Pedestrians who are elderly or young, visually impaired, deaf or use headphones while walking are at risk of being hit by electric and hybrid cars due to how quiet they are at low speeds. This is resulting in calls for them to be issued with noise generating technology that will alert pedestrians who may not otherwise notice them coming.
Although the EU is introducing rules which state that these cars must be fitted with low-speed alerting sounders, will it be too little too late with the Government’s push to get more of these environmentally friendly, but silent, vehicles on the UK’s roads?
Electric vehicles are ‘Silent Killers’
The biggest call for electric and hybrid cars to be issued with technology that creates a sound comes from road safety group SteerSafe who have branded these vehicles as ‘Silent Killers’ because vulnerable people cannot hear them approaching which puts them at risk of being hit.
This includes the elderly, the blind, children, the deaf, headphone wearers, and those who are preoccupied or unwary and unable to take in what is happening around them.
SteerSafe is headed up by founder Christopher Hanson-Abbott OBE who gained his OBE for services to safety in transport when he made the first reversing alarm for large vehicles 40 years ago. He has stated that he would like ministers to set an example to the rest of Europe by being the first country within this continent to make noise emitting technology on quiet cars compulsory.
Over in the United States, they are already ensuring that all new hybrid and electric cars make noise at low speeds to help to keep pedestrians safe.
Although the EU will be making it mandatory for car manufacturers to fit these devices to new cars from 2019, with all electric and hybrid cars already on the roads being required to have a sounder retrofitted by 2021, SteerSafe feel that this is not good enough as these ‘Silent Killers’ are already causing a risk on the roads.
British engineers have been working on creating a sounder for quiet vehicles for over five years, with most designs being speakers which are fixed to the car and work in the direction that it is travelling so that the noise doesn’t annoy those who are not in the vehicle’s path.
A variety of sounds have been tested, including the whine of an old electric motor, the rumble of a petrol or diesel engine, and computerised squawks, and the sound would be emitted when the vehicle was travelling at 19mph or slower when there is little or no noise from the wheels on the road
The rise of electric cars
Due to the Government investing hundreds of millions of pounds in trying to increase the number of environmentally friendly vehicles on the UK’s roads, and offering tax breaks to those who drive one, there was a 40% rise in registrations of these cars last year and 45,400 new cars sold on the road by the end of 2017.
It is also expected that these figures will rise due to the fact that no new petrol or diesel cars will be sold after 2040. In addition to this, leaked details of the Government’s ‘Road to Zero’ policy make it sound like any vehicle that can’t travel 50 miles on electric alone will also be banned from sale, and this includes all of the hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles that are currently on the market.
Although many people are in favour of driving a vehicle which does not damage the environment, it is vital that the issue of how they put vulnerable people at risk is taken seriously as the amount of accidents is simply rising with the number of these cars that are being driven.
Accidents caused by quiet cars
In research carried out by the charity, Guide Dogs for the Blind in 2015 they found that people are 40% more likely to be hit by a car that makes little or no sound in comparison to a petrol or diesel model and that there was a 54% increase in incidents with quiet cars between 2012 and 2013.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also back this up with their statistic that 2,400 pedestrians are injured every year by quiet cars, and that issuing sounders would put a stop to this high number of incidences.
Guide Dogs manager James White has pointed out that they are totally in favour of increasing the number of eco-friendly cars on the roads, but that more has to be done in order to make them safer.
Since electric cars are so quiet at low speeds, the only thing to suggest is as a pedestrian is to become hyper-aware at road junctions and crossings. Look in all directions when crossing and of course, make sure that you abide by the road traffic regulations and cross when the road signs are green in colour.
Are you concerned about the risks caused by quiet electric and hybrid vehicles? What noise do you think would be the most effective at alerting pedestrians about the vehicle’s presence? Let us know in the comments below.
I’ve neen saying this for years. Electric cars make great vehicles for committing burglaries too.
