IIn the spring of 2007, SAE International was approached by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) regarding a concern about visually-impaired pedestrians involved in traffic incidents with hybrid vehicles. The concern focused on the quiet operation of hybrid vehicles at low speeds. Based on the NFB’s request, SAE International Motor Vehicle Council asked the Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) Technical Committee to study this concern. The HEV technical committee concluded that this concern did merit more study, but recognized that it required different expertise than the members of that committee could provide. The responsibility for this issue was then transferred to the SAE Safety & Human Factors Committee, which formed the Vehicle Sound for Pedestrians (VSP) subcommittee at its November 2007 meeting. The VSP subcommittee was formed and has met monthly in 2008. This subcommittee is made up of stakeholders from several different backgrounds and organizations including: representatives of the blind community, government agencies, academics and automakers.
SAE Staff Representatives: Nikki Ameredes
