US Lawmakers To Force Quiet EVs To Make Noises

One of the joys of driving an electric car is the silence around town, but the American authorities have decided you’re not allowed to have that any more.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has ruled that from 2019 all new electric and hybrid vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of less than 10,000lb must make noises below 19mph.

It says it’s concerned for blind people crossing the road, estimating that 2400 pedestrian injuries will be prevented every year. Hmmm.

But that does mean that streets could become a confusion of different kinds of noises at different volumes, different pitches and at all sorts of frequencies. Paracetamol sales could skyrocket.

So, now manufacturers will need to decide how to make their EVs audible without turning them into the single most annoying thing in the world. We wish them good luck with that.

Source: Jalopnik