A normal combustion engine sound would be ideal.
Auto headlights prevents most modern vehicles from being stealthy.
It is always stated that you should not wear headphones whilst walking in the street for your own safety, deaf people would probably not hear any noise and would tend to always take extra care looking around before crossing etc. if people are reversing they should take care whatever type of car they use, if a noise will make a difference then I would like to know how people already get hit with a normal Petrol or Diesel car, they are probably wearing Headphones and not taking extra care!!
Can you remember the 1970’s Government advice on how to cross a road safely ? ”Stop Look & Listen” ? This is a lost art for nearly every pedestrian these days, if a ped doesn’t hear anything they just wander over….BANG and the pedestrian gets knocked down by a silent cyclist and it’s the poor cyclists fault.
Anyone know the stats for what % of pedestrians that get knocked down are blind or deaf (or both)?
I suspect the answer would be a fraction – since these people take extra care with everything they do,
The Nissan Leaf already has a sound at low speeds.
What sort of sound? I really hope it’s something like “MOVE OUT MY WAY PEDESTRIANS”
The day some idiot in a Leaf came up behind me and tried to knock me off my bike, that car never made a sound and then the driver blurting out s**t that cyclists should pay road tax!! I’ll let you work that one out!!
Yep, it sounds pretty good to me.
So does the new Renault Zoe
How about it becoming compulsory that all cars emit a loud shrill interior sound whenever the steering wheel is turned beyond a certain degree and an indicator hasn’t been enacted.
My new Astra does give a warning if you do this
My other half can do this!!!!!!! and not only in this situation. So if you like John maybe I can arrange for her to sit next to you when your driving (lol)
I used to have a car like that, turned out to be a problem with the steering.
On a more serious note, that wouldn’t work with the phone zombies.
Use the indicator? But that might cause it to wear out! Anyway other people will “know” that I intend to turn by the direction of my wheels!
Yes sarcasm – I was taught MSM – Mirror/Signal/Manoeuvre – i.e. let other road users know what you intend BEFORE you get to the junction. Not as so many people do, signal only after starting to turn – if at all!
Reminds me of when gas with no odour was introduced years ago …… the dangers, eventually realised, caused them to make gas SMELLY again. Funny, nature has her own way of helping us out, but we think we’re SO smart at times, don’t we?
A family member had no sense of smell and we all knew how acutely, visibly and verbally scared she was by having gas appliances in her home. Once the rest of us were robbed of that SMELLY forewarning of the danger, we understood her far better.
Why don’t businesses ASK US first, before rolling out what they think is best in their ‘inventions’? Experience and community involvement would save lives, in such cases. Why must we all be guinea pigs in this way?
Perhaps all electric cars should be made to exude a foul smell as they approach, so that even the blind and deaf would be able to detect their presence!
How about the smell of overheating batteries? I’d favour a robot voice reciting “caution – extreme fire hazard approaching”. However, in all seriousness, modern vehicles do smell more than older ones – the introduction of catalytic converters introduced the smell of rotten eggs (hydrogen sulphide) in petrol vehicles and nowadays we have nappy smell (ammonia) from modern diesels (again because of EU-mandated catalysts).
Mitsubishi PHEV plugin hybrid electric vehicles have always done this.
What surprises me is the fact that the brake lights don’t come on when using the regenerative braking which slows the car down and charges the battery.
The Tesla does
So does the Hyundai Ioniq.
Rubbish! The brake lights come on whenever the brake pedal is pressed, just the same as any other car and required by law.
Maybe the brake lights drain the battery too much 🙂
I own a hybrid and welcome these changes. However, I also feel that people need to take responsibility for their own safety. I recently had a teenager wearing earphones with an iPhone or some similare device in her hand walk out in front of me. I anticipated this was going to happen (I was turning into at a junction as she was approaching the kerb) and had stopped. She never heard my horn nor me shout after her to take more care. No amount of noise generation on my car would have stopped this incident from occurring.
