Fake engine sound makes EVs safer, fun to drive

Forthcoming legislation in the USA, EU and Japan will require that all electric vehicles emit an alert sound at lower speeds in an effort to prevent the increasing number of accidents where pedestrians are hit by silent electric vehicles.
September 10, 2013 Read time: 1 min
Forthcoming legislation in the USA, EU and Japan will require that all electric vehicles emit an alert sound at lower speeds in an effort to prevent the increasing number of accidents where pedestrians are hit by silent electric vehicles.

Swedish company 7478 SoundRacer has developed EValert, an electronic engine sound product, to give a realistic sound indicating if the vehicle is idling, accelerating, decelerating or cruising. The different sound characters and sound volume are determined from information about the actual speed of the vehicle.

Says Kenneth Palmestål of SoundRacer: "SoundRacer is to our knowledge the only developer of EValert sound systems that use real engine sounds. After studying several reports we are convinced that real engine sounds will be less disturbing and have better alerting effect than other sounds.”

The company has developed two versions of the device; the acoustic vehicle alerting system (AVAS) which enables electric vehicles to meet the coming legislation; and  one which provides real engine sounds  and even lets the driver change from the sound of a Ferrari V12 to a Mustang V8 with the press of a button.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Modelling MaaS and making it happen
    June 15, 2017
    Colin Sowman looks at some of the emerging technology being introduced to evaluate and operate Mobility as a Service. The fast-growing interest in Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) has prompted the creation of a host of software systems for those wanting to become a MaaS provider or participate in MaaS offerings. Most recently, at ITS International’s MaaS Market conference, Portuguese company Brisa Innovation announced a name change to A-to-Be to reflect its increasing involvement in the MaaS sector with the lau
    Read More
  • New traffic light controller is ‘game changer’ says Siemens
    June 6, 2014
    Siemens’ introduced its new Sitraffic sX controller as a ‘game changer’, Colin Sowman finds out why.
    Read More
  • Section speed enforcements gains global converts
    October 26, 2017
    As the benefits of section speed enforcement are becoming clearer, the technology is gaining converts worldwide. Colin Sowman reports. America’s National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is calling for urgent action from both road authorities and the federal government to combat speeding which has been identified as one of the most common factors in motor vehicle crashes in the United States. This new call follows the publication of a safety study which found that between 2005 through 2014, 31% of all
    Read More
  • Norwegian study finds electric cars 'pose environmental threat'
    October 5, 2012
    According to a study by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, electric cars might pollute much more than petrol or diesel-powered cars. Researchers found greenhouse gas emissions rose dramatically if coal was used to produce the electricity. Electric car factories also emitted more toxic waste than conventional car factories, claims their report in the Journal of Industrial Energy. However, in some cases electric cars still made sense, the researchers said.
    Read More

Highlighted Content