More on the recalls

Most importanly, if you have questions, go here: http://www.toyota.com/recall

Chances are the media have it wrong.

2010 Prius

Priuschat is reporting via an anonymous source at Toyota that a “fix” is imminent.

Ok, fair enough, I guess but I’d really love to hear what exactly is being viewed as the “problem” right now. I understand that because hybrids don’t work in exactly the same manner as grandpappy’s old Buick, some people feel their cars are defective. Sadly, just explaining that situation isn’t enough.

Or, is there really a problem with some 2010′s? All 2010′s? My brakes work just fine.

One thing is for certain, we’re getting a lot more heat than light from most of the media who either don’t understand the issues involved or don’t want to bother with explanations that are longer than most peoples’ attention spans. Oh. I wonder if I just nailed that one?

Suffice to say right now all we official know is that both the NHTSA and Toyota are looking into the “issue” of 2010 Prius brakes.

More here, of course, when it is available.

(hint, might be a good thing to have your VIN number handy)

Previous eight models of Toyota recalled for accelerator issues

As I understand the replacement parts are on their way or have already arrived at dealers now. The training for technicians was this week. We should start seeing dealers reaching out to owners to schedule replacements next week.

Try not to do what this idiot did…

A Toyota Tundra crashed into the showroom at All Star Toyota in Baton Rouge on Saturday morning. Officers said a customer tried to return his truck following a recent recall on the accelerator. According to the Baton Rouge Police Department, the general manager offered to fix the truck and repeatedly offered to give the customer a loaner in the meantime, but the customer declined and left the building. Police reported the man then drove his Toyota into the side of the dealership, causing major damage to the truck and the building. The customer claimed his accelerator became stuck, causing the crash. All Star said the truck was purchased last March [emphasis added] and did not have any records of mechanical problems.
Police added the accelerator was not stuck when they examined the truck after the crash, but they could not find any evidence that the crash was intentional. The driver was not ticketed.

It’s this kind of dishonesty from a customer that doesn’t help anyone, anywhere in situations such as this. Yeah, sure dude, your accelerator stuck.

You want to be one of the first to drive the new 3G 2010 Prius?

Now you have a chance…

The Prius Team would like to extend a few extra Prius Connection invitations to our online enthusiasts. For those of you who reside in the Greater Los Angeles and San Francisco areas, we’re offering the opportunity to get well-acquainted with the 2010 Prius before it’s available to the general public. In fact, for these events, there’s a special surprise planned so follow the link below if you’d like to be considered to attend. (Please note: These events are intended for local residents and Toyota is not providing reimbursements for any travel incurred.)

If you’d like to be considered for one of the following local events, please click on this link to our website Prius Connection for submitting your request to attend.

Los Angeles, CA: Sunday, March 1, 2009; 11am-2pm
San Francisco, CA: Sunday, March 8, 2009; 11am-2pm

All invitation requests received in the first 48 hours of this post will be reviewed by Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. All invitation decisions are the sole decision of Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. Please understand that space is highly limited so we would appreciate submissions from those certain they plan to attend apply.

If you live in or near LA of SF, I highly recommend you put in a request. These are unique opportunities (as you’ve seen from the photographs I’ve posted from Detroit, Washington D.C., Chicago and New York). Don’t miss this opportunity if you can make it.

Times are tough

Like everyone in 2009, the Prius Owners Group is struggling in what looks like will be a very tough economic year. The Google ad revenue that once paid the bills has dropped so precipitously that it’s almost not worth having. Advertising sponsors have also slowed down. Luckily, the POG remains a one person operation and it’s hardly my means of support. I put a lot more money into the POG than I’ve ever managed to get out of it. Which is fine, the goal of this site wasn’t to fill my wallet it was just to give one Prius owner, me, a place to share my experiences and thoughts and to provide a place for other owners to share their thoughts when they wanted to.

And with all that said, there’s a little Paypal donation button to the upper right. If you find value here, if you learn something or every once in awhile I manage to make you chuckle over something I’ve written, please consider making a small donation (either one-time or recurring). It would help a lot and trust me, I appreciate every cent.

Thanks very much.

-russell

HUGE opportunity POG readers-Attend an exclusive 2010 Prius event

You have 24 hours left. The offer ends Wednesday afternoon.

