Quieter Cars and the Safety of Blind Pedestrians, Phase 2 : Development of Potential Specifications for Vehicle Countermeasure Sounds.

Details

• Creators:
  Hastings, Aaron ; Pollard, John K. ; Garay-Vega, Lisandra ; Stearns, Mary (Mary D.) ; Guthy, Catherine
• Corporate Contributors:
  John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Blind persons
  • Acoustic properties
  • Hybrid vehicles
  • Plug-in hybrid vehicles
  • Electric vehicles
  • Sound level
  • Auditory perception
  • Pedestrians
  • Specifications
  • Human factors
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  DOT-VNTSC-NHTSA-11-04 ; DOT HS 811 496
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Department of Transportation. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Abstract:
  This project performed research to support the development of potential specifications for vehicle ; sounds, (i.e., audible countermeasures) to be used in vehicles while operating in electric mode in specific low speed ; conditions. The purpose of the synthetic vehicle sound is to alert pedestrians, including blind pedestrians, of vehicle ; presence and operation. The project developed various options and approaches to specify vehicle sounds that could be ; used to provide information at least equivalent to the cues provided by ICE vehicles, including speed change. Acoustic ; data from a sample of ICE vehicles was used to determine the sound levels at which synthetic vehicle sounds, ; developed as countermeasures, could be set. Psychoacoustic models and human-subject testing were used to explore ; issues of detectability, masking, and recognition of ICE-like and alternative sound countermeasures. Data were used to ; develop potential options that could be pursued to develop specifications for synthetic vehicle sounds. Project results ; indicate that vehicle detectability could potentially be met through various options including: recording(s) of actual ; ICE sounds; synthesized ICE-equivalent sounds; alternative, non-ICE-like sounds designed for detectability; and a ; hybrid of the options listed above.
  More +
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  HS59A3
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/9475/dot_9475_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 5.05 MB]
• Collection(s):
  Volpe Center
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f70eb75ebdae10cafa100adeba009e0f7764b8ffc7e8c1724c64268ab283cd675e3347fa87cdb95c04b83b1bd507ff4c3fc1dcca3b482bf5ff3716a85ee7fceb