Well, actually, at junctions like that, legally the Pedestrian has right of way.
They may well have the right of way but that STILL DOES NOT replace using common sense and looking before you cross the road I have had the same thing happen to me and not only pedestrians but cyclist’s as well and my car is a diesel……
Only if they are already in the road.
Not if you are on a clearway or Red line zone, and stopping on a dual carriage way even in built up area could havock. Vehicles cannot stop dead.
Not correct, they have right of way if they are already crossing, they have to stop and look both ways before they start to cross.
Only if they have already started to cross the road and not approaching the kerb as stated
I also drive a hybrid and I had a similar situation where I had just turned left quite slowly into a tight corner of another road then a guy just walked into the side of my car and broke the side mirror off. I reported it but he didn’t leave any details (language barrier making it difficult) he hurt his arm but didn’t want any help, hope it hurt for days as he cost me over £200 to get it repaired. If he was actually paying attention and not walking into the road into my car it would have saved a lot of inconvenience as it was his fault. It didn’t matter if I was driving a hybrid, electric, petrol or diesel car, a pedestrian not paying attention is just as much at fault whatever the type of vehicle.
This issue occurred to me when electric cars were first introduced and I had assumed that they were already fitted with sound generators. The fact that they are not demonstrates what a pack of good-for-nothing idiots they are at the Ministry of Transport for not stating it as a regulation. No doubt the manufacturers were content to ignore the matter because it would raise the cost of the vehicle, albeit by a very small amount.
It should sound like any other car. Let’s face it, high-end sports cars already have synthesized engine noise to make them sound more throaty.
It’s actually present in most VW’s too. The VW Golf R in particular.
A customized warning noise would be good. I’d have Ozzy Osbourne shouting at the Peds.
People on horseback are particularly at risk, neither the horse nor the rider who is (or should be) wearing a safety helmet hear electric cars at low speed. A horse is a flight animal and therefore can be unpredictable. Although some people will say that a horse will take fright at the noise which is hopefully going to made – it is more likely that the horse (and rider) will take more fright at a vehicle suddenly appearing alongside them with no warning/noise.
Maybe a clip clop noise would be appropriate in this situation ;o)
Does your horse get startled when you walk up from behind in a quiet field? If it’s that jittery then perhaps being on a public highway is unwise.
Your point seems to be horses can be unpredictable and can spook – my wife is an experienced rider and would agree with that. I have seen an accident between a riding school horse and a transit van – neither survived, and I have always been very careful approaching horses on motorcycles and cars that the rider has seen me, and that I give as wide a space as possible and keep the engine revs down
I know some drivers don’t do any of that – they should!
Perhaps as a species we should evolve and adapt to a quieter environment? Simply making things noisier to protect people who by choice are unaware of their environment is madness. I accept that blind people will have a problem and some way of resolving that would be valuable, but removing a benefit of electric cars for the sake of a small percentage of the population is not the way forward.
Any driver turning into or out of a side road would be especially aware of a blind pedestrian and make allowances, it’s the phone zombies that need educating. Perhaps their phones should be taken over – they all have GPS capabilities so why not flash up a warning that doesn’t allow the phone to do anything else whilst they are on a road surface (ie crossing a road)?
MIT Flagged this up some while back. It’s a good idea speaking from experience of being surprised by a hybrid as a pedestrian and also as a driver of a hybrid exercising extra care to avoid pedestrians.
As to the sound. We’re habituated to the sound made by the various types of vehicle engine so that would seem to be a good starting point, but it would be nice to think that the opportunity to do something different could be taken. One of the advantages of these vehicles (at low speed) is that they significantly reduce noise pollution.
I echo the comments made earlier re-headphone, earphone users. They’ve actually taken steps to reduce their awareness of their surroundings. I’d hope that this factor is taken into consideration as contributory negligence when examining cases of collisions with pedestrians.
