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this post was submitted on 12 Oct 2026
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Fuck Cars
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Cities aren't loud, cars are loud.
If we didn't have cars, we'd have much less noise pollution, including the ufo sound.
That UFO sound is so goddamn irritating as well. Could they not have picked something that sounded, I dunno, like a car? Why did it need to be a noise that no one would immediately recognize as a vehicle? And why are they all slightly different, it's not the electric motor noise, it's gotta be piped out speakers right, so they could/should all sound the same?
i like the ones that sound like the jetsons flying cars
It should legally mandated to be a specific white noise signal (any random source OK). It's the best tone for getting people to understand where something is.
I've heard one BMW that sounds exactly like a car engine. I think some brands allow you to choose.
Knowing BMW they charge you a subscription for that.
Imagine if you could choose anything you want as the noise :D It would be hilarious, then horrible
you could with Tesla's, I read some news articles a few years back about the ada or some other government agency getting pissy about it and requiring them to prevent it.
edit: https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-auto-agency-will-not-allow-ev-owners-pick-alert-sounds-2022-07-12/
someone picks entire bee movie as their alert sound
A quieter version of the backup beep would be better. Everyone all over the world knows what it means.
You want that for slow forward driving? That's crazy. The whole city would be continously beeping in its harsh rythm.
It would be safer than making a noise people can’t identify and have a hard time finding the direction of.
Make it as loud as the current ones, just interrupt it every second so it’s clearly a beep coming from something that could kill you.
Destroying the mental health of everyone around, especially local residents by non-stop multifold beeping is counter productive, especially as it takes only a short time for people learning the space electro sounds being deadly EVs approaching, that sound is of course also just as directional. If that were confusing (which I find that it is not and we do have already plenty of exposure with EVs here in Austria) one can standardise the sound but at no point does it have to be harsh beeping as if the whole city were one big non-stop construction site. It is not about the loudness, it is about the very feature you demand, that constant abruptness all the traffic noise pollution. That is mentally much more tiring than the existing sounds for EVs.
Alex from Technology Connections agrees with me so I’m not convinced.
His name is Alec, like alec baldwin
Also when the hell did he say that? I'm 99% certain he only said that white noise is better for cars backing up.
Well, if you want to live in such an acoustic hell hole, you are welcome. I am happily not living in one and can easily hear slowly approaching EVs, at least any of the newer ones. Anyone who manages to hear ICE cars, can also hear those EVs. It is also really hard to mistake their sound for anything else, unless you are expecting being abducted by UFOs anytime now.
Only those EVs are a problem that were produced before regulations requiring artificial sound at low speeds.
PS: I am walking a fair share on my daily commute, so I do know that perspective, also in regards to EVs.
Fuck that, every make and model to have different sounds!!! Standards be damned!! #Every Car Company
the convenience of the everyone outweigh the needs of the few.
I could hear and feel the subway from six stories up when I was in New York last month.
Yup the subway is loud too
So then it’s not just cars that make cities loud.
It's mostly the cars.
So it wasn’t delivery trucks and emergency vehicles waking me up every 30 minutes for three nights straight?
You’re not going to pile people up like that and meet their needs and have it be quiet. It’s just not possible.
They could be quieter if they didn't have to compete with cars. I don't know why you're defending cars so much. If you don't like noise, having fewer cars makes the city way quieter.
I’m not defending cars. I’m hating on cities.
That explains it. I also don't like cities. Cities aren't for everyone -- especially when built for cars. Imagine how much quieter emergency vehicles could be if they didn't have to get through soundproofing of cars.
There would still be trucks and subways and speakers and just some rando shouting in the middle of the night.
All of these have woken me up in a city, and cars never have unless they’re playing music.
I can hear the woosh of highway traffic outside my window right now, and always -- it is an ever present roar. Not the sudden kind of noise that wakes you up, but kind that shortens your life.
I don't have enough time to keep responding to your minimization of the noise of cars, but i wish you well.
Not getting enough quality sleep also shortens your life.
Best thing for everyone would be a Thanos Snap.
Good luck.
well that's quite the mask off moment huh? you're just straight up advocating for killing half the world's population.
That's pretty fucking abhorrent and disgusting.
Wait, that is an artificially created sound??
If i understand you correctly, yes. Older electric cars were much quieter, but they added the sound because people didn't hear it approaching.
Cities are very loud with or without cars.
weird that the areas without cars are quiet then, how do you explain that?
Name 3 other constant sound sources. Construction does not count.
Hooves on cobblestone
Barkers hawking their wares
Knife grinders
What about bards that woo young maiden?
the wind on the skyscrapers, car horns, airplanes
Air conditioners, commercial refrigerators and transformers. If you interpreted this as an attack on your ideology that was a mistake it actually was an attack on your intellectual integrity.
Those things arent very loud lol
False