Posted by thunderbong 6 days ago
This is not to say I’m against electric and hybrid cars, I’m all for them. But the fake noises they added are not a benefit.
Motorbikes, trucks and cars make up the majority of noise where I live.
The teslas/BYDs pass without you noticing them.
One bike with a straight pipe though, more noise than the suburb's worth of traffic localised to wherever they inflict themselves.
You’re objectively wrong about the nose but it could be that the sound is particularly annoying to you for some reason, or that your brain has not yet been conditioned to automatically tune it out like it has with ICE engines.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90774779/heres-what-science-says... (2022)
> On average, cars moving at around 30 mph on local roads will produce sound levels ranging from 33 to 69 decibels.
> To ensure that pedestrians will hear electric and hybrid vehicles coming, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires these vehicles to emit sounds ranging from 43 to 64 decibels when they are moving at less than 18.6 mph.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S24685... (2025)
> Electric vehicles (EVs) are effective in reducing noise levels, primarily at low speeds and frequencies.
> at speeds over 50 km/h, EVs do not contribute significantly to noise reduction
https://carconfections.com/all-car-confections-sound-level-r... (2026, comparing 527 models at 55mph)
https://backend.orbit.dtu.dk/ws/portalfiles/portal/399523477... (2025)
> Acoustic Vehicle Alerting Systems (AVAS)
> Results align with previous findings that EVs and ICEs exhibit similar noise levels at low speeds, particularly post-AVAS implementation. Earlier studies reported larger differences (3–4 dB lower for EVs than ICEs at 10–20 km/h), likely due to the absence of AVAS
> Additionally, a deeper investigation of how AVAS contributes to annoyance could inform improved design standards for EV noise emission, encouraging a balance between functional safety and acoustic quality in urban environments.