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U.S. Finalizes Noisemaker Rules for EVs
Rules to require electric-powered cars to emit noise at low speeds were finalized on Monday by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, eight years after Congress requested them.
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Rules to require electric-powered cars to emit noise at low speeds were finalized on Monday by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, eight years after Congress requested them.
Congress originally ordered that the new rules be finalized by 2014. The measures approved yesterday will apply to all new cars by 2020 that are capable of operating in electric-only mode. Manufacturers must equip 50% of such cars with the system by 2019.
The noisemaker regulations are intended to alert pedestrians to the approach of slow-moving EVs, which emit very little sound. The rules would require such vehicles to emit a warning sound at speeds below about 19 mph (30 kph).
Safety experts say no special sound is necessary at higher speeds, where tire and wind noise rise.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the regulation will apply to about 530,000 vehicles sold in 2020 and will prevent 2,400 injuries annually. NHTSA says equipping cars with the waterproof speakers needed to emit the warning sound will cost carmakers $40 million per year.
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