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Electric cars: New vehicles to emit noise to aid safety
- unixhero 7y agoHonestly, that sucks
- turbinerneiter 7y agoWhy? * The "noise" will be a sound designed by sound specialists. * The designers will be smart enough to design sounds that increase safety without being needlessly loud. * Since the low frequencies of an ICE are not directional, a sound at higher frequencies (which is directional) is going to be an improvement. [edit: ICE frequencies are not as low as thought, so this point isn't too strong.] * The motor sound of an ICE is only the dominant noise component at low speeds. Most of the time, the noise of the wheel on the asphalt dominates. At high speeds, the aerodynamic noise becomes dominant. As a pedestrian and cyclist I'm quite happy to be able hear the 2 tons of battery that are coming up from behind. And the one person I know who drives a Tesla will also be happy about this. He had a close call with a cyclist once because the cyclist didn't hear him.
- onion2k 7y agoHere's a little thought experiment to test whether or not it's a bad idea. Imagine the noise is optional. As a driver you can turn it off. However, when the noise is switched off giant spikes pop out from the car's body that are guaranteed to kill anyone who gets in the way. Do you think it would ever be acceptable for someone to drive with the noise switched off?
- m0nty 7y agoIt's a complicated issue, but my disappointment is that we have the chance to be free from widespread traffic noise, for the first time in almost a century. Yet it's to become mandatory. It's not as though traffic noise is benign: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7440003 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7440003
- lame-robot-hoax 7y agoI’ll be honest, I haven’t read into it much, but maybe they can make the frequency emitted relatively high in order to reduce the amount of distance the sound travels? I know it can’t be too high or elderly or the hard of hearing may struggle to hear it, but just a thought.
- sokoloff 7y agoThe reason this only applies under 12 mph is that tire noise (and aero drag later) takes over as cars start to go faster. Even without this mandate (many already have it), you would not have had silent traffic.
- skrause 7y ago> but my disappointment is that we have the chance to be free from widespread traffic noise No, we don't have this chance unless you implement a 20 mph speed limit everywhere. Above that speed it matters less and less that you have an electric engine because the tires and aerodynamic noise will be the main sources of sound. That's why this regulation only requires the artifical sound up to 12 mph, above that speed they car is loud enough anyway.
- legulere 7y agoThe motor is louder than the tires until around 40 km/h for cars and 60 km/h for trucks [1]. And it matters even a bit after that because noise is adding up. Those speeds are pretty close to how fast cars go where people live. [1]: http://www.leiserstrassenverkehr.bayern.de/entstehung/index.php http://www.leiserstrassenverkehr.bayern.de/entstehung/index....
- samastur 7y agoThe limit doesn't have to be at the point where motor stops being louder. They only have to cover the range where all car induced noise is too quiet and only to extent necessary to mitigate this for EVs.
- audunw 7y ago
- jray 7y agoA really stupid decision.
- Timucin 7y agoI read that as “let’s cut corners instead of building/improving roads”.
- paulfurley 7y agoWhat sort of road building / improving did you have in mind? We’re talking about city centre slow (<12mph) driving, I’m really not sure what road improvements could improve safety of silent cars?
- Timucin 7y agoMy bad. I completely missed the point and thought they would make them noisy in general. I wonder how they will solve the noise problem if it’s just slow moving traffic.
- Youcandothis 7y agoProbably a lot can be done to help safety without adding noise. Maybe something as simple as warning signs for silent cars can help.
- simion314 7y agoSo the road should create the sounds? or have some lights or other SciFi or software+hardware combination when a simple solution is possible.
- Timucin 7y agoI think roads should emit high energy lasers to prevent pedestrians to step on the road if the area is not designed to cross the road. :) Kidding. I was thinking like adding more guidance for pedestrians and prevent them jumping on the road with pre-cautions but guess I missed the point since the news says when they are under 12 mph and reversing.
- imtringued 7y agoAlthough I have encountered quite a lot of "lazy" pedestrians who just cross the street immediately instead of waiting a few seconds for the car ('the car' means there is only a single one) to pass, I don't think that this is causing the majority of collisions. More likely someone took a right or left turn and didn't see the pedestrian because the drivers have to pay attention to multiple things at the same time.
- monk_e_boy 7y agoI wonder what sound they will choose. Part of me wants the sound of horses hooves, but I expect something like “Teslaa-aaa”
- turbinerneiter 7y agoWhile fun, I hope the will pull all registers of psychoacoustics and sound design to create something that maximizes safety and minimizes noise.