These regional events are similar to the one I attended in Detroit. If you want an unparalleled opportunity to see, touch and partially disassemble* the 2010 before anyone else and you live in one of these three cities, do sign up.

This is a perfect of example of Toyota reaching out to the Prius owner who is interested in the next generation Prius like no other company has.

Here is the offer straight from Toyota….

The Prius Team would like to extend a few extra Prius Connection invitations to our online enthusiasts. For those of you who reside in the Washington, DC, New York City or Chicago areas, we’re offering the opportunity to get well-acquainted with the 2010 Prius before it’s available to the general public. (Please note: These events are intended for local residents and Toyota is not providing reimbursements for any travel incurred.)

If you’d like to be considered for one of the following local events, please click on this link to our website Prius Connection for submitting your request to attend.

Washington, DC: Monday, February 2, 2009; 6-9pm
New York, NY: Thursday, February 5, 2009; 6-9pm
Chicago, IL: Tuesday, February 10, 2009; 6-9pm

All invitation requests received in the first 48 hours of this post will be reviewed by Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. All invitation decisions are the sole decision of Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. Please understand that space is highly limited so we would appreciate submissions from those certain they plan to attend apply.

And if you do decide to go and Toyota sends you an invite, please drop me a line. I’d love to know what you thought of the car and the event.

Good luck POG readers!

*Just kidding on the “partially disassemble” part

Making noise

It’s time for hybrid owners to stand up and speak out. Our vehicles may be quiet but that’s not a bug, it’s a feature (as the saying goes). Bob Wilson continues his excellent work pushing back against the pointless lobbying effort to make hybrid cars noisier over at Prius Chat. Do stop over and check it out.

Two words

Go vote.

Redefining ridiculous

The coverage of this story just gets worse and worse…

Lotus Makes Hybrids Sound Like Real Cars
By STUART SCHWARTZAPFEL

Hybrids are the greatest. They pollute less and consume less than regular cars and save you boatloads of money at the pump. But activists and legislators consider them silent killers that prey on blind people who never hear ‘em coming.

“Prey” on blind people? “Silent killers” That’s worse than stupid.

All in all these articles pop up with alarming frequency. Lotus, one company marketing a “solution” to this non-problem must be absolutely tickled with all the free publicity. Here are the articles from just the last couple of days.

Here, here, here, here and here.

I did rather enjoy this piece though…

The Prius Is Dangerous!
Being an action type guy, I took action.

This was part of an article on the Internet awhile back…

“As hybrid sales skyrocket, there’s a growing concern that the battery-gas powered vehicles pose a risk because they aren’t as noisy as gas-only engines.

A hybrid emits less than three decibels of noise when starting up, a level hard to pick up with the human ear. A hybrid clipping along at 35 miles per hour emits 75 decibels.

Three years ago, the National Federation of the Blind raised concerns that electric cars and hybrids pose special dangers to people who rely on their hearing to cross a street. The group asked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to research the effect of quiet cars on pedestrians. The group suggested some sort of noise be added to hybrids, perhaps by having the radiator fan switch on whenever the car is operating by battery, to alert people walking nearby.”

I became concerned when I read this. I don’t want be perceived as Anti-Blind. I do remember seeing a blind person attempting to walk across a street back in 1966. I would hate to have endangered that poor fellow.

As a result of my concern for that 1966 walking blind guy, and others like him, my marriage of 43 years may now be in jeopardy. My wife drives a Toyota Prius. Having realized how I was being so blind to the blind, I went straight to the garage and put three marbles under each of the car’s four wheel covers.

My wife is really mad at me but I have inner peace.

Would I kid u?

SmartFella?

Keep in mind, congress is still considering this bill and may very well pass it requiring you to ad noisemakers to your Prius. You need to contact your local representative and make some noise of your own. make no mistake, the publicity machine to pass this law and require one of these ridiculous “solutions” be applied to your vehicle is tremendous and unless hybrid owners speak up, we’ll be the ones paying the bill and wearing the bell.

HR 5734

This Bob Wilson’s most recent post from Green Hybrid with an update on his work trying to learn more about and kill this silly new law requiring hybrid owners to make their vehicles “louder”.

Please take a moment to read through it and take another moment to drop a line to your house member explaining how factually incorrect and unnecessary this proposed law is.

