Report on

HOW LOUD IS
TOO LOUD?
What are the best noise
levels for electric vehicles
Traffic noise is a lively subject in most urban areas around the
world. Noise pollution, which has not risen to the level of
complaint that organic pollution has, is still a driving force behind
many regulations. The more densely settled the area the more
noise pollution drives people to try to reduce it.

However, as electric vehicles (EVs) become more popular, a more

noticeable danger has surfaced: vehicles so quiet in operation that
they pose a danger to pedestrians. After decades of adding noise
level restrictions to vehicle regulations, lawmakers now ask
manufacturers to add noise to the quietest vehicles on the road:
all-electric cars. However, there are legislatures that want to lower
noise levels in internal combustion vehicles (ICVs) even further.

There is an old saying about power drives: Don’t call an electric

motor an engine, and don’t call a gasoline engine a motor. The
motor is named for its stator and rotor and is electric only. For
many years electric motor designers tried to reduce the operating
noise inherent in spinning at high speed, but these efforts pale in
comparison to noise reduction attempts for internal combustion
engines (ICEs).

Individuals vs. groups

Let’s look at noise factors from a prospective vehicle owner’s view.

Most people are concerned about noise pollution but want
features in their vehicles that help them in everyday life: a vehicle
large enough and powerful enough to perform tasks; a vehicle
with electronic features that help drive and maintain it; a vehicle
with all the safety features appropriate to the laws of the land.
Noise inside the vehicle is important to consumers while noise
outside the vehicle is often considered secondary. All the while,
every vehicle contributes to noise pollution.
What do customers expect? The owners and operators are the
same people who live and work near busy roads. This question is
always the top concern of marketing and must be filtered through
regulatory necessities. If customers want less noise but not at the
expense of safe road surfaces and stronger tires, how does the
OEM reconcile the two? Customers’ requests for larger vehicles
directly oppose the need for noise reduction.
For heavier vehicles, the problem of noise is multiplied: all goods
and many services arrive at homes and stores through heavy
vehicle use on highways and smaller roads every day. Owners of
these vehicles are more concerned with capacity and gas mileage
than with noise control. The large electric truck should go a long
way toward solving some of these noise problems.

Power to the consumer?

After-market sellers (particularly in the U.S.) are always looking for

products that help owners customize their vehicles. In recent
years, colored LED lights have become very popular.
With their popularity came regulatory problems: white and blue
lights are not allