'I've driven an EV for one year and one small feature still scares me'

This time last year, I took the plunge and ditched my VW T-Cross for a full-electric Mercedes EQC, a move which has come with its fair share of ups and downs.
I've already written various pieces on the lack of charging infrastructure across the country, an issue which affects thousands of drivers who rely on public charge-points on a weekly basis. I've also spoken about the often limited range of such vehicles and the anxiety that can come with the prospect of running out of battery on a long journey.
But there's another, far less spoken about, element which still gives me anxiety as a driver. And that's how quiet nearly all electric cars appear to be. Only a few weeks ago did I drive down a private rural road, with a 15mph speed limit, and make a pedestrian walking her dog jump out of her skin, simply because she didn't hear the quiet churn of the EV.
I was crawling down the road at less than 10mph fully aware that she probably hadn't sensed the car, and despite my best efforts, I still startled her. She wasn't wearing headphones, and I was the only moving car on the road - which meant the subtle EV sound was not drowned out by anything else.
In comparison to a diesel vehicle, electric cars make a very dull whirring sound, almost like a space ship. They sound futuristic and high-tech, and from my experience so far, no two models sound the same. For example the Audi equivalent of my car is ever-so-slightly louder.
Like everyone here in Britain, I am used to the loud sound of cars whizzing past, some with obnoxiously loud exhausts, large lorries thundering down the road.
But with Keir Starmer's 2030 electric vehicle pledge, which will stop the sale of petrol and diesel cars completely in five years' time, that will change.
This is not a nostalgia plea by any stretch, but the hard-of-hearing population, or those who are blind or partially sighted, rely on prominent sound to stay safe when crossing the road. And children who are learning to cross a road, or even the dangers of a main road, will now need to be way more observant when the louder vehicles fall silent as more and more people are forced to go full electric.
My car is five years' old, it's relatively new, but I do often wonder if newer versions will be slightly louder to bridge the huge decibel gap that's currently there between electric and fuelled cars. Along with a synthetic sound, my car makes a very dull bleeping sound when in reverse, with cameras in play to ensure no one, person or vehicle, is behind me. The onus is always on the driver to make sure the area is safe, and that should never change.
But the reason the reverse sensors give out a quiet sound is because drivers will always reverse at low speed, and EVs are designed to only get substantially louder when the car is above a certain mph.
EVs don't have engines, therefore their sound is synthetic. The only noise people will hear naturally is the sound of tyres on the tarmac - after all, many EVs are heavier than their fuelled-counterparts due to the weight of the battery.
According to PodPoint, an EV charging company, their quiet sound is not a major design flaw. It's there to avoid noise pollution above all. It says: "The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared traffic noise - which includes roads, rail, and air - as the second leading cause of negative health in western Europe.
"The WHO recommends that people aren't exposed to noise exceeding 53 decibels (dB) during the day-night period caused by road traffic. Anything over 75 dB has the potential to damage our ears."
It says the legal limit for vehicles is 72 decibels, but this could be reduced to 68 by next year. For EVs the legal requirement is 56 decibels.
That doesn't stop the concern as the country makes the gradual transition to electric cars.
EVs made after July 1, 2019 had to comply with an EU law called the Regulation on the Sound Level of Motor Vehicles. This means cars must make a sound when they are driven at 12.4mph when going forwards or reversing.
This external noise is produced by an acoustic vehicle alert system (AVAS) which would warn other road users of their presence. When inside the car you can barely hear it - but that doesn't mean it's not doing its job.
Is the answer a louder noise box - or simply a more realistic sounding car that imitates an engine? I don't know, but within the next decade our roads are going to sound a whole lot quieter.
While I am here for it, all walks of life must be catered for in terms of safety - and until then, EV drivers like myself will need to be more vigilant and understanding of people who simply do not know we are there.

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'I've driven an EV for one year and one small feature still scares me'