Hi,

As some of you know, I’ve been applying my engineering skills to fixing some Congressional nonsense, HR 5734, the “Bell the Hybrid Act” that proposes to put noise makers on all hybrid electrics. With the Congressional recess, nothing will happen until Congress returns in September. So this is a good time to share what has been going on including some background.

When I got my Prius in October 2005, the office ‘earth mother’ was nice (she reminds me of nurse Rachet from “One Flew Over The Cookcoo’s Nest”) but told me that the blind can’t hear it coming. This surprised me because the Prius and the blind were so rare. How did she come up with this specific report to repeat? But over time, I started hearing more buzz about it and in April 2007, I started monitoring a blind advocacy mailing list. I wanted to find out what requirements were driving this and began monitoring Google news alerts for “blind” and “hybrid.”

One thing I quickly learned was there weren’t a ‘bunch of bodies.’ The blind would often describe some horrible experience with traffic in the past and smoothly, without dropping a stitch, rail about quiet hybrid electrics. They would seek out any report, even those that obviously didn’t apply, but claim they proved hybrids were deadly. I would only post to correct errors of fact but otherwise, kept wondering, “Where’s the beef?”

In April 2008, a US congressman introduced HR 5734 that mandates noise makers on USA hybrid and electric cars. This changed my efforts from one of curiosity to something more serious. A quick reading of HR 5734 revealed some disturbing errors in the facts and data:

* the blind use only hearing (no cane, guide dog or helper) to move about
* hybrid electrics are too quiet for the blind to hear them safely
* hybrid electrics are too quiet for other pedestrians too

It did not take long to find the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration traffic data and quickly learn there were very few hybrid electric accidents and fatalities. Fortunately, Dr. Christopher Hogan, a statistician and Prius owner, provided a detailed analysis of Prius accident data from 2002 to 2006. The Prius was first sold in 2001 and the data showed:

* no blind has ever been killed by a Prius in these 5 years
* the Prius has the same pedestrian accident rate as all other vehicles
* only 5 blind die per year and mostly by ordinary vehicles (pickup trucks in particular)

So here we have three lies embedded in the language of HR 5734 versus the facts and data. This would be easy and then in May, 2008, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced “Docket No. NHTSA-2008-0108″ with this introduction:

“NHTSA is having a public meeting to bring together government policymakers, stakeholders from the blind community, industry representatives and public interest groups to discuss the safety of blind pedestrians encountering quiet cars including hybrids, all-electric vehicles and quiet internal combustion engine vehicles. This public meeting and the request for information, is an opportunity for an exchange among interested parties, as well as the public, on the technical and safety policy issues related to increasingly quieter cars and blind pedestrians.”

Great! “… an opportunity for an exchange among interested parties, as well as the public, on the technical and safety policy issues …” we can bring the statistical data and point out the blind don’t travel without canes, dogs or helpers and this nonsense will be put to rest. For good measure, let’s return the favor and propose some sort of noise maker equivalent for the blind, a radio beacon. So I sent a request to present for the “hybrid electric owners who will have to pay for this” and was turned down. But I was invited to attend the discussion and submit my materials for the record.

I thought about it and to some extent, this might make sense. The world has plenty of marginal folks whose dreams out run their reach (i.e., flakes.) Mostly harmless, they can eat up time at a microphone. But I’d offered to let them see my charts before the meeting and they still turned me down so I resolved to take up their offer: (1) discussion time and (2) submittal. But I needed to be there to show commitment.

I also called my Congressman’s office but they were pretty much “hands off” on this meeting. This makes sense, an agency deserves to have a chance to ‘do the right thing.’ Congress should not micromanaged unless all other options fail. But we do have the right to petition Congress so I asked for help getting some petitions signed … Eric and Richard came through! I was planning to visit Congressional offices after the meeting with petitions.

A couple of days before the meeting, I came across the April 2008, special report on back-over accidents by Augustus “Chip” Chidester of the NHTSA. Backover accidents are where the rear bumper and running, engine exhaust pipe, run over pedestrians. If noise is a significant safety feature, the exhaust pipe ought to be one of the safest areas … it is not. The drivers, some parents of the kids, didn’t know the kids were there because they could not see them. Twenty-five kids died in one year, mostly pre-schoolers, and HR 5734, a bill in Congress, is there for five, dead blind per year! Worse, the blind designed, Congressionally mandated, “noise maker” would not have saved one of these kids!

Without going into a lot of unnecessary details, I drove to DC for the hearing and returned, solo, 750 miles each way. We started a petition drive to “give hybrid electric owners a seat at the table.” Two of my fellow moderators at GreenHybrid.com passed petitions around that weekend and e-mailed the digitized versions. I had them for the meeting and was planning to visit some Congressional offices but my wife was still in the hospital in Huntsville.

Instead, I returned to Huntsville and using these first petitions, prepared a ‘mass mailing’ to all of the USA Congressional co-sponsors of HR 5734 about the failure to include “hybrid electric owners who will have to pay.” I also sent copies to the sub-committee members and letters to the Alabama Congressional delegation.

The Constitution gives us the right to petition Congress so I got a booth at Hybridfest and collected another hundred or so petition signatures. Again due my wife’s health, a solo, weekend trip, 750 miles, each way. But this increased the number of congressmen whose constituents signed the petitions. I send a follow-up, mass-mailing to each of these congressmen identifying their voter(s) and key facts and data about HR 5734.

Now the way a typical ‘hearing’ works in the USA is there is some formal way to submit your materials to the record before a deadline, August 1. Sure enough, the web based, collection of these submissions is at:

http://www.regulations.gov/

Enter “NHTSA-2008-0108″ to see the current entries. However, you won’t find mine, yet. I submitted mine by registered letter on a CD-ROM to arrive July 29.

This late submittal means my comments won’t be up until after the August 1 close of submissions … they aren’t subject to counter claims by others. But I may have made one screw-up … I didn’t tell everyone I know about the web-based, submittal system. A few individuals found it already but we really could have had some fun … stuffing it.

I have proposed an alternate, pedestrian safety system based around having a universal keyfob for the shoes of pre-school children and ‘special’ pedestrians. It uses the existing keyfob receiver and interfaces to briefly ‘bleep’ the horn and flash the lights when small kids are in the area. This gives the driver, the pedestrian and any by-standers an alert to avoid an accident. All it takes is a software change to the keyfob receivers.

This approach is “noise on need” versus “noise all the time.” It establishes a wireless ‘safety zone’ around the shoes of pre-school kids and even the blind. It also works for the deaf, wheelchair and mobility challenged pedestrians. It also moves us one step down the road to the “smart highway” with a deployed, wireless safety network.

There is more work remaining. There are 58, Congressional co-sponsors who are either ignoring or remaining ignorant of the facts and data. They may also need to staff a calling-bank for the November election, something the blind are very good about doing. But maybe some hybrid electric owners need to let these representatives know what they think.

Until this Congress ends with HR 5734 still in committee or fixed, we have to remain vigilant. There is work remaining.

Bob Wilson

If you own a Prius or another hybrid please do not ignore this. Take some action today to let your house member and those HR 5734 co-sponsors know how unhappy you are over this bill.

The blind leading the blind

The Prius of the future?

Bob Wilson, who I know from the Yahoo Prius Technical Mailing list lso of GreenHybrid.com has been involved in the upcoming bill to add “noisemakers” to hybrids (in particular the Prius) to make them less “dangerous”. I urge you to read through this and contact your local congfressional representative with a sincere and polite letter.

The upshot of this bill could result in you being required to purchase some kind of noisemaker that would your car more “visible” to the blind. If you think that’s a great idea, do nothing. If you think that sounds as stupid as I do, please take a few minutes to contact your congressional representative and tell them so.

You can read Bob’s post at GreenHybrid.com by clicking here.

Although I will certainly post updates here please check the link above for revisions and additions.

I’m making this report in parts:

Executive summary – summary and what needs to be done
Introduction to problem – how the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA) started the meeting
Research – what has been done by NHTSA and other researchers
“Industry solutions” – send money for research, we will find the ‘magic flute.’

SUMMARY

At the very end of the session, I asked, “What about the bill before Congress, HR 5734? What if it gets passed in August?” He answered, “Don’t worry …” Which means I do worry and so should you unless you are happy with the “Bell the Hybrid Act,” HR 5734.

Action on HR 5734 is probably suspended until comments for “Docket NHTSA-2008-0108″ closes August 1st. Congress is probably waiting on this one hearing to supply the backup ‘facts and data.’ But NHTSA did not have anyone from the hybrid electric owners community ‘speak’ and turned down my offer to stand in. Except during the breaks and with any subsequent submissions, this is our last chance to become “interested parties.”

It turns out that turning down a “hybrid electric owner” gives us a hook, a powerful hook, because we are the ones who must foot the bill, we are “interested parties.” Between now and the end of July we have to convince our Congressional representatives that:

NHTSA has failed to include an important “interested party”, the “hybrid electric owners” at the table although they expect us to pay for these noise makers in the future.

That science and common sense already says “Belling the Hybrids” is wrong and a technological dead end.

To that end, we need:

Over the July holiday and afterwards, let your Congressman and local newspaper editors know HR 5734, properly called the “Bell the Hybrid Act,” fails by using the same old approach, noise, that already kills 4,700 pedestrians per year. Feel free to quote from this and other sources.
NHTSA rejected having a “hybrid electric owners” at the table even though we will have to pay for whatever is legislated. They have made no due diligence to seek our opinions and seem to think our voices don’t matter … perhaps our votes do.

NHTSA needs help to bring industry onboard to write a sensible sets of requirements; provide prototypes; and empirically test systems on the NHTSA and other Federal motor pools to make sure the technology works.

Most of all, we need petitions to Congress to have “hybrid electric owners” at the table on this legislation since we will have to pay the bill, we are an “interested party” even if NHTSA has forgotten us.

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Tim Forts stood in for Nicole Nason, Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and kicked off the meeting. He then turned the meeting over to Ronald “Brian” Medford, who moderated the rest of the sessions. Brian did a fine job and was fair with everyone. But there was a difference between the “invited speakers” and anyone who asked questions:
Presentation materials – the invited speakers had their charts and data so those in attendance could make critical comment. But those of us restricted to just the “open mike” had to speak without our backup materials. This is the same as telling a lawyer he can argue the case but not present his evidence to the jury except as part of the ‘transcript.’
Statement of Problem

Deborah Kent Stein, Representing the National Federation of the Blind, spoke first reading from a prepared statement. It was interesting that her statement included a criticism of electronic system and mentioned being dependent upon batteries. It was the first time I heard what sounded like real requirements, something we have needed all along, not a fixed solution. She also cited the kid who claims he was hit by a hybrid because he didn’t hear it. Finally, she claimed that if hybrids weren’t equipped with noise makers, the blind would be confined to their homes, unable to venture out.

Melanie Brunson, American Council for the Blind, spoke next and didn’t mention a rejection of technology like Deborah did. Also, she at least acknowledged the existence of canes and guide dogs but tried to minimize their impact. Melanie also relayed a story about a hybrid electric owner who startled her by rolling down his window and claiming he had ‘circled her twice.’

Mark Richert, American Foundation for the Blind, was the most professional of the three and I suspect is in practice. He spoke with precision and without adding another anecdotal story. Of the three, he came across as the most confident that the problems the blind face with mobility are solvable without being unbending in the solutions. Tim Forts thanked the panel and asked if there were any questions and I raised my hand.

After introducing myself and my small company, 625k Inc., I asked, “Why is there no one from the hybrid electric owner community on the agenda since we will have to pay for any system?” I pointed to Debbie Ascone and said I’d asked to present but been turned down and said ‘the ones who pay the bills certainly are “interested parties.”‘

Tim tried to suggest that being able to ask questions and submit to the record was enough and that is what is on the transcript. They had a court recorder transcribing the session and certainly Tim’s words and my question will be on the record.

Another questioner volunteered her story of having a hybrid electric vehicle run over her foot. This was the third anecdotal story injected into the transcript. Remember this, it becomes important later.

Pedestrian Safety and Sound Measurements and Mobility

Essie Wagner, NHTSA, presented just the 2006 safety analysis and claimed there is not enough data to draw any conclusions. She called on more data gathering … the evidence apparently isn’t good enough … just 2006 data.

Larry Rosenblum, University of California Riverside, spoke via a pre-recorded, video due to a “scheduling conflict” and presented his field studies. He claims brain studies have shown that approaching traffic activates more of the brain than other sounds and they don’t know why. He also showed that a 2004 Prius was ‘nosier’ than a 2006 Prius and some speculated on ‘a design change’ (I started smiling.)

