How many times have you been mostly ignoring the commercials on the radio in your car, when an ad with realist sound effects has startled you? Crash noises, loud honking, whizzy sounds like someone driving 100 miles per hour past your auto... All these things serve to nearly give the driver a heart attack. And for what? Usually to promote the interests of some used-car dealer. Nobody likes a used-car dealer.

I have no idea if there are any statistics about accidents where radio sound effects played a part, but I bet if someone gathered such statistics, they'd be impressive.
-- andreamer, Sep 07 2000

XKCD http://xkcd.com/780/
Has Mr. Munroe seen [koz]'s annotation? [DrWorm, Aug 24 2010]

I always wanted to have a hit song that had different radar detector beeps and cell phone rings in the backgroud...
-- koz, Sep 08 2000


I vote for koz's song!!

When I was younger I had a record where one song had some phantom harmonies that sounded exactly like our doorbell. I turned the music down everytime, laughing at the fact that I could not be sure.
-- blahginger, Sep 09 2000


We get the same nasty sound effects in my city, but they're usually found on commercials for personal injury lawyers. (Nobody likes ambulance chasers either, andreamer.)

I guess this won't happen until someone sues a radio station for distracting them with these sound effects while driving. Hope that happens soon- and that no one gets seriously hurt in the process (except the injury lawyers and used car dealers, of course).
-- BigThor, Sep 12 2000


You want true sound effects? Listen to Billy Joel's Glass Houses CD. I used to play the breaking glass in a department store I worked in just to freak out the managers. Worked every single time. Better than that, put your phone receiver up to the speaker when Sometimes A Fantasy starts with the telephone's touch-tones. If it doesn't work, dial "1" first. I got some mental hospital when I tried it.
-- gman, Oct 30 2001


That's hilarious, [gman]. Better yet, we need a song that incorporates that mythical microtonal noise that supposedly gives you long distance (used on the movie "The Core").

As to the original idea, I'm all for it. Drivers are stressed out enough as it is. They shouldn't have to be scared half to death just to get their attention.
-- Rubi, Feb 05 2004


[+]
-- FlyingToaster, Aug 24 2010


I'd also quite like it if other cars could be banned from making noise when I'm trying to listen to the radio.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Aug 24 2010


I'd quite like it if radios were banned from cars completely, so the drivers can get back to the trivial business of driving the bloody car.
-- Twizz, Aug 25 2010



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