Are Electric Cars dangerous because they make no noise?

All electric car owners, when interviewed, have commented on the absence of engine noise while driving. This is one of the major advantages of electric cars. The absence of noise while driving reduces the stress level significantly for many drivers, making their driving experience more enjoyable.

Perhaps this more relaxed outlook leads drivers of electric care to yield more to other drivers, offering more road space while driving and showing more care in areas known to have more pedestrians and cyclists. Another component of the extra care taken while driving may also very well be that the drivers are concerned about whether others are hearing their approach. While electric car owners have pointed to the obvious lack of noise from their cars while traveling at low speeds, there is a noticeable enough noise that can be heard outside of the electric car. There is a fan that keeps running when the motor is on, and the noise is loud and clear enough for pedestrians. When the car is traveling at speeds above l0 mph, the electric car can be heard clearly through the road noise as well as through the noise of the wind.

 In louder urban areas, however, particularly areas with buildings, the electric car travels too silently to be heard. This can be a concern for the safety of those who depend on aural clues that warn them of an approaching vehicle. Moreover, the electric car is not the only vehicle propelling along the road silently. Bicycles can be considered silent vehicles and they are still subject to accidents involving pedestrians and other vehicles. Cars with combustion engines that move at a very slow pace are also virtually silent and do not attract a pedestrian’s attention.

 Absent the sound of the typical car engine, you will realize that it is the road and wind noises that are louder than you would expect. Modern cars today are insulated to the point of muffling these noises almost entirely from reaching the inside of the car, but a pedestrian on the roadside will notice more of the wind and road noises as cars pass by rather than the actual noise from the car engine.

If you aren’t convinced, try standing by the roadside where there is a great deal of high-speed traffic passing by. What types of traffic sounds can you hear? The “whooshing” sound you hear is the splitting and reforming of air around the car as it passes through. The low pitch rumble that sounds like the dragging of feet on the ground is the friction of the rubber car tires against the surface of the road. Even with a normal care, you would probably not hear the car’s engine until it was right beside you and in low gear with heavy accelerating.

It is a myth to claim that electric cars are the road’s “silent killers.” And it is this rather misplaced perception that is the true problem, since it is hindering the growth of a beneficial technological advancement. There