For blind people, I'd hope that there can be some kind of technological solution to the technological problem
IMO, ICE or EV doesn't make a difference. Volume of your vehicle makes no difference either. Locally in my area we have a legally e
stablished sign for areas with old & blind people.
The point is clear - they can't see you. Whether they can hear you makes no difference.
You could be a bicycle (also silent) and the onus is on you to see and avoid them. In areas with the sign, you are required to slow down, be alert, avoid them or stop and give way to them if you encounter them. In such cases, having an engine purring at idle beside them while they cross the road is more STRESS on them to hurry across than if you were being silent.
Making any noise on purpose is quite redundant.
For anyone who has driven quickly in and out of lanes between traffic you will know that observing the movements of other vehicles and judging what they're gonna do next based on what's happening right now is more efficient than sounding your horn to get people out of your way. On the contrary, sounding your horn creates a mess. People react, people turn their attention to you, people randomly step on the brake and get distracted trying to ascertain "what's happening" upon the sound. Unless of course the sound you're making is a siren. That would be a completely different picture since we're all supposed to move to the side upon the sound of sirens behind us (conditioned response).
Likewise, if you're driving along and you see a pedestrian jaywalking in front of you, honking will cause most people to STOP in their tracks. For others, they will WALK/RUN in an unknown direction (towards the opposite side of the road? turn back to where they came from?). Basic fight, fright, or flight response. This is where it gets messy. Instead of having to deal with a clear case of a person walking in a known direction that you can quite accurately predict for the next 10 seconds so that you can pass safely or stop, you now end up with an unknown situation where any direction you turn might conflict with their new running direction as a response to the sound of you approaching.
If you are going too fast such that neither deicision is a safe one (can't pass and can't stop in time), then you are either over the speed limit of the road, or the speed limit is too high (not properly set for that specific road). (Or in the case of Germany's autobahn, that pedestrian is clearly committing suicide and this discussion is moot anyhow.)
Elsewhere in regular city areas etc, the blind have their own ways of getting around and we should not under estimate their abilities. There are such people who do not want to be treated as "handicapped" and feel that noise makers etc. are just reinforcing the idea that they are handicapped. You'd be amazed at how perfectly capable these people are.
Watch discovery channel, nat geo etc. they have specials on these kinds of issues and you'll see that silent car or noisy car - it makes no difference to them.
