The latest?
Uncle wants to require that hybrid and electric cars be fitted with devices that make them noisy, so that the blind will be aware of their presence.
See here.
Apparently, there is an epidemic of blind – er, visually impaired – people being run over by silent-running hybrid and electric vehicles.
Well, no.
Hard data is hard to come by, but I did find a 2009 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Technical Report (here) on the subject. According to this document, over a seven year period (2000-2007) a nationwide tsunami of 72 pedestrians were “involved” in crashes with hybrid-electric vehicles. Another 48 bicyclists were struck by a hybrid or electric car (or the reverse) over the same period.
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