[Cagdu] Fw: Legislation Alert regarding quiet cars

[Juliett Cody]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Theresa Duncan, GDB Alumni Director 
To: julietcody at cox.net 
Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 10:55 AM
Subject: Legislation Alert regarding quiet cars



      Dear Juliet,

      On behalf of your Alumni Association, I am forwarding this call for action that came across my desk, on to you for your review. The Quiet Car situation is of concern to many of us who are visually impaired, and I thought this may be of interest to you.

      From: gdadvocates at yahoogroups.com 
      Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2008 10:49 AM
      Subject: Urgent - Immediate Action Requested

      FYI. The following Legislative Alert regarding HR 5734 was posted by NFB's Government Programs Specialist. He is requesting immediate action by those who support the bill for quiet car legislation.

      Fellow Federationists:

      I wanted to let you know the latest on our Quiet Cars legislation, HR 5734. We currently have thirty Members of the House of Representatives listed as cosponsors, and Congressmen Towns and Stearns have sent a letter to Congressman John Dingell, Chair of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, asking for hearings on this bill.

      We must increase our cosponsor support on this legislation to show Chairman Dingell that this issue is important to members of the House. The Members of Congress will be leaving for the Memorial Day recess on Friday May 23rd. I would like us to have fifty cosponsors before the recess starts, so I am urging you to call your member of Congress and ask him or her to join as a cosponsor of HR 5734. You can be connected to your member of Congress by calling the capitol switchboard at (202) 225-3121.

      I have included a news article and a link below, which shows exactly why this legislation is needed. Thankfully there were no serious injuries in this case. I have also included a list of the thirty cosponsors on the bill. Thank you all in advance for your work on this important matter.

      Please contact me with any questions you may have.

      Sincerely,
      Jesse M. Hartle
      Government Programs Specialist
      NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
      Telephone: (410) 659-9314, extension 2233
      E-mail: jhartle at nfb.org 
      JMH/wmb

      http://www.kare11.com/news/ts_article.aspx?storyid=510106 - Where you will also find a video.

      Boy hit by hybrid car; mom says he didn't hear it coming

      It was something that had never occurred to Jane Flannigan, until she got the call Sunday that her eight-year-old son had been hit by a car while biking with a friend.

      Owen Erickson was not badly hurt, though he did end up on the hood of the car. But when the car's driver moved his Toyota Prius from the street to the curb, Flannigan noticed something. "I saw the car, but I could not hear anything," she recalled about the hybrid vehicle which was operating on battery power at the time. "It is totally silent."

      That's when it dawned on Flannigan, Owen never heard the Prius before he cut in front of it. "Bikers, runners, anybody out on the street, I think it's a huge safety issue," she said.

      She's not the only one. Last month legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that could eventually require hybrids to emit a minimum amount of noise.

      It's a priority piece of legislation for the National Federation of the Blind, which believes Hybrids pose a real threat to those who rely on noise from cars to keep themselves safe.

      "These quiet cars that are very difficult to hear in the normal flow of everyday outdoor activity play a safety hazard," says Jennifer Dunnam, president of the NFB's Minnesota affiliate. "Blind people depend on their hearing to know what the traffic is doing."

      Toyota has not taken a position on the legislation, but is aware of the concerns behind it. "We do have to step back and take a look," said John Hanson, Toyota's national manager of environmental, safety and quality communications. The Prius ranks third among Toyota models in sales, behind Camry and Corolla, according the Hanson.

      Flannigan doesn't blame the driver of the Prius for running into her son, since Owen biked out in front of his car but she does cut her son some slack. "We're conditioned to hear car noises," she says. "This is a big safety issue."

      ****
      Cosponsors of HR 5734:
      AK Congressman Young-R
      AR Congressman Boozman-R
      AZ Congressman Grijalva-D
      CA Congressman Filner-D, Congresswoman Linda Sanchez-D
      FL Congresswoman Brown-D, Congressman Stearns-R Original Sponsor), Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz-D
      GA Congressman Bishop-D, Congressman Lewis-D
      GU Congresswoman Bordallo-D
      IL Congresswoman Schakowsky-D
      MA Congressman McGovern-D
      MD Congressman Wynn-D
      MN Congressman Ellison-D, Congresswoman McCollum-D, Congressman Walz-D
      MS Congressman Taylor-D
      NC Congressman Butterfield-D, Congressman Price-D
      NM Congressman Pearce-R
      NY Congresswoman Maloney-D, Congressman Rangel-D, Congressman Towns-D (Lead Sponsor) 
      OR Congressman Blumenauer-D
      PA Congressman Robert Brady-D
      PR Congressman Fortuno-R
      VA Congressman Goode-R
      VT Congressman Welch-D
      WA Congressman McDermott-D
      WY Congresswoman Cubin-R

       
     


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