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Pedestrian alert system for 'quiet' Prius

25/08/2010

Japanese carmaker Toyota has announced that it is to offer a speaker system designed to alert pedestrians to the approach of its Prius hybrid model.

Initially available only in the company's domestic market, the device projects a synthesised sound of an electric motor. It will manufacture noise at speeds up to around 25kmh (15.6mph), when the hybrid Prius is functioning solely on its electric motor and, therefore, emitting little noise.

Toyota says that the sound - calculated "to alert but not to annoy" - will rise and fall in relation to the speed of the vehicle, the idea being to give pedestrians an auditory cue as to the car's movement and proximity.

According to Transport and Environment, engine noise is the most important factor beneath 30kmh (18mph) - above this speed, tyre noise predominates.

Designed to meet guidelines brought in by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the product will be available from the end of the month for retrofitting to the current third-generation Prius model.

EU plans mooted in May revealed that safety regulators are considering legislation to make the presence of electric vehicles more obvious to pedestrians, cyclists, and particularly visually-impaired people. In November, American manufacturing giant General Motors announced that it was working with the US National Federation for the Blind to adapt the horn of an electric car to emit warning bursts when the vehicle detects a pedestrian.

Meanwhile, the UK Government recently confirmed that a £5,000 subsidy - pledged under the former administration, and designed to encourage the take-up of qualifying electric cars - would still be on offer from January 2011.

Set to apply to electric, plug-in hybrid or hydrogen fuel-cell cars, the initial £43 million pot for the incentive is due to run until March 2012 - providing funding for some 8,600 grants. The Government says that it will review funding for future years in January 2012.

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