Have you noticed when technology takes a particular leap forward, we mere mortals need some form of transitional guidance to acclimatise ourselves to the changes? There are one or two examples I can think of, such as the need to add a rather smelly substance to odourless natural gas so we remain able to detect domestic gas leaks. And do you remember those loud ‘click’ sounds generated by early word processor keyboards to provide an audible clue that a key had been struck, just like an electromechanical typewriter?
While the keyboard example is trivial enough, the mercaptan dosing associated with the introduction of North Sea gas to the UK domestic gas supply network has unequivocally serious safety implications. And now that we begin to embrace the electric hybrid vehicle more fervently, there is the ‘problem’ that it emits very little noise and therefore poses a potential safety threat to children relying on hearing alone, or pedestrians with impaired vision when they attempt to cross a road.
These concerns are not exactly new, but with the number of electric cars and hybrids on the increase, there is growing pressure on manufacturers to add some form of artificial engine sound to warn of a car’s approach. Lotus Engineering, for one, has attempted to address the quiet hybrid issue by introducing its ‘Safe and Sound’ technology, which mimics the sound of an internal combustion engine and operates when the vehicle is in electric-only mode.
While the legislature becomes increasingly exercised by these issues the industry, itself, remains cautious. There are numerous debates about the character of the sound, its directional qualities and the like, and not unreasonable concerns that adding artificial noise negates all the positive environmental benefits that naturally quiet vehicles can bring to towns and cities.
Clearly, a little democracy in the way these decisions are taken wouldn’t go amiss, and who else to test the waters but TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk, which recently polled its website visitors to see if opinion had changed on the issue of adding artificial noise to these super-quiet vehicles.
Well, according to the result, it would seem that opinion is mounting against the idea, as the majority of people remain steadfast in their belief that artificial engine noise should not be a compulsory feature of electric and hybrid cars, with 63% of the 500-plus respondents voting against it.
Back in 2008, when the website polled visitors on the same issue, the results saw 55% vote against artificial noise, and 16% voting to leave it to the manufacturer’s discretion. However, with the EU, the US and Japan among those countries considering legislating for a minimum vehicle noise level, TheGreenCarWebsite people believe that time has already been called on the carmakers.
While concern about quiet vehicles has been centred on vulnerable road users such as the visually impaired and young children, it is also TheGreenCarWebsite’s belief that even those who would not normally be considered at-risk could well be taken by surprise at the quietness of these types of vehicles. Research by the University of California, Riverside reported that hybrid vehicles are as much as 40% closer to a pedestrian (compared with combustion engine-only vehicles) before their approach is audibly detected.
Given these poll results, it would seem that public opinion is still lured by the thought of blissfully quiet streets. But don’t hold out much hope for this ideal scenario, warns TheGreenCarWebsite editor, Faye Sunderland. "The EU is already moving to act on this issue. It might sound nice to think that instead of listening to the roar of traffic on a busy street, we will be able to hear the birds sing but the truth is it won’t be like that," she says.
"Electric and hybrid cars don’t have to make the same noise as conventional cars, however. They present us with a chance to change that irritating roar into something more pleasant. It is also a chance to reduce the risks associated with excessive traffic noise, which comes with its own health hazards."
Les Hunt
Editor