Too Quiet? Hybrid Cars to Add 'Vroom'

Hybrid car owners, so accustomed to the silence of their electric motors, may soon need to get ready to rumble.
The government is asking automakers to turn up the volume on all new hybrid and electric vehicles. They are sometimes so quiet, says the Department of Transportation, that pedestrians and cyclists don't notice them.
So the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has proposed that manufacturers of hybrid and electric vehicles add extra noise to the cars in an effort to reduce accidents. The agency estimates that making these cars louder could prevent 2,800 pedestrian and bicycle accidents each year.
"This proposal will help keep everyone using our nation's streets and roadways safe, whether they are motorists, bicyclists or pedestrians, and especially the blind and visually impaired," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
This push comes after Congress passed the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2010, which mandates