drivemecrazy

It is not anymore unknown to many that the situation of our environment nowadays had become so alarming. Of course, vehicles are one of the many things that are blamed when this happens. To answer this, auto manufacturers had come up with innovations in their vehicles to make it safe for the environment. An example of this is the spread of hybrid vehicles.

However, though the potential of hybrid vehicles have been greatly recognized, there are still many things that put a hindrance on the plans of this vehicle conquering the road. One of these things is the potential risks to blind people.

Included in the designs of hybrid vehicles is their capacity to be driven at a quieter phase, especially at slower speeds. This fact makes it risky for blind people who are crossing the streets because they purely rely on the sounds of vehicles to know if it’s safe to cross. This situation had created an unexpected tension between hybrid auto makers, environmentalist, and blind people.

With this situation, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) calls for auto manufacturers to make their hybrids have at least some sound. They want to make hybrid vehicles to sound like all other conventional vehicles. As much as auto makers, auto engineers, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Federal Highway Administration want to respond on that call, they admit that they have no immediate high-tech solution for that as of now.  

As of the meantime, owners of hybrid vehicles are challenged especially when they come near crosswalks. They could rely first on what they call “low-tech solutions.” These include driving slowly when nearing crosswalks, paying close attention to pedestrian traffic, and playing loud music whenever approaching crosswalks.

With all these things, let us all do hope that everything will just be fine for all concerned people and groups. Of course, it would benefit all of us and the environment as well when hybrid vehicles conquer our streets. However, let’s still care about those people that could be greatly affected too.