- parksy 7y agoActual future: PING VEHICLE IN TRANSIT PING VEHICLE IN TRANSIT PING VEHICLE IN TRANSIT (inaudible subsonic vibration to alert hearing impaired and headphone-wearers) WOOPWOOPWOOPWOOPWOOP ... PING
- m463 7y agoIt would be cool to use AI to recognize humans and then use beam steering to give them targeted directional sound.
- rzzzt 7y agoMy vote is on the signature 1910s car horn: "aaooogah!" every 3 minutes or so.
- LoSboccacc 7y agoI know the right guy for the job https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj5IGSb-W18 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj5IGSb-W18
- RobertoG 7y agoThis is really a pity. Maybe, instead of noise, other options are available that nobody is exploring. Maybe projecting a laser in the road ahead or something like that.
- simion314 7y agoSound is important, not sure if lasers on the road will give you instantly a 3d spacial position as sound does. I did not enountered electric cars so far but I had this problems with silent bicycles, you walk minding your own business and something appears besides you without you expecting it to be there, if you did a side step in that moment you would have been hit. Our brain and ears are evolved to interpret sounds so laser workarounds won't be as effective.
- Youcandothis 7y agoI harldy think we have evolved to react to car noises.
- simion314 7y agoI mean if you hear noise you can instantly know from where you hear it, you can most of the time know if the car is moving toward you or away from you and you know if it is close or far away. If you see a laser on the road then you don't get any instant information, what if there are more then 1 car and project light. Anyway I meant that sound in general, we can instantly know where the sound comes from and we do not need to actively think about it.
- Youcandothis 7y agoI think you do get a lot of information from lasers on the road. At my job the fork lift trucks have blue lasers and it works very well.
- simion314 7y ago
- 0xcoffee 7y agoI saw this posted on HN before and it received a lot of negative feedback, so I would like to offer a positive experience. I live in the Netherlands and there are electric cars here that already make these sounds. Its like a really faint 'vmmm' found. Its great because when I'm cycling I can hear a car coming up behind me, but its still way softer then regular car sounds so its still a decrease in night noise pollution vs regular cars (the 'vmmm' is really soft and doesn't carry far). I also noticed it already when walking around parking lots, if there wasn't a 'vmmm' i would never realize that there are cars driving around. Sound really is one of the most important senses for situational awareness. (I live in the City where cars crawl around slowly so the sounds are active)
- namdnay 7y agoI think the Renault Zoe makes the sound you are describing? Sounds a bit like a science fiction sound effect, a slightly metallic humming
- mlonkibjuyhv 7y agoI absolutely love it. It also gives nice feedback while driving, as acceleration sounds different from coasting, different from braking. Some of this is probably just unavoidable switching noise, but I can't help but feel it's also designed that way.
- toun 7y agoI have a Zoe, the noise is soft and stops above 30 km/h. I can turn it off with a switch if I want to. I've already noticed people being surprised when I pass them without the noise, so I keep it activated.
- Reason077 7y agoYes, the Zoe, Leaf, and many other EVs are already compliant with this rule. I believe under the EU rules, sound is only emitted up to 20km/h (12 mph).
- fnordsensei 7y agoI wonder what data, if any, this decision is based on. The only reference is to the organization Guide Dogs, which makes me think, maybe it's sufficient for them to emit noise that dogs (and children) can hear? On a semi-unrelated note, the other day I was thinking that difficult road sections should be fitted with beacons that cars can talk to in order to get a more accurate understanding of the roads during difficult weather situations, such as snow. Maybe such beacons could emit light/sound as well, when they're actively talking to a car, rather than the car itself having to emit noise. Though I understand that this puts the responsibility back in the hands of politicians/road authorities, which of course they don't want. Though to be fair, I get the reason for this decision. I was just looking forward to quieter cities.
- benj111 7y ago"Maybe such beacons could emit light/sound as well, when they're actively talking to a car, rather than the car itself having to emit noise" The noise is supposed to tell other road users where the car is, how would this help, except to tell road users that there is a car on a junction.
- irrlichthn 7y agoI drive an electric car which already does this. Is a very futuristic and smooth sounding noise, and it sounds nice. Not like an ICE engine. People immediately notice you and recognize that you are in some new type of car. It feels positive, not negative at all as some comments here suggest. Also, there is a button to disable that noise if you want to (at least in the Ioniq)
- BryanBigs 7y agoThe Honda Clarity has no button to turn it off. My kids hate the attention it gets when I pull up to pick them up at school. It sounds like a spaceship full of slightly out of tune angels.
- zaroth 7y agoWow, that really is absolutely horrifying [1]. The people advocating for this must have no idea the hell they will be putting us all through. Or they work for the oil companies. Advanced pedestrian avoidance systems would prevent more injuries than this joke. This regulation shows such a complete lack of vision or respect. So glad I got my EV before this became mandatory. [1] - https://youtu.be/QaxykqCkCjg https://youtu.be/QaxykqCkCjg
- e1ven 7y agoPresumably it has a speaker some place? Could you cut the wire to it?
- lovetocode 7y agoI hope they sound like tie fighters.
- pagnol 7y agoI cycle a lot in a city which has a lot of electric Toyota cabs. I'm always terrified by them because I can't hear them and only notice them when they are already very close to my bicycle.
- Tinfoilhat666 7y agoWhat about other bicycles and escooters? They don't make any noises. I think quiet noise from cars is ok, but maybe bicycles and e-scooters (and anything on wheels) should also make some noise.
- NeedMoreTea 7y agoBicycles and escooters are rarely 1 tonne travelling 30mph.
- Reason077 7y agoNote that these noise emitters are only active at low speeds. In Europe, up to 20 km/h (12 mph).
- Reason077 7y agoThe Toyota Prius already emits pedestrian warning noise at low speeds. I’m not sure whether the current Prius sound is compliant with the new EU rules, however. Many EVs in Europe, such as the Leaf and Zoe, are already compliant.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- mnl 7y agoMaybe people don't get the point because they don't walk that much with light traffic around, but we do this all the time in my city old town area... and you just don't hear the Prius cab that's right behind you after popping out of nowhere. It's been years now and it still gets me every time, luckily they drive carefully.
- dazc 7y agoReminds me of the story, in the UK, of a partially-sighted guy who was hit twice at the same spot by the same driver. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/blind-man-hit-twice-same-5409666 https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/blind-man-hit-twice-sa...
- orkon 7y agoIf I'd drive a car, which is a dangerous thing on its own, I'd be for minimizing the risks of harming someone or myself. My current mitigation of this risk is not driving a car at all.
- jedberg 7y agoGood. I've been calling Priuses and Teslas silent killers for years now. Can't tell you how many times I've almost been run over by one, despite the fact that I'm always looking around when near cars. Sound is an important part of situational awareness. Maybe once all the cars are self driving we can get rid of the sound.
- Reason077 7y agoPriuses already emit pedestrian warning sounds when driving on electric power. Teslas do not, yet.
- m463 7y agoWhat I noticed standing by a busy street is that EVs are just as noisy as regular cars at speed. Turns out the actual numbers are not obvious: https://insideevs.com/news/330043/quiet-car-rule-new-evs-must-emit-warning-sounds-in-us-by-2019/ https://insideevs.com/news/330043/quiet-car-rule-new-evs-mus... You could invert the formula and instead of walking ride a harley (loud pipes save lives, man) :)
- nabla9 7y agoHans Zimmer is composing the sound for BMW's electric vehicles. Zimmer is the guy behind soundtracks for The Dark Knight, Inception and Interstellar.
- StavrosK 7y agoI can't wait for my car to sound suspenseful.
- dTal 7y agoPedestrian: minding own business Futuristic electric car: BWAAAAHHHHHHHH
- majewsky 7y agoThis sounds like it's coming right out of the Onion, so I looked it up. Apparently he composed sounds for a concept car, so I'll wait and see if that has anything to do with the actual release models.
- Reason077 7y agoThe BMW sounds are played though the car’s internal speakers to stimulate “emotional driving”. Jaguar also do this on the I-Pace. This is different from what is being required by the new EU (and US) rules, which require external speakers to emit pedestrian warning noise.
- deniska 7y agoEach time this discussion pops up, Domino's electric scooter safety noise starts playing in my head. https://youtu.be/n17B_uFF4cA https://youtu.be/n17B_uFF4cA
- tyfon 7y agoI don't think this is necessary but it won't do harm either except for adding cost. Where I live the electrics dominate and you can easily hear them unless they sneak up on you on purpose (i.e. drive 1 km/h on fresh asphalt towards your back). The electric motors emit a whine that is very distinct you also hear the tires. A much bigger problem in this area is people walking around with headphones / earplugs getting injured.
- Dunedan 7y agoMost electric vehicles emit such a whine, but Tesla's don't. While I up to now thought that was caused by superior engineering I now wonder if these vehicles already carry such a sound generator instead.
- cm2187 7y agoNoise pollution in big cities is a thing. I think it’s a terrible idea.
- jonas21 7y agoThat whine you're hearing may actually be a safety sound, not the electric motor. At least in the US, most electric vehicles already emit a safety sound at low speeds that sounds like a quiet whine or hum.
- fredley 7y agoIf it's equal to or less than the volume of current motors, great! As any city dweller will know the real noise pollutant is mopeds anyway.
- benoliver999 7y agoYes! Mopeds, vans, lorries. Most modern engines in cars going under 12mph are pretty quiet in terms of overall noise pollution. I guess it's handy in car parks etc to be able to hear cars.
- Reason077 7y agoCar parks, etc, are exactly what this is needed for. Any places where pedestrians and vehicles interact. Likewise narrow lanes in European villages and city centres.
- OscarCunningham 7y agoAre there any things that don't traditionally make noise that we should also add noise to? Sharp drops near pedestrian areas? Bicycles? Low hanging branches over walkways?
- turbinerneiter 7y agoPedestrians are not 3 tons of steels that run you over. Bycicles have bells. On shared paths, pedestrians don't hear cyclists coming from behind, so you occasionally give them a ping.
- OscarCunningham 7y agoCars have horns. Note that I'm not advocating for adding noise to these things. I'm just trying to point out that there's a status-quo bias where we're willing to retain unnecessary noise but not to create it.
- multjoy 7y agoTurns out that by removing it, we’ve discovered that the noise is necessary. You only sound a horn if the driver thinks it is needed, whereas pedestrians & other vulnerable road users are making all sorts of judgements using audio clues that the drivers are completely unaware of.
- Youcandothis 7y agoI don't think noise is necessary. It's only that people are used to noise. I usually wear sound isolating earphones outdors, so I don't hear cars as much now. But to compensate for that I look more around. That's something everyone could learn. Exception is those that are blind, but I think they should be able to get some help from technology to warn them from cars.
- OscarCunningham 7y agoI think my preferred policy would be to mandate this noise for now and then slowly quieten it as people got used to quieter cars.
- vanilla-almond 7y agoI agree with other posters that sound is essential for cars. In the UK, it's not illegal to jaywalk (cross a road at a suitable pause in the traffic when you're not at a pedestrian crossing). In fact, most people in the UK probably don't even know what the word jaywalk means. Without the sound of an approaching car, I can imagine many more accidents. I'm sure all cyclists have stories of missed collisions with pedestrians because pedestrians could not hear an approaching cyclist and assumed the road was clear. With a car, a collision can be fatal.
- Dunedan 7y ago> I'm sure all cyclists have stories of missed collisions with pedestrians because pedestrians could not hear an approaching cyclist and assumed the road was clear. As somebody who cycles a lot (>4000km/year) in a major European city I encounter such situations nearly every day, but guess what: Such situations are totally fine for me. Pedestrians are the weakest traffic participants so it's my job as a cyclist to take care I don't hurt them. That applies even more to car drivers and adding artificial sound to cars doesn't exempt them from this responsibility.
- clarry 7y agoAnd speaking of cycling, it's not uncommon for the wind noise in your ears to deafen you to nearby cars. You just can't rely on ears.
- cm2187 7y agoIf you are not looking both ways when you are crossing a street, even in a parking lot, you are irresponsible. You shouldn’t be surprised by a big, predictably there object.
- tooop 7y agoIt is not that simple. Sound enhances the situational awareness especially when people are used to it for like forever.
- sidpatil 7y agoWhat if you are visually impaired?
- AnthonyMouse 7y agoThen you cross at a crosswalk which is alerting you that you have the right of way.
- Retra 7y agoThe right of way doesn't protect you from injury.
- DanBC 7y agoHave you seen English roads? Here's an example. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.900949,-2.0723105,3a,75y,34.74h,83.86t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sfzv_NIe0uFkpVURFwhFK2w!2e0!7i16384!8i8192 https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.900949,-2.0723105,3a,75y,3... You'll see of these four roads meeting at a crossroad only one of them has a crossing. Pedestrians have absolute right of way on zebra crossings. The car driver is committing an offence if the fail to stop for a pedestrian on a zebra crossing. Many drivers don't know this and they don't stop or slow down, which is why the sounds are needed - to stop visually impaired people stepping in front of a car that has no chance of stopping in time. Notice that two of the other roads have dropped curbs and textured paving. Rule 172 of the Highway Code mean that pedestrians also have priority on those roads, but this isn't well known. Someone stepping off the curb there in front of a moving vehicle is at risk of harm, even though they have priority. What should a person standing on the near right corner wishing to cross to the far right corner do? Just use that crossing that's there? Or cross to the near left, then use zebra crossing, then cross to far right corner?