I also echo the comment about brake lights not showing when using regenerative breaking. I made sure I understood whether or not they showed after taking delivery of my hybrid and try to drive with that fact in mind, even taking the extra step of touching the brake to be sure the following driver gets a signal that I’m slowing.
Lastly. Please when you mix your sources; RNIB and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration can you give an indication that they are UK, EU or US sources otherwise the statistics you quote can be quite misleading.
No mention of narrow country lanes/roads or the danger to wildlife/animals/birds/dogs/cats &/or walkers/horseriders/cyclists? Tyre noise doesn’t give sufficient warning….even at speed.
If you listen to fast approaching cars, you’ll notice that all you hear is tyre noise. It is sufficient.
Even better – if you get a chance, listen to a regular petrol or diesel pass at speed and then listen to an EV at speed. I have. They sound the same.
I drive a hybrid car which is very quiet at low speeds, what I would like to seen on every hybrid is a “quiet horn”, a second horn that omits a beep beep for pedestrians that I can see have not heard my car. At the moment I have to use the regular horn which sounds more like ‘GET OUT OF MY WAY’ rather than a polite ‘hello I’m here’ sound. Also the adding of noise to the car is a good, but as I spend most of my time commuting and driving at less then 19 MPH in the rush hour does that mean all hybrid cars would be making noises when just stuck in traffic even on a motorway?
I have front and rear parking sensor and all sorts of collision avoidance on my new (petrol) Astra, all of it goes of repeatedly in car parks as people walk into the car no matter what I’m doing or whatever warnings/noises I give.
Time pedestrians started actually looking at where their walking and paying attention to their surroundings – the incident where the man nearly hit a teenager wearing headphones looking at her handheld device is only too common. We’ll be back to a person walking in front waving a red flag soon – and people will still walk out in front!
I drive a bus for work, the reverse warning is *BEEP* *BEEP* WARNING, VEHICLE REVERSING – STAND WELL CLEAR *BEEP* * BEEP*.
I have always used my hazards when reversing – so, not only is there a very loud warning but I have 4 bright orange turn signal lights, 4 high intensity orange strobes and 4 bright white reversing lights.
And still the morons deliberately walk out behind me – to the point that I actually installed my own dashcam to show the rear. one guy even deliberately walked into the road and continued along until I almost hit him. He then had the cheek to slap the side of my bus because I was deliberately trying to run him over. I gave him one of our leaflets, wrote my name and bus reg on it and advised him to contact the police – strangely, I never heard anything back.
Yep I understand as there’s individuals don’t know common sense of regarding road usage either from walking to car users. I had a idiot started to walk behind my van as he knew that I was reversing as thanks I did not knock him down as again idiots walking across the street without look around while glued to their mobile phones!
One should always look in every direction when crossing a road or junction. Extra noise is not needed if everyone did this, including guide dogs! Are they proposing to put hooters on bikes?
No a bicycle Bell.
So a manually operated bell is sufficient to warn of your approaching silent bike? In which case a silent car just needs a horn like any other car. I may have just saved the motor industry £millions.
But as so many drivers fail to use indicators, would they use horns? Plus there is legislation about using horns at certain times of the day or night.
Here’s an idea. How about fitting one of these deelies on mobility scooters?
Also, is the figure of 19mph a fixed idea? If a driver is doing a steady 20mph past schools and other vulnerable areas then surely the whole idea fails.
What a nonsense, pedestrians have to be responsible for the their actions as do the car drivers. Modern non electric cars are also extremely quite. Has anyone asked how many people have been injured by an EV because they didn’t hear it? Would be interesting to know
Although it won’t be a problem for me in 2040 I and I’m sure a lot of other people would like to know the answer to my question, I currently tow a caravan which weighs upto 2000kg fully loaded therefore I need a car heavy enough and with a large engine to pull it. So my question is will they be developing electric cars powerful enough to tow such caravans, also what about heavy haulage, diesel powered trains and buses are all those being replaced too.
