Comment Re:Just give the option to turn it off... (Score 1) 823
In fact, there is something nice about a Tesla or Prius's silence at idle
Unless you're blind, or happen to be looking the other way when the drunk in a prius bears down on you. Which is why some sort of fake engine noise will eventually be mandated (if it hasn't been already).
This is actually mandated now, but the rules are kind of mushy. It was signed into law in 2011 here in the US, and applies to 2012 models, but there weren't initially strict guidelines on the noises. So you'll find the 2011 Nissan Leaf has a 'silent' mode where it won't make the backing-up beep-beep alert or the turbine-like engine noise when driving, but the 2012 and later models cannot silence the engine noises.
Wikipedia has a good breakdown of the state of the current noise laws across the US, Japan, the EU, and the UK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E...