‘The Jetsons’ are coming to an electric vehicle near you

There are three main types of EVs:

• A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) uses a combination of electric motors and a standard internal combustion engine.
• A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is a variant of the HEV. It still has a standard internal combustion engine and electric motors, but the internal battery can be recharged by plugging it into an external source of electric power.
• A battery electric vehicle is a motorised vehicle that solely uses electric motors for propulsion.

It’s well-known that EVs produce very little engine noise compared to traditional internal combustion engines, thereby posing a risk for the blind, small children, the elderly, runners, cyclists or any pedestrians who need to hear that a vehicle is approaching. One study shows that these quieter EVs are 40% more likely to collide with pedestrians than cars with a regular combustion engine. Another study indicated that a pedestrian may not adequately hear EVs traveling at slow speeds until they are just 1-2 seconds away from impact – often too late to avoid harm.

Several factors contribute to the reason why EVs are quieter: They make no noise when starting up, and they make no appreciable noise taking off from a stop sign or stoplight or when driving in reverse.

To read the full paper, click here.