Paul Goodes, Sound Answers Inc., pointed out the problems of detecting sound in a ‘white noise’ background. He also discussed the different spectral characteristics. Paul also emphasized the importance of controlling variables … this is a real engineer. In conclusion, he needs research money to find a sound that works (aka., “the magic flute.”)

Dona Sauerburger, Orientation and Mobility Specialist, was the most practical minded of the three. She spoke to the problems of mobility and seemed the most interested in solutions that work. The other two are off seeking “the magic flute.”

Brian made a comment about why the 2006 was quieter than the 2004 and I muttered in a loud voice, “Ask the Prius guy.” I answered, and others in unison, “It is the tires.” The 2006 still has the original, OEM tires while the 2004 by now has new replacement tires.

They then opened the floor for questions and it came around to me. So I pointed out that we had looked at the 2002-2006 data and found no difference between Prius-to-pedestrian accident rates and ordinary car-to-pedestrian rates. Then another gentleman in the back, the real statistical analyst, claimed “we do not have enough data.” I had aleady decided we will make sure our own statistical analysis by Dr. Christopher Hogan get into the record (see first version attached.) But the NHTSA analysis suffers from using just 2006 instead data from all years of Prius being on the public roads.

Without going into the minutia of statistics, it is enough to point out that Demming, the father of modern quality control, emphasized time and time again the importance of data gathering and analysis of all that is available. It is completely unacceptable to reject what data we have without doing a confidence test and sheer nonsense to reject even imprecise data when the results do not agree with forgone conclusions.

I then made a general comment about the audio analysis and said, “I notice not one chart mentioned the dopler effect even though it was in the audio samples.” There seemed some agreement. Perhaps Rosenblum’s CD will relay the message? The doppler shift as well as increases in the volume are two velocity clues yet none of the audio experts even mentioned it.

So questions continued and came back to me again.

I then cited the NHTSA report of April 13, 2008 “Backover and Non-Crash Events Special Crash Investigations” by Augustus “Chip” Chidester and spelled his name. I pointed out that “backover events were the most deadly to children” and this is important because in addition to the rear bumper, there is the vehicle exhaust pipe sending out the engine noise.

I turned to the real analyst and said, “In science and engineering we make a testable hypothesis and look for experimental data that supports or disproves that hypothesis and certainly children killed by cars by the rear bumpers and co-located exhaust pipe bears on the claimed utility of noise generators.” This is how I answered three, non-fatal, anecdotal stories, with an NHTSA report of 50 accidents and 25 fatalities from the detailed investigation by the NHTSA.

Alliance, SAE Work and Status, Potential Solutions

Unfortunately, Debra Stein and her clic were late coming back and missed the next two speakers. If she had been there and reached out to hit them with her cane, I would have asked to borrow it and finished the job!

Chris Tinto of some automotive alliance spoke and led off with the quote, “Unkown Unkowns.” But ‘send money’ and they will research it. Apparently his mortgage is paid by car companies that get some unknown value for his work. Obviously it does not come from attending NHTSA meetings and presenting his charts. I’m sure his value lies in skills not evident at the meeting.

Next Dan Seike, SAE Safety and Human Factors Standards Subcommittee and Jay Joseph, SAE Vehicle Sound for Pedestrian Subcommittee spoke. Well, it seems there has been a lot of talk and they know all the right standards committee. They need “30 months” to do their research, send money.

Later when I was driving home, the SAE presenters reminded of over educated scientists in GE who were great about dropping names but had never built a system or delivered a product in their lives. I suspect the reason they don’t is because their role in life is to evaluate the work of others and knowing how they are, realize they couldn’t stand up to the same scrutiny they ‘claim’ to apply to others. These are the type of people who write wonderful, well researched reports and analysis but soon as it is time to build product, their beautiful resumes have found a new job.

These three were the industry experts and it was obvious they are as removed from reality as it is possible to be. I would not mind the SAE people reviewing my work, I like critical review, but otherwise, they do not build products. As for Chris Tinto, … to quote Donald Rumsfeld …

Fairuz Schtecht, Fisker Automotive, spoke next about the wonderful surround sound speakers they put on cars. I briefly thought of the Sony “boom box” campaign slogan, “Disturb the Peace.” But I’d had a couple of beers at lunch with my grilled tuna salad and had to pee. On the way back, I picked up a coffee and Fairuz was just finishing.