This time last year, I took the plunge and ditched my VW T-Cross for a full-electric Mercedes EQC, a move which has come with its fair share of ups and downs. I've already written various pieces on the lack of charging infrastructure across the country, an issue which affects thousands of drivers who rely on public charge-points on a weekly basis. I've also spoken about the often limited range of such vehicles and the anxiety that can come with the prospect of running out of battery on a long journey. But there's another, far less spoken about, element which still gives me anxiety as a driver. And that's how quiet nearly all electric cars appear to be. Only a few weeks ago did I drive down a private rural road, with a 15mph speed limit, and make a pedestrian walking her dog jump out of her skin, simply because she didn't hear the quiet churn of the EV. I was crawling down the road at less than 10mph fully aware that she probably hadn't sensed the car, and despite my best efforts, I still startled her. She wasn't wearing headphones, and I was the only moving car on the road - which meant the subtle EV sound was not drowned out by anything else. In comparison to a diesel vehicle, electric cars make a very dull whirring sound, almost like a space ship. They sound futuristic and high-tech, and from my experience so far, no two models sound the same. For example the Audi equivalent of my car is ever-so-slightly louder. Like everyone here in Britain, I am used to the loud sound of cars whizzing past, some with obnoxiously loud exhausts, large lorries thundering down the road. But with Keir Starmer's 2030 electric vehicle pledge, which will stop the sale of petrol and diesel cars completely in five years' time, that will change. This is not a nostalgia plea by any stretch, but the hard-of-hearing population, or those who are blind or partially sighted, rely on prominent sound to stay safe when crossing the road. And children who are learning to cross a road, or even the dangers of a main road, will now need to be way more observant when the louder vehicles fall silent as more and more people are forced to go full electric. My car is five years' old, it's relatively new, but I do often wonder if newer versions will be slightly louder to bridge the huge decibel gap that's currently there between electric and fuelled cars. Along with a synthetic sound, my car makes a very dull bleeping sound when in reverse, with cameras in play to ensure no one, person or vehicle, is behind me. The onus is always on the driver to make sure the area is safe, and that should never change. But the reason the reverse sensors give out a quiet sound is because drivers will always reverse at low speed, and EVs are designed to only get substantially louder when the car is above a certain mph. EVs don't have engines, therefore their sound is synthetic. The only noise people will hear naturally is the sound of tyres on the tarmac - after all, many EVs are heavier than their fuelled-counterparts due to the weight of the battery. According to PodPoint, an EV charging company, their quiet sound is not a major design flaw. It's there to avoid noise pollution above all. It says: "The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared traffic noise - which includes roads, rail, and air - as the second leading cause of negative health in western Europe. "The WHO recommends that people aren't exposed to noise exceeding 53 decibels (dB) during the day-night period caused by road traffic. Anything over 75 dB has the potential to damage our ears." It says the legal limit for vehicles is 72 decibels, but this could be reduced to 68 by next year. For EVs the legal requirement is 56 decibels. That doesn't stop the concern as the country makes the gradual transition to electric cars. EVs made after July 1, 2019 had to comply with an EU law called the Regulation on the Sound Level of Motor Vehicles. This means cars must make a sound when they are driven at 12.4mph when going forwards or reversing. This external noise is produced by an acoustic vehicle alert system (AVAS) which would warn other road users of their presence. When inside the car you can barely hear it - but that doesn't mean it's not doing its job. Is the answer a louder noise box - or simply a more realistic sounding car that imitates an engine? I don't know, but within the next decade our roads are going to sound a whole lot quieter. While I am here for it, all walks of life must be catered for in terms of safety - and until then, EV drivers like myself will need to be more vigilant and understanding of people who simply do not know we are there.

The Guardian

a day ago

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Do electric vehicles make people more carsick?

