United States Department of Transportation
i
Quieter Cars and the Safety of Blind Pedestrians, Phase 2 : Development of Potential Specifications for Vehicle Countermeasure Sounds.
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2011-10-01
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[PDF-5.05 MB]
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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.
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