Is it a car or a spaceship?

Readers letters

It seems a typical response to new technology - resist change by making it "feel" like what we are used to

I had to chuckle over the proposal to require electric cars to produce noise! It seems a typical response to new technology - resist change by making it "feel" like what we are used to! The early regulations related to the internal combustion engine come to mind- require a man to walk in front with a red flag to warn the populace.

The logic is also somewhat flawed. Must ALL vehicles on the road be noisy, by law- bicycles included? And what about the rights of those with hearing impairment? Are they not entitled to similar protection - should we therefore require all vehicles to display visible signals as well? And how does making a car noisy provide any additional safety on a crowded street where the general noise level is high?

To those of us who live in a noisy, urban, environment the quiet of the electric car will be a welcome improvement to our quality of life. And for that I'm prepared to commit to "look both ways before crossing the road", and not rely on regulation to force every vehicle to be noisy.