Everett Meyer, Enhanced Vehicle Acoustics, spoke about their solution and for the life of me, I really didn’t pay much attention. He reminded me of someone trying to find the requirements so he could address them in his talk. I felt sorry for him, a little, because I know how difficult it is to engineer a solution when you don’t have a hard set of requirements. But he claims to have presented his solution to Prius owners in California and gotten a positive response. Does anyone know what he is talking about?

Finally, Les Blomberg, Noise Pollution Clearinghouse spoke and he spoke truth to power. Les did field studies and showed the real problem is “noise masking.” The ambient noise hides a large portion of today’s vehicles. This is why the blind continue to be ‘surprised’ in traffic. He called it the ‘cocktail party effect’ that as the party goes on, everyone has to speak louder and louder to be heard. This means a large number of cars are never detected by the blind. His charts and data are what I’ve been saying all along, if we replaced every car with a hybrid an any their defined ‘constant’ noise generator, there would still be 4,700 pedestrians and cyclists die each year … that is exactly the situation we have today.

Seriously, Les Blomberg has it right with empirical data that shows these noise generators won’t work.

When questions opened up, the blind advocates tried to argue some minimum amount of noise is needed … they can’t see the cars they can’t hear because of the noise masking. They are still seeking “the magic flute.”

When I got to speak, I addressed Les and the audience and pointed out that the reason the meeting made sense was we followed a protocol, that only one person spoke or transmitted at a time and we didn’t try to all talk at once. I complemented him on his work and then suggested he look at the ancestor to ethernet, Aloha Net. I pointed out that the University of Hawaii needed to communicate between the different islands and it was the establishment of ‘a protocol’ that allowed them to share and communicate.

As a wrap-up, Brian Medford asked if there were any other questions and I asked about HR 5734 and he told me, “Don’t worry about it …” When someone tells “don’t worry about it,” I know that is when we must redouble our efforts.

This is important and your action can help enormously. Please, please take a few moments to write to your congressional representative today.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow I’ll be posting some information from Prius owner, Bob Wilson on his efforts to deal with the NHTSA in what’s being called the “Bell the Hybrid” issue. I’ve reported on HR 5734 previously, it’s the bill which could require each hybrid owner to purchase and install a device to make your car louder in an effort to reduce the potential danger to blind pedestrians.

Please come back tomorrow and read through Bob’s story and please, if you know any other hybrid owners or just citizens that are concerned, encourage them to read it as well. Each of us need to respond to this. It’s critically important because the interest groups involved, and they are very involved, are the ones getting the spotlight in front of the NHTSA and congress and before we know it, each of us might be responsible to install noisemakers on our cars. Everyone needs to take action on this issue. I hope to see you back here tomorrow.

Thanks.

-russell

Silly reporter

The idea that hybrids are somehow more dangerous than any other car is ridiculous. Years ago Toyota spent time and money to work with local emergency workers all over the US to educate them on hybrids.

So while I willing to tolerate the feigned ignorance during the discussion about the electrical system, it was when got lower down in the article and the reporter started to talk about the dangers of the “near-silent engine” that I hd to call BS. Come on. This is a car, not a leopard. It’s not sneaking up on you to bite your throat.

Hybrid: Handle with care
By JEFF REINITZ, Courier Staff Writer

WATERLOO — Hybrid fuel cars are fast becoming a popular way to save money at the gas pump.

But the vehicles, which run on both gasoline and electricity, offer new hazards for emergency crews who handle them and their occupants following traffic accidents.

“We’re selling more and more of these every year,” said Brian Jensen, service manager at Dan Deery Motors, who brought a Toyota hybrid to Waterloo Fire Rescue headquarters so rescue workers could familiarize themselves with the layout of the vehicle.

Firefighters and paramedics tasked with removing injured drivers from hybrid cars run an added risk of electrocution.

Traditional cars have only a 12-volt battery.

“That 12-volt battery is actually capable of a pretty good burn, but it’s not going to electrocute you or anything like that,” said Mike Moore of Waterloo Fire Rescue.

Hybrids have a second battery, one that carries in the neighborhood of 650 volts, Jensen said.

