U.S. DOT Proposes Rule to Establish Minimum Sound Requirements for Vehicles

The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published a proposed rule to establish a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard regarding minimum sound requirements for plug-in electric vehicles and certain hybrid electric vehicles. The new standard would require plug-in electric and hybrid electric passenger cars, light trucks and vans, medium- and heavy-duty, trucks, and buses, low speed vehicles, and motorcycles to produce sounds that allow blind, visually-impaired, and other pedestrians to detect and recognize nearby vehicles. NHTSA will accept written comments on the proposed rule through March 15, 2013. For more information, refer to the proposed rule in the Federal Register.