Canvey Carriage Company were pleased to read about new legislation
this week that will make it mandatory for electric cars to make artificial
engine noises. This is to aid blind and partially sighted people, to ensure
they hear the cars coming, and was voted on in the European Parliament. They
also decided that conventional petrol and diesel engines should make 25% less
noise than they do currently.
Mandatory “acoustic vehicle
alerting systems” (AVAS) will be install in all new electric and hybrid cars to
protect vulnerable pedestrians and road users. Groups including Guide Dogs for
the Blind have been lobbying for this system for a number of years, since
electric and hybrid cars were introduced. All-electric cars, such as the Toyota
Prius, currently emit very little sound when they’re in electric-only mode.
Liberal Democrat MEPs have
successfully campaigned for the introduction of the AVAS to be a mandatory requirement;
previous campaigns suggested a voluntary installation policy. Car manufacturers
in the EU will now have five years to implement this change and comply with the
ruling. The hope is that road accidents will be reduced, lowering injury and
death rates.
It is generally agreed that
quiet electric cars will become a common sight on our roads within the next few
year, so it’s important to protect the interests of blind pedestrians, children
and the elderly, who may be more vulnerable at the roadside. The AVAS will
sound very similar to cars with regular combustible engines, which will allow
all pedestrians to hear it and judge how safe it is to cross the road.
Conventional passenger cars
will also be subject to change in the coming years since the European
Parliament ruled to lower conventional passenger car noise by four decibels for
cars, vans, buses and coaches, and three decibels for trucks. It is hoped that
this will reduce noise nuisances caused by vehicles by around 25%.