Yep, yep, yep, and yep.
On the matter of heavy haulage, it brings to mind the legendary / mythical (take your pick) Tesla Truck, for which no actual data exists relating to likely range and payload capability. In the absence of data from Tesla themselves (because it’s a halo project for them and Tesla’s main business is polishing its own halo in order to farm US government subsidies), some engineers crunched the numbers for a 500-mile range HGV and found that the powertrain would weigh something like 14 tons – that means several tons less freight capability than with a conventional vehicle, hence more lorries needed for the same amount of freight movement, meaning more road damage and more traffic congestion – at the same time as traffic volumes are already increasing. Electric HGVs won’t happen until battery technology vastly improves (don’t hold your breath), but until then every electric vehicle carries two visible penalties (range anxiety and extra mass) plus an invisible penalty (the terrible environmental cost of making the batteries).
As for electric trains, what a wonderful idea it is to electrify the main rail lines – until you hear about the amount of cable theft that goes on. Some enterprising person steals a little bit of valuable cable and then the electric trains can’t move at all on that line. The solution in such emergencies is to find a diesel locomotive somewhere to rescue stranded electric trains. Funny how nobody thought about this, but that’s the story with electric vehicles in general – great in principle, not so great in the real world..
My Renault Zoe also has an audible sound when reversersing and at low speeds. Surely it is the pedestrians responsibility too, to be aware of their surroundings? I like the fact it is quiet and think it’s great to reduce noise pollution. I am very aware people may not hear my electric car moving so try to take extra care when driving. The fact that it is basically an automatic car allows more time to be focused on the actual driving of the car making it safer I find.
We did this at JLR a few years ago when US legislation was being discussed. Used a small Tata electric car and put 2 small speakers front, one rear. Sound linked to vehicle speed and throttle, with synthetic gear change – great fun with a Jag V8 sound!
Doesn’t that new BMW have the same device fitted ? 😀
There’s an Eberspacher system on a number of cars that delivers ‘noise-cancelling’ in the exhaust system so that the size/cost of the baffle box can be reduced. It’s also used to to add an appropriate noise for vehicles that use cylinder disablement at certain parts of the drive cycle to improve economy – supposed to stop the exhaust note sounding ‘odd’. Not sure about the most recent vehicles, but Delphi in France were definitely developing the components for a synthetic noise system about 5/6 years ago – could work off the CAN network.
I ride my bike a lot these days, hearing a vehicle come up behind is my life safer, i’m aware of it, so any dangers I can move away from it, in any such emergencies…. Now when an electric car comes behind me I’m unaware of it and get shocked as it blasts by me very quietly.
I for one are glad these silent killers are to have a noise.
But will the noise be like a duck! Can just imagine that noise as it would drive everyone quackers.
You should try looking behind you more often, as drivers do, consider getting a mirror on your bike.
What a pointless exercise, people not paying attention to their surrounding, wearing headphones and deaf people are not going to hear the noise maker anyway. Blind people have guide dogs that will see the car and parents should keep children under control near cars. No one is going to benefit from this except the noise maker manufacturers. It’s up to drivers and people to be aware of their surroundings and behave accordingly. No-one is going to get killed or seriously injured at less than 19 mph what about when you’re silently doing 30 mph is that not more dangerous ?
My thoughts exactly.
You can hear tyre noise reasonably at 30 mph.
Not everyone who is sight impaired has a guide dog. I suspect that guide dog users are in the minority as not everyone is able to use one for a variety of reasons.
‘This includes the elderly, the blind, children, the deaf, headphone wearers, and those who are preoccupied or unwary and unable to take in what is happening around them.’
‘Those who are preoccupied and unable to take in what is happening around them’ will, therefore, not be aware of the sound generated anyway.
I guess “Quiet injurers” doesn’t have the same ring to it, right? It would surely be more apt though.
