September 26, 2015 | Cars spend more time parked than they do on the road, and they are as much a part of residential and other landscapes as any aspect of the built environment. Urban planners, designers, and architectural engineers consider potential noise a part of any building plan. Does it ever make sense to add noise to an environment when there is a quieter way to do something?

Which of the following costs a few dollars more, does not create an incongruent warning noise, and is far less likely to intrude indoors or wake someone up?

(a) Horn sound for non-emergency alerts		(b) Flashing lights, soft electronic tone, or nothing
Cost/adjustment required      Use earplugs, to little avail      Use a white noise machine, to little avail      Sleep with the windows closed      Use sleep medication      Accept living on less sleep      Invest thousands of dollars on soundproofing      When all else fails, move		Cost/adjustment required      A few dollars per car      Clearer instructions in owner manuals

Product developers at Ford, GM, FCA, Honda, Nissan, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Tesla, and now Volvo, and app developers at Apple and Google, what do you not understand about the crucial importance of a good night's sleep? What do you not understand about the fact that poor sleep is related to greater risks of accidents, on the road, on the job, and elsewhere? What do you not understand about the fact that a horn is a safety device and not a candidate for use with infotainment technology? Please - let me know. I can put you in touch with a physician or scientist who will be more than willing to explain any aspect of sleep science to you.

What brought you to this place? What were you thinking? Do you have any idea of how close people live, work, sleep, relax, and pray, to your noise polluting convenience and infotainment products? _{1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8}