Skip to main content

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

  • New website highlights EU ITS standards
    August 30, 2022
    The European Commission has provided a valuable resource tool for ITS implementers. Bob Williams, who led the project, walks us through the EU-ICIP Guide to ITS Standards…
  • Technology and finance shapes up to make MaaS happen
    June 7, 2017
    The technology and finance aspects needed for Mobility as a Service (MaaS) to become widely adopted are taking shape as Geoff Hadwick and Colin Sowman hear. Sampo Hietanen, CEO of MaaS Global and ‘father’ of MaaS, started his address to ITS International’s recent MaaS Market conference in London by saying: “All of the problems that can be solved by a company or group of companies have already been solved, and now we are left with the big ones such as housing, transport and health. He called MaaS the “Netfli
  • Building the case for photo enforcement
    October 26, 2016
    As red light enforcement is returning to some intersections and being shut down at others, new evidence has been released backing the safety campaigners, reports Jon Masters. In 2014, 709 Americans were killed in red-light-running crashes and an estimated 126,000 were injured according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
  • Island Radar: safely crossing continents
    August 6, 2020
    There is a safety flashpoint wherever roads cross over railways. Island Radar is using well-established traffic technology to keep all parties safe from harm.