When I first learned of this proposal a couple of years ago, I thought it was ridiculous. I agree with many of the comments that under 20 mph isn’t much of a risk to life (if you are hit).
But I changed my mind when I stupidly was walking through a car park looking at my phone, relying on my hearing to make me aware of the noisy diesel cars around me – and almost walked in front of a Tesla.
I didn’t hear it, and it was my own stupid fault. But maybe a little noise at low speeds would be handy.
On the other hand – as someone that lives on a crossroads – I was looking forward to silent junctions. I don’t mind the whine sound of a Nissan LEAF, but we don’t know how loud or stupid some of these noise makers will make vehicles.
At last an honest acceptance “it was my own fault” for not paying attention. That said on a junction near me drivers approaching the “Give Way” on a mini roundabout do not even slow down!
We do not need noise, but the use of our brains and consideration for other road users. I am beginning to think that perhaps driverless cars are the answer – god forbid!
I’ve been saying this for ages that the electric cars in particular need to make a noise. However, I have read a previous article on this point and there was a suggestion of the cars making white noise which sounds like falling water. This is ridiculous as vulnerable pedestrians are going to be even more confused by this. Make it sound like a car engine!
I really hope they DON’T make it sounds like a car engine. That’s the sound we want rid of! There are better alternatives to engine sounds and white noise.
(Selfishly speaking as someone who lives on a junction).
Cycles should also be fitted with similar technology! Cycles approach quietly and quickly, their riders only rarely sounding a warning!
And they should pay insurance, and road tax, and once in a while try to follow the highway code…..
It’s not only Electric / Hybrid cars which are silent, small engined petrol cars are just as quiet.
My BMW i3 has e-sound but still people walk into its path especially in car parks, above 5 mph the tyre noise is more noticeable than most ice cars (I have the 20″ non eco tyres). I didn’t like the sound so opted out when I bought an i8 but with that car a flick of the gear lever to start the engine alerts wayward pedestrians.
So when will bicycles be made to emit sounds? And how many of those hit by quiet vehicles have earphones on with music playing in their ears? Do we need a law that you shouldn’t walk around in public with anything in your ears unless you are deaf and it is a hearing aid?
Stop-Look-Listen, how much simpler could it be? If somebody gets run over by a quiet car then that’s their own fault for being an idiot. I would imagine the squashed person would learn that lesson very quickly, assuming they survived the result of their own negligence, and could then pay for the damage that they caused to the vehicle they bounced off.
There is a special sort of p***k that drives these electric cars that gets off on buzzing pedestrians. The creep up beside you and love to watch you jump when you realise how close they’ve got without you being aware. Bald men late 50s are the worst and they tend to do it in supermarket car parks. I now walk with my keys in my hand so if they buzz me I can pretend to get a fright and steady myself on their car using my keys to mess up their paintwork. Pieces of s**t, Southpark does an excellent episode about how sanctimonious electric car drivers are and how much they love the smell of their own farts.
First, it is the responsibility of the pedestrian to visually check the road is clear, anyone remember the Green Cross code? Second, how the hell is a noise going to help deaf people? Third, what about bicycles, will they all need noise makers?
I’m not surprised the US is doing this, after all, they have to have warnings on cups that spilling hot liquids in their laps will hurt. Nanny state in overdrive
As the majority of accidents are likely to happen in pedestrian areas e.g. the high street environment, it might be an idea to inhibit the ‘noise’ over a certain speed so that it does not drive the car occupants mad when the ‘noise’ is not necessary. Away from pedestrian areas, people will be LOOKING for traffic in any case before crossing the road, quite apart from the fact that there is quite a lot of tyre noise from vehicles, plus the use of the horn if necessary. To have such a ‘noise’ constantly emanating from cars on the open road will not help general attempts to limit unnecessary and extraneous noise in this age of noise of all kinds.
