Hybrids may be hazardous to your health

What with all the commercials that position hybrid cars as the salvation of Planet Earth, it’d be nice to see the technology taken down a peg or two. And that’s just what we get from an article on Motor Trend’s Web site (hat tip: Slate’s Mickey Kaus) that reveals the menace hybrids pose to public safety. The item focuses on “one of the dangerous drawbacks of driving a hybrid: It’s so quiet that pedestrians can’t hear it when it’s starting up or idling, and they often walk right into the path of the moving vehicle.”