ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
Not long ago, when Domino's Pizza in the Netherlands switched from old-fashioned, noisy internal combustion scooters to the electric ones, they worried about pedestrians not hearing them approach. So they found a solution: part-marketing ploy, part-safety first.
(SOUNDBITE OF A VEHICLE)
MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:
That's what people now hear as Domino's delivery scooters whiz around the streets of Dutch cities. As you may be able to tell, it's just a guy pretending to be an engine and muttering between fake roars: Domino's and pizza
SIEGEL: Yes. From the country that gave us wooden shoes, fingers in dikes, "Silver Skates," windmills and Gouda cheese comes the perfect solution to a potential threat.
(SOUNDBITE OF A VEHICLE)
CAROLIEN TEN CATE: People that are on the road hearing the scooter right now are smiling, laughing about it, and they think it's very funny and think it's very wise.
BLOCK: That's Domino's Marketing Manager for the Netherlands Carolien ten Cate. She says people in her country like a good laugh, and apparently, they like pizza too. Who knew?
CATE: We're still trying to find out if it's legal in the Netherlands, because we couldn't find anything about that.
SIEGEL: Until that legal judgment is handed down, we'll stick our necks out here and predict that along with prostitution and marijuana, Dutch law will smile favorably on the warning sounds on pizza delivery scooters. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.