My choice of ‘sound emission’ would be that of a pedestrian bouncing off a car bonnet. ‘Vroom, BANG, Arrrrrgh’ – that would get the required attention and more
I’d have Ozzy Osbourne shouting at them.
As long as it simulates the noise of a regular combustion engine. Any other noise is unlikely to alert pedestrians or cyclists!
I suggest an emitter that makes a sound no lower than 120Db, way above the pain threshold so that everyone knows that a “silent” car is coming. I would also suggest that all cyclists also be forced to have a similar system fitted to their bikes, as these are also silent killers.
The fact is that many people are so busy on their smartphones or listening to music they will probably not even hear the alarm from a Hybrid/Electric vehicle. I have driven a Hybrid vehicle for over 10 yrs and the only incident I have had is someone walking in front of my at a petrol station and he was busy on his mobile phone which is probably more of a danger to the public than my Hybrid. The people that should have noise on their electric vehicles are those using mobility scooters on pavements and in shopping centres, these vehicle are really dangerous and many of the users are oblivious to the rest of the world around them.
Isn’t it ironic that after years and years of the Bureaucrats insisting on making vehicles more and more quiet that now that they’re absolutely silent they have to add a sound? Why not insist in having a person waving a red flag in front of every car? The way they’re reducing speed limits down to walking pace, we’ll soon be there anyway.
The weird thing is, after the 3* odd years I’ve been on this planet, I’ve managed to grasp the nack of looking left and right before crossing the road.. maybe I’m special.
Same as a tram. A bell. Known to be very effective.
My 2018 Nissan Leaf just stops if a cyclist or pedestrian walks out in front of it! One of the safest cars in the world!
Same with the Prius 2016 onwards and I suspect most electric cars now have AEB, automatic emergency braking.
My partner is partially sighted and highly depends on the sound of a car’s engine to determine what speed it is going.
This is even more important when he is approaching a side road when he is crossing. He listens to the sound of the engine to see if it is slowing down to make a turn.
I think that using other noises could easily be drowned out by general noise.
He can see but his vision is very poor with more and more electric cars being on the road they could be a potentially silent killer for him and many people like him.
I cannot speak for everyone that is partially sighted or blind but I know what he listens for.
What is his experience of the sounds of electric cars? They are not silent, and in addition the tyre noise is easily heard except at very low speed.
Same as a tram. A bell. Known to be effective.
One of the big problems in this discussion is the people don’t seem to realise that there are various levels of deafness and hearing imparment. I wear two hearing aids, as I’m hearing impaired. I can actually work without them but it is extremely exhausting to do so. Profoundly and severly deaf people ridicule those like me if we call ourselves partially deaf – they insist we are partially hearing!
There are lots of us around and work will have to be done to ensure that the frequencies used as warning frequencies actually are in a range which all of us are likely to hear – in otherv words there’ll have to be several frequencies used in the warning sound.
However the numbers like me will probably pale into insignificance against those wandering down the road with music blaring in their ears from headphones. There’ll have to be a technical solution for this, where their hardware – be it iPhone or other smart phone or whatever is designed to warn of (any) cars approaching them, as I’ve seen (and heard from outside) how loud these systems are set at. Vehicle manufacturers and smart phone manufacturers will have to get their fingers out for this one. Never mind electric vehicles, I don’t think some of them would hear a bomb going off next to them.
At the University where I work, we have electric vehicles used in the pedestrian ways. It tends to be students talking who don’t hear them coming – I normally hear them because they make a sound in my best frequency range. Of course these vehicles only drive at very slow speeds – unlike the mad cyclists who cross the campus at very high speeds and make even less noise (most cyclists are fine but we have young teenagers in particular who seem to regard pedestrians as having no right to be where they want to ride! They of course never have audible warning devices – nor lights on dark nights).
