Electric cars will now make artificial, fake noise for safety purposes

Electric vehicles are a lot quieter than the normal ones, which might cause problems for pedestrians. Hence, according to a new EU rule, all new models of electric cars in Europe now will feature artificial, fake noise to alert people.

All new models of hybrid and electric cars sold in the European Union will now make artificial noise under some specific conditions, in order to cut down the risk for pedestrians, disabled people and cyclists, reported BBC News.

The new models of those cars introduced from yesterday onwards and all existing models will be installed with noise-emitting Acoustic Vehicle Alert Systems (AVAS) by July 2021. With this system, all the vehicles will make a sound while travelling under 12mph and also while reversing.

New regulations will require all new electric vehicles to feature a warning noise to alert pedestrians and cyclists.

🎧listen to the warning noise below⬇️ pic.twitter.com/EO6JPK0QUg

— BBC Radio 5 Live (@bbc5live) June 30, 2019

Moreover, various electric vehicle manufacturers will be able to decide themselves what their AVAS would sound like, but as per EU’s legislation, the sound should be similar to and not louder than a usual combustion engine.

Also, the sound should be such that it gives pedestrians and cyclists an idea of what the vehicle is doing, for instance, synchronizing with a vehicle’s speed.

As explained by The Verge, since electric vehicles lack internal combustion engine, they are quieter than the gas-powered ones. This lack of noise can act as a potential danger to others on roads, especially people who are visually disabled.