Ed Doney (ED): Jay Wilson of Fowler Toyota says there’s a waiting list
for the new Prius and shows us how this hybrid gets 50 to 60 miles per gallon.
At low speeds the car uses only battery power, not gas.
ED: So we’re not using any gasoline right now.
JW: No gasoline at all right now.
ED: But not everyone believes hybrids are the perfect solution to high gas
prices. Steve Shelton is with the National Federation of the Blind, an
organization that says hybrids are too quiet at low speeds and pose a threat to
blind pedestrians.
Steve Shelton (SS): If we can’t hear them, and we think the traffic is stopped
and they are coming by, you know, we’re liable to get hit.
ED: In his world, there are no green lights, only audible clues (sounds of a
train and whistle and an emergency vehicle siren) on when to cross. What a
challenge it must be to rely solely on your hearing to get around in situations
like this. So just how quiet are these hybrids? We put one to a hearing test.
First, Steve tells us how far away he can hear our news vehicle approaching.
SS: I heard it when it just came around the corner.
ED: He heard our engine from the stop sign half a block away (sound of a vehicle
passing by). But when a hybrid came rolling by –
SS: I hear it.
ED: Steve didn’t hear it until it was almost in front of him.
SS: I was a little surprised.
ED: The hybrid’s driver, Evalena Morales, (you can hear her talking) was also
surprised at how quiet her car could be.
Evalena Morales (EM): It didn’t cross my mind. We just have to be very
responsible drivers.
ED: But not all drivers are responsible. That’s why the “Pedestrian Safety
Enhancement Act of 2008” was introduced at the U.S. Capitol to provide blind and
other pedestrians with a non-visual alert. If passed, the law would require
hybrids to send out a signal at low speeds warning the blind and everyone who
can look both ways before crossing the street, but doesn’t.
SS: They’re going to have a problem just as a blind person would and it may be
tragic.
KO: That was Ed Doney reporting. A Toyota spokesman tells us they’re looking
into the issue closely while working with members of Congress on a solution.
Something you don’t think about with a new car.