Hybrid cars: Silent but deadly? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wants to pass a new rule requiring hybrids to make more noise

Silence is golden. Except, says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, when it comes to cars.

The latest crop of hybrid and electric vehicles on the market are so quiet that pedestrians and bicyclists just can't hear them coming. As a result, the administration wants to pass a rule requiring car companies to make them noisier.

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The new rule would require cars to make noise at low speeds, and that sound could be customizable, says Jamie Kitman, the New York bureau chief of Automobile magazine. As he told Marketplace Morning Edition, "There's no reason your car couldn't sound like Rush Limbaugh or Rachel Maddow or Led Zeppelin."

But for those who don't want Limbaugh to bark at you every time you hit the road, car companies will most likely choose something that sounds like a traditional car engine.

Interestingly, this isn't the first time noise has been added as a vehicle safety feature. Beginning in the 18th century, sleigh bells weren't about the holiday spirit. They were designed to keep people from being trampled. As Slate reported:

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