European policy says Electric cars manufacturers will include fake engine noise
Sound Features of Electric cars
The noiseless features of electric cars are good for curbing noise pollution coming from internal combustion engines.
The noiseless creates a quiet environment even with thousands of cars on the road.
Electric cars and modern hybrid cars have exhibited lots of low emission of sounds while at low and high speeds.
Why do we need the fake engine sound
However, these special features of modern cars appear to impose danger for pedestrians on the street.
According to the press release by the European Commission, a measure was passed by the European Parliament that modern silent vehicles should be able to produce fake engine sounds when reversing, driving at low speeds on streets, and whenever pedestrians can be found.
The major reason behind the policy is to curb with struggle pedestrians with some disabilities may be facing while on the road that such cars will be running.
Those with the problem of vision or partial blindness, total blindness, short-sighted or long-sighted vision problems, and other associated health problems.
“Vehicles will have to produce a sound when reversing, driving below miles per hour, according to the UK government” the report noted.
What should produce the fake sound for the E-cars?
The sound to be produced by the acoustic vehicle alert system AVAS will be similar to that of a standard internal combustion engine, and drivers will be able to temporarily disable it if they want.
The effect from July 2019, the regulation will be to permit all new electric cars and hybrid vehicles registered in the bloc.
In a statement, an advocate of the policy noted that the government wants the advantages of the clean and green transport system to be felt by everyone, and to understand the concerns of the visually impaired about the possible hazards posed by quiet electric vehicles.
According to Michael Ellis, the UK’s roads minister further statement, this requirement will give pedestrians added confidence when crossing the road.
The policy is a welcome development
In another development, the UK’s Royal National Institute of Blind People has praised the development. The body went ahead to share its satisfaction on its Twitter page and noted that after years of campaigning on the issue, they welcome the new regulations.
Another body known as the Charity Guide Dogs welcomed the news as a positive step in reducing the risk posed to vulnerable road users by electric and hybrid vehicles, and plead with the UK government to take more actions in that regard.
“We are calling on the government to take this announcement further by requiring AVAS on all existing electric and hybrid vehicles and to ensure drivers have them switched on”, John Welsman, a Guide Dogs owner and Guide Dogs staff member, noted.
Progress made so far by the E-cars auto-manufacturers
Modern cars manufacturers like Toyota, TM, Jaguar, etc. have already made AVAS systems available for their electric cars.
BMW has also enlisted film score composer Hans Zimmer to make driving sounds for the E-BMW vision M-Next Concept electric car coming soon.
The sounds recorded with Renzo Vitale, an acoustic engineer and sound designer at the BMW Group may be used in the German automaker’s next generation of electric vehicles.
The available AVAS systems have been uploaded to the BMW website. “You can listen to the spaceship-like sound effects on the BMW website” the report noted.
E-cars dominance progress so far
Meanwhile, as part of the effort to get the vehicles that emit carbon out of the roads and reduce the overall air and environmental pollution caused by such vehicles.
Britain and France governments will ban sales of new gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles in the near future. The Indian government is not left out as the efforts to boost electric cars production and their affordability are getting more serious.
The Norway government is aiming to have all the new passengers’ cars on the street running with zero emission of gas.
The world’s largest car market key player which is China is currently working on plans to eradicate the production and sales of vehicles powered by fossil fuels.
Therefore, it is becoming obvious that over 90 percent of vehicles on the roads could be electric cars in a few years from now.
Hence, the UK’s policy to curtain its usability is a welcomed development.
