Electric and hybrid cars will have to generate noise to make them safer for pedestrians, especially the visually impaired.
European Parliament agreed that in future the cars must be fitted with devices to make them “sound similar” to cars with combustion engines.
Under the revised rules, new models of electric and hybrid cars will have to make a noise by 2019 and all new electric and hybrid cars must be audible by 2021.
So-called ‘Acoustic Car Alerting Systems’ requirements shall ensure that only adequate sound generating devices are used which will also lead to a harmonisation of the applied technology. This will increase road safety and undoubtedly help avoiding road-accident injuries.
The European Parliament also voted to tighten noise emission standards for cars, vans, lorries and buses over the next decade.
Noise limit values will ultimately be decreased by 4 dB for passenger cars, vans, buses and coaches and for trucks by 3 dB. Altogether, these measures will reduce car noise nuisance by some 25%. Despite increasing traffic, noise emissions limits for cars have not changed since 1996.
The limits values will be decreased in 3 steps: The first step will apply two years after publication of the final approval of today’s proposal, followed by the second step in 5/7 years and the third step in 10/12 years.