With electric cars skyrocketing in popularity around the world – in 2024, 22% of new car sales worldwide were electric vehicles, compared with 18% in 2023 – a growing body of studies and an increasing number of people have found that they feel more motion sick riding in EVs than in traditional petrol or diesel cars. Anecdotes of feeling sick in the passenger or back seat of electric cars litter social media, as do questions from wary prospective buyers. There is a scientific explanation behind why a person might feel more sick in an EV, though, according to multiple academic studies. 'Greater sickness in EVs can be attributed to a lack of previous experience, as both a driver and as a passenger, where the brain lacks accuracy in estimating the motion forces because it relies on previous experience in other types of cars,' said William Emond, a PhD student researching car sickness at the Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbéliard in France. Though EVs are becoming more popular, combustion cars still dominate. Riders have a longer history with gas cars and so have had more time to adapt to their specific cues. If a person has spent most of their life driving a combustion engine car, their brain anticipates acceleration after the rev of the engine, a warning that they are about to experience a change in speed. In a battery-powered car, the electric motor makes no such noises. In addition to general unfamiliarity, research has found links between specific features common to electric vehicles and motion sickness. One 2024 study concluded that there were strong correlations between motion sickness severity and the seat vibrations of electric vehicles, while a 2020 study found that the lack of engine sound in an EV might be a major contributing factor to increased feelings of carsickness. 'If we are accustomed to traveling in non-EVs, we are used to understanding the car's motion based on signals such as engine revs, engine vibrations, torque, etc. Yet, traveling in an EV for the first time is a new motion environment for the brain, which needs adaptation,' Emond explains. Additionally, the regenerative braking technology used in EVs – where the motor converts the slowing car's kinetic energy into electricity that then is stored in the battery – results in low-frequency deceleration, meaning that the vehicle slows down gradually and steadily, over a relatively longer period, rather than rapidly or in quick pulses. Such low-frequency deceleration tends to be associated with higher levels of motion sickness. A 2024 study suggested the feature acted as one of the main triggers of motion sickness in electric vehicles. The study's authors wrote: 'Our results confirmed that higher levels of RB [regenerative braking] can induce MS [motion sickness].' Motion sickness is thought to be caused by a mismatch between various sensory signals the brain simultaneously receives about the body's movement. Specifically, it happens when the inner ear, which helps control balance, the eyes, and the body send conflicting information to the brain. 'Better knowledge on self-motion allows us to anticipate motion forces, which is crucial for motion sickness. Yet, when the motion forces as estimated or anticipated by the brain differ from what actually is experienced, then the brain interprets this 'neural mismatch' as a situation of conflict,' Emond said. 'If this conflict persists over time, it may surpass a threshold for triggering autonomic reactions of the body such as symptoms apparent to 'motion sickness'.' Being able to anticipate the movement of a vehicle appears to be integral to the experience of motion sickness, which is why people who are driving a car don't tend to experience symptoms. They know what is coming. The interplay between anticipation of motion and actual motion experienced may be why EVs are associated with worse motion sickness, as these vehicles provide fewer clues regarding upcoming movements. 'When discovering a new motion environment, the brain needs to habituate because there is no knowledge of previous experience in such a context. This is, for example, why almost everyone becomes sick in zero-gravity environments,' Emond says. As EV ownership continues to increase, some researchers are already looking into a solution for the cars' specific type of nausea. Several research papers have suggested that motion sickness in autonomous EVs could be treated by using visual signals, such as interactive screens and ambient lighting, or vibrational cues to allow a passenger's brain to anticipate motion changes, alleviating the lurching feeling in the back of an electric taxi.

Auto Blog

2 days ago

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Audi May Take Drastic Action To Dodge Tariffs

German Media Fears Massive Costs The ongoing uncertainty around how bad tariffs may get ahead of the July 9 deadline for agreement, for European automakers in particular, is no reason to stay idle. Regardless of what the final impact will be, tariffs aren't going anywhere anytime soon, and according to German magazine Der Spiegel, Audi is considering building a production facility somewhere in the southern U.S. to minimize the effects. But it's not an easy call to make. As noted by Automotive News, building a plant here would be 'the more expensive option out of a number of scenarios being considered, with company sources estimating costs of up to €4 billion (approximately $4.6 billion). So will it happen anyway? An Audi spokesperson has confirmed that the automaker intends to build its U.S. presence, but that's typical non-committal public relations speak. 0:04 / 0:09 Walmart is selling a 'heavy duty' $89 step ladder for $48, and shoppers say it's 'sturdy and secure' Watch More Audi Will Make A Decision This Year, Probably Source:'We are currently examining various scenarios for this. We are confident that we will make a decision this year in consultation with the [Volkswagen] Group on how this will look in concrete terms,' the spokesperson wrote in an email. Audi has been rumored to be examining the viability of a U.S. plant for several years, but up until now, the automaker has been performing relatively well in America, although Audi's 2024 sales showed a sharp year-on-year decline of 14%, indicating that changes must be made somewhere, regardless of current or future tariff measures. To help effect that change, Audi is working on a fresh new design language, and U.S. manufacturing (or at least assembly) may help future arrivals find broader appeal with competitive pricing. BMW has been producing cars in South Carolina since 1994, and in those 30-odd years, it's grown to become the largest automotive exporter by value in the U.S. Perhaps Audi would benefit from a similar approach. Where Audi Could Put Down Roots As part of the Volkswagen Group, Audi wouldn't necessarily have to start from scratch. The VW brand operates a plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where the ID.4 EV and the Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport SUVs are produced, and its Scout Motors brand is building one in Columbia, South Carolina. But that's it – Porsche won't be moving production to America because its sales volumes would not justify such extensive investment, and its customer base is not unused to absorbing exorbitant price increases. As we noted earlier, Audi hasn't made a decision yet because it's exploring other options. One of those reportedly is to negotiate a tariff import deal with the U.S. government, which compatriot automakers BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and VW are said to be collaboratively pursuing alongside the Ingolstadt-based manufacturer. BMW and Mercedes are the only exporters in this group, but all have made significant investments in the U.S. About the Author Sebastian Cenizo View Profile