Quiet cars causing concerns for pedestrians

Data from the UK reveals that quiet electric vehicles or hybrids operating in electric mode pose particular problems for pedestrians. A report has found that such vehicles are 40% more likely to be involved in a traffic incident involving a pedestrian than a conventional combustion-engined vehicle. The report adds that partially sighted or blind people face the highest risks, while children and older people are also at risk. This follows earlier research from Japan, highlighting the risks to pedestrians pos
March 30, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
RSSData from the UK reveals that quiet electric vehicles or hybrids operating in electric mode pose particular problems for pedestrians. A report has found that such vehicles are 40% more likely to be involved in a traffic incident involving a pedestrian than a conventional combustion-engined vehicle. The report adds that partially sighted or blind people face the highest risks, while children and older people are also at risk. This follows earlier research from Japan, highlighting the risks to pedestrians posed by electric and hybrid vehicles.

The automotive industry is already aware of the problem and a number of manufacturers are working on noise generation technology that could be fitted to the vehicles, in a bid to reduce the risk. The EU will require noise generation systems to be fitted to all electric vehicles or hybrids by 2021

EU rules say such generators must be fitted to quiet cars by 2021. However, blind and partially sighted people as well as the young or older people will still be at risk until the new rules come into force. Some groups concerned over the issue are calling for the requirement for sound generation technology to be brought forward and for the systems to be automatically switched on every time a vehicle is in motion.

Related Content

  • Lithium ion battery prices will fall by over one third by 2017, helping drive EV adoption
    March 19, 2012
    According to a recent report from Pike Research, as manufacturing efficiencies improve and access to lithium expands, the installed cost of Li-ion batteries will fall by more than one-third by the end of 2017.
    Read More
  • The new agile world of the construction equipment industry
    June 22, 2015
    while worldwide for 2015 a crystalball would be helpful, in Europe the sector has already listed specific priorities it wants to tackle, and among these are the upcoming emissions regulations (see separate story), external trade and access to foreign markets, and market surveillance.
    Read More
  • Philips CityTouch brings street lighting into focus
    December 20, 2016
    As far as 99% of any city’s population is concerned, street lights are just, well, there. But big changes are taking place, as explained by lighting systems provider Philips Lighting. Street lighting has been with us for more than a century. With the exception of the early 20th century switchover from gas to electricity and the recent most important invention of LEDs, there have been few obvious changes.
    Read More
  • Purple haze – the exhaust debate
    May 25, 2016
    Following in the wake of the VW diesel engine emissions scandal, serious questions are finally being asked with regard to exhaust pollution. Car manufacturers have published data on the emissions from their vehicles for many years, but there has been a widespread scepticism as to how these figures have been achieved. The issue of claimed road vehicle exhaust emissions is a case of smoke and mirrors.
    Read More

Highlighted Content