Silencing Electric Cars

by
Patrick Whelan

Electric cars are not only environmentally friendly, but they are also incredibly quiet which can be also be problematic. The Economist published an article entitled the Sound of Silence which issues a report claiming that electric cars can cause accidents due to their silent motors. Pedestrians have trouble hearing electric cars coming, despite the fact that there are few electric cars on the road. Drivers of electric cars say that people are more likely to jump out in front of them. Some believe that the solution is to install external sound systems in electric and hybrid cars.

There is a bill in the United States Congress which would require a minimum level of sound for that do not contain an internal combustion engine so that blind people and pedestrians. Although there is not much data on accidents, an electric motor is hard to hear below 20 miles per hour. Dr. Rosenblum of the University of California, Riverside believes people want cars to sound like cars no matter how it runs. The sound he claims does not have to be loud, just slightly more enhanced so people can hear it. The development is already occurring. An engineering company called Lotus singed a deal with Harman Becker, a maker of audio systems to produce an item that will make electric and hybrid vehicles slightly louder.

In the future, electric car owners will even have the option to select different engine sounds much like the way people select ring tones for their cell phones. However, the noise that does not exists from electric cars is an added bonus due to the reduction of noise pollution. The noise from the internal combustion engine radiates in many directions which bothers many people. Still, the safety of pedestrians needs to be taken into serious consideration. A small sound generator is possible for the future of the electric car for the safety of people without disturbing the progress of the non polluting vehicle.