Yes we do need ‘Silent Cars’ to be issuing a sound to warn people of their presence, particularly at low speed, and there are not pedestrian crossings available in lots of places. The visually impaired rely on their ears to know when a road is safe to cross, and there are far more visually impaired people relying on a white cane to find their way around than those with a Guide Dog. Just try walking around, with your eyes shut, in a town centre that has been converted to ‘Shared Space’. It is hard enough for the visually impaired, in that situation, when they can hear the cars, what chance do they stand if the vehicles are silent?
As far as bicycles are concerned it is a legal requirement that they are fitted with ‘an audible sounding device’, ie a bell or a horn. It is also illegal for bicycles to be ridden on the footpath, except when designated as a shared cycleway/footpath, but then 95% of riders have obviously never read The Highway Code!
Retro fitting existing cars? I wonder who will pay..and the cost. Electric cars..waiting for wars over Cobalt and Lithium – shortages of the former and with escalating costs for both may introduce some interesting territorial land grabs / disputes / wars. Don’t you love Politicians jumping on the ECO bandwagon.
I have raised this issue many times with vehicle manufacturers but had no response, so it’s good to see that the issue is finally being taken seriously. Wouldn’t it be a nice option to select from a range of sounds? Such as a Ferrari engine etc but within sensible decibel levels.
Never heard such rubbish as making cars noisier. Cyclist and pedestrians should be more self aware ,it’s their life, protect it, a couple light toots of the horn, not a long blast should warn most people, just stepping off the kerb does not give you a divine right even on crossings, vehicles cannot stop dead, but you could be. I agree use wing mirrors on cycles, when walking or running DO NOT USE use earphones. All drivers, including mobility scooters should respect all other forms of travelling, as they can maim or kill the most vulnerable in society, namely children blind/& deaf and cyclist. I cannot defend the new generation of cyclist, and mobility scooter drivers, who think the highway code does not apply to them. Total disregard of the highway code will lead to disaster one day, as their luck will run out, and it may be an innocent HGV. An old cliche,” treat all other road users as idiots”, still holds good. and drive according to the conditions, that is road , weather and traffic, like not driving at 50 or 60 mph just because that is the legal max. speed on that stretch of road. I took my driving test in a 3 speed crash g/box car and developed my driving skills over 60 years, including driving on the continent at up to 130mph, towing caravans for 40 years, and hgv’s. It’s not speed that kills it’s the idiot behind the wheel!! A vehicle is a lethal weapon in the wrong hands and the law should come down a lot heavier on those that abuse it. My pet hates are Tailgaters and overtaking lane road hogs. HGV’s should not be allowed to use 3rd lanes on 4 lane m/ways and there should be stretchers of 2 lane m/ways where hgv’s are restricted from over taking as on German autobahns. Mobility scooters, cyclists and horse riders should also be liable for insurance, they now use footpaths etc which were intended for use by pedestrians only. All roads near schools should have 20/30 mph restrictions at the appropriate times and NO PARKING zones for min 100yds on both sides of the road. Sensors are important, but non more than common sense!!!
What an excellent piece of commentary. Every sentence deserves its own thumbs-up, if only because it says everything I was going to say. Just one facetious remark I could make – if you banned parking 100yds either side of a school, what would all the Mummies do when dropping off all their precious darlings in the mornings and picking them up again in the afternoons? Perish the thought of the children having to walk a whole 100 yards, twice a day! Today’s children often don’t have the road sense of previous generations, largely because they don’t have to experience walking / cycling to school.
Yes, why do many cyclists believe that the normal rules of the road don’t apply to them? I’ve seen quite a few ride straight through red lights.
How did we all survive the silent, deadly electric milk floats that used to prowl our streets seeking out unwary victims?
in case it’s not obvious
Rob
I have had an ALL ELECTRIC car for some time now and fitted it with a wireless front do bell to warn pedestrians, especially in car parks. This is less aggressive than the car horn and often raises a smile.
Our Zoes have both had sounds under 20mph but only for forward travel. To us it is reversing which is even more dangerous and no noise is emitted in this direction.