Firefighters usually disconnect the 12-volt battery or cut the battery cable on regular cars to make them safe after a collision.

Snipping one of the wires to the 650-volt battery could be fatal.

Officials said there are no reports of emergency responders being killed or injured when responding to wrecks involving hybrid vehicles.

Manufacturers have colored the cables for the higher-juice battery orange to help promote safety, Jensen said. The large batteries are mounted in the trunk, and there are only two high-tension wires that go from the battery to the motor, said Bill Kwong, a Toyota spokesman.

“It also has a high-voltage fuse that provides short-circuit protection,” Kwong said. “If there’s a short, it cuts out the high-voltage battery pack. In case of a high impact, especially if it deploys the airbag, it will trip a ground fault censor, and it will shut down the high-voltage battery.”

Other dangers include the near-silent engine in hybrids. Rescue workers may not know the vehicle is running and capable of moving when they approach and don’t hear the noisier internal combustion engine.

Also, some models replaced normal metal keys with ignition buttons and wireless keys. In these, anyone can start the car by pushing the button if the wireless key is within 5 feet of the vehicle, Jensen said.

Moore said he hasn’t heard of any significant accidents involving hydrids in the area.

“The kind that we’re most concerned about is the ones where people are actually trapped in them, where we have get the power tools to start tearing the car apart,” he said.

Dan Deery has been giving safety presentations regarding hybrids for about two years, Jensen said.

Contact Jeff Reinitz at (319) 291-1578 or jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.co

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US Senate To Vote Thursday On Energy Bill; Fate In Doubt

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., late Wednesday formally moved for the second time to try to get around Republican opposition to a wide-ranging energy bill, but the fate of his effort hangs in doubt amid threats of a White House veto and resistance from a number of lawmakers.

Reid announced plans to hold a vote Thursday morning on proceeding to a revised energy bill, but Democratic leaders need 60 votes in order to limit debate and move to a final vote on the energy bill. Even after last-minute changes aimed at drawing support, some lawmakers have yet to commit either way.

“It’s a very close call,” said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-NM. the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, who plans to vote against proceeding to the bill because he opposes measures that would raise $21.8 billion in taxes. “Even if we lose, we win,” he said, noting that President George W. Bush will veto the bill.

The Senate convenes at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday and holds its first vote at 9:15 a.m. Eastern time. It was expected to vote on whether to proceed to the energy bill shortly after.

The uncertainty about the energy bill comes after Senate Democrats unveiled a new version of the energy bill that shortens to two years tax incentives for renewable-energy investments such as wind-power projects, and allows companies to expense refineries that generate fuel from shale and tar sands.

“I probably will vote for it,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who last week had voted against proceeding to the energy bill. In 2005, Hatch introduced legislation to encourage development of fuel from tar sands and oil shale. Hatch also noted his support for hybrid vehicles, which would get a boost from a provision giving a credit of as much as $2,500 for the cost of purchasing a battery to convert a hybrid vehicle to a plug-in hybrid vehicle.

Democrats can also very likely count on Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, who also had previously voted against proceeding to the energy bill. Earlier on Wednesday, Grassley joined Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., in support of a modified energy tax package. But there are other holdouts, such as Sen. Mary Landrieu., D-La.

Asked whether she would vote for the bill, Landrieu said that she hadn’t decided yet. She had voted against an energy bill that passed the Senate in June. “It’s going to be very close and I doubt that it will” win enough votes for the Senate to get around a procedural hurdle and move to a vote on the energy bill. “I do think that there’s a compromise in reach, but it doesn’t seem like either side is reaching too much.”

Other changes seemed to do little to win votes, such as a measure to add new safety standards for pool and spa drains, something that has gained attention on Capitol Hill after former Secretary of State James Baker’s granddaughter died in a hot-tub accident. Sen. John Warner, R-Va., who is a co-sponsor of spa legislation, said he plans to vote against proceeding to a vote on the energy bill, citing concerns about its taxes.

Democratic Senators who are running for president are expected at a debate in Iowa in the afternoon, and are expected to appear for the vote. Last week, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, along with Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Sen. Joe Biden, D- Del., and Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., flew in from the campaign trail to vote in favor of moving ahead on the energy bill, but Senate Democrats fell seven votes short of the number they needed.

-By Siobhan Hughes, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6654; siobhan.hughes@ dowjones.com