- Theodores 7y agoThe recent advert where Arnie is trying to convince people to buy ICE cars (as a prank) puts this in perspective. He rocks up in a Hummer that is making normal car noises, the noises that car drivers like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXodSqMpuUQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXodSqMpuUQ ..but in this advert the noises sound so naff and quite... noisy! My vehicle of choice is a bicycle and it is very quiet. But I have a bell. I can give a gentle ting to let people know I am behind them. It would be a little odd to me to have a bell that continually rattled just to inform anyone who I can't see that I am behind them. How many guide dogs have I maimed and slaughtered? Zero. And this is sharing the same paths that people go on specifically to walk their dogs. What next, someone walking sixty yards out in front with a red flag? What happens if you live near a road that has slow moving traffic during rush hour? This could be nice and silent as it shuffles along. But it will be making these nanny noises from all the tin boxes. Apart from anything else I thought it was a solved problem of having cars stop if something is in the way? Automatic collision avoidance? Can't we have that and a softer 'bell' instead of the aggressive 'horn'?
- esotericn 7y agoI own an electric car with no artificial external sound. I'd like to have an optional sound. Using the horn is an act of aggression, but enabling a Jetsons-like sound when I want to alert pedestrians would be very useful. You should be able to disable it. For example, when coming home and parking late at night (headlights are visible then and it is quiet so a sound causes pollution).
- Symbiote 7y agoIn Florence (Firenze) some years ago, the Prius taxis in the historic centre had bicycle bells. I don't consider that cars should move faster than pedestrians in a city centre, so I won't change my behaviour if I'm already walking. However, it's useful to ask people standing to move to the side.
- Shivetya 7y agoI would prefer the sound to be universal instead of a mishmash of discordant sounds that we will end up with as every manufacturer tries to stand out, worse when each car may be different just from one manufacturer
- madez 7y agoWe must be able to differentiate a phone playing a sound and a car by hearing alone, and that very quickly. We need a sound similar to emergency vehicle sirens but obviously less loud and dramatic. So it is very important to have a universal class of sounds, and it must be forbidden to play sounds of that class on a street for other things.
- rsync 7y ago"I'd like to have an optional sound. Using the horn is an act of aggression ..." I have considered this as well. That is, setting aside the issue of electric noise vs. ICE noise, I think all cars should have two horn noises - the normal "horn" and a universally defined two-beep "friendly" horn. That "friendly" horn would be very useful in many driving situations and would make many interactions less confusing / antagonistic.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- fit2rule 7y agoI recently moved to electric as my preferred mode of transportation, and as a result ride an e-moped around a family busy city in central Europe. When I first started riding I rapidly became very aware that people just don't hear it, and are not used to looking for danger on the roads they're about to step on, if they haven't first heard it coming. So I've sat at many a traffic light considering the viability of making an app for mobile that is essentially a motion triggered synthesiser, getting louder/changing pitches/stepping through a song sequence as the e-moped rider picks up speed. It has been a thought game I've played, at least a few times, and mostly after some near misses. However lately this whole concept was defeated when I realised, basically, all I needed is a little bell to hang on the handle-bars ...
- PaulAJ 7y agoI have this little fantasy where the car makers start selling a "big engine" noise as an optional extra to replace the default sewing machine noise, and then someone hacks it and cars start sounding like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNnRGtVkr6E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNnRGtVkr6E
- ReptileMan 7y agoPlease let it be Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries.
- mrfusion 7y agoAt this point not too different algorithms from what we use for self driving could detect situations where noise would be helpful to air safety. For example a crowded downtown road in rush hour. People will obviously know there are cars in the street. Why add to urban noise pollution. Or even if there are cars in front of you and behind you, you probably don’t need sounds.
- mrfusion 7y agoI wonder if there should be some kind of override for places where silence is valued? Driving by folks watching a remote sunset? Driving in a cemetery or by a funeral? Slow Wildlife drives?
- Mountain_Skies 7y agoI had use of a Nissan Leaf for a couple of months. It made a loud chirping noise when in reverse. Anytime I'd back out of my driveway early in the morning, I knew I was annoying my neighbors but there wasn't anything I could do about it. It would have been nice to have the option to turn it off and just be more aware of my surroundings while backing up.
- chrisseaton 7y ago> there wasn't anything I could do about it Reverse into the driveway when you park in the evening so you don’t have to reverse out in the morning?
- kaybe 7y agoYou mean like driving by people taking a stroll in the city or passing a whole front of houses where people chill in their rooms with the windows open for airflow? As in, the whole city. It's an unfortunate trade-off and we should should keep an eye out for better solutions.
- tomphoolery 7y agoCan we also get a "a-woo-ga" sound for the horn?
- olliej 7y agoI was going to make fun of this, but realized I’m not blind - if some who is could tell me how much they depend on sound of a car to determine safety is really appreciate it. [edit: I vaguely recall seeing a show that said the primary source of noise on the highway at least was due to tires on the road rather than engine noise]
- jareds 7y agoI am blind and depend on the sound of cars a lot. When crossing busy streets I listen for traffic patterns to let me know what light is green and red. On less busy streets I listen for individual cars. There are not a lot of electric cars around me so I don't have any first hand experience on if tire noise is enough.
- olliej 7y agoI don’t think tire noise would be enough at low speed (I mean I’ve heard cars with very load wheels+suspension but I suspect that wasn’t by design). It was intended more for the context of making highways quieter, for that you need something more complex - it’s things like the sound of the tread itself hitting the pavement etc
- amelius 7y agoIf some people are bothered by the noise, can't we just make the noise directional, to the front? And perhaps shut off the noise on highways (where there are no pedestrians/cyclists anyway).
- m463 7y agoI think it's a nice idea OUTSIDE the vehicle. But some car manufacturers are idiots (no other word) and add sounds INSIDE the vehicle. The Nissan Leaf has tons of gratuitous sounds that cheapen the car. When you turn the car on and off, they have startup and shutdown sounds like a cheap canon camera. And they have a "futuristic" driving motor sound, which is probably damaging some of your hearing frequencies on long drives.
- Scott_Sanderson 7y agoWait the whirr sound on the Nissan Leaf is coming from a speaker?? I have had a Leaf since 2016 and thought that was just the sound the motor makes (my first EV). Outside sound for pedestrians on the Leaf is not annoying and a good safety feature IMO.
- m463 7y agoI believe leafspy will let you disable these sounds individually. You have to have a 2013 or later leaf. You also have to buy the leafspy app + an inexpensive bluetooth OBD2 dongle.
- dingaling 7y agoI'm actually a fan of gratuitous noise inside the cabin, as hopefully it reminds drivers of the noise nuisance they make outside. If only there was a way to pipe and amplify their tyre noise into the cabin too instead of having it insulated away.
- chiph 7y agoDo you have any idea how loud iron-shod wagon wheels on cobblestones are? They're not quiet, for sure.
- organsnyder 7y agoOur Pacifica PHEV has this. I was a bit disappointed when I learned that we couldn't have 100% silent EV mode (below 20 MPH or whatever), but it's not too bad. I wonder if this is a transitional feature that can be phased out as EVs become more prevalent.
- carapace 7y agoSomeone pointed out that it would also make sense to wear helmets while riding in cars.
- DamnInteresting 7y agoMy Chevy Bolt EV has one of these sound generators that kicks on at low speeds (20mph or below, I believe). It sounds like a small electric fan, like a very quiet hair dryer. I cannot hear it in the cabin unless I have a window rolled down and I am near a sound-reflecting surface, such as a building. I think it's a reasonable compromise.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- alkonaut 7y agoMakes perfect sense. If it doesn’t make enough sound it’s not safe for pedestrians, especially blind ones. Maybe it should be muted at higher speeds when tyre/wind noise is enough. It’s most important at low speeds and when reversing.
- hawaiian 7y agoAs someone seriously considering a Tesla Model 3, this would turn me off from the car entirely. From a consumer perspective, this would make the car seem more like a toy than the silent, efficient machine I expect to buy. In fact, its silence is a selling point to me.
- Jemm 7y agoI find that tire noise is enough to alert me even at very low speeds. Modern tires are stupid loud.
- hedora 7y agoI’ve always heard the manufactures push for this because it lets marketing have the car constantly emit a trademarked, branded tone. People wouldn’t put up with such in-your-face crass advertising unless it was legally mandated.
- NeonTiger1992 7y ago"The charity Guide Dogs - which had complained it was difficult to hear low-emission cars approaching - welcomed the change, but said electric vehicles should make a sound at all speeds." I think this is a point worth noting - for people with visual impairments, this could be a potentially life-threatening situation they have to deal with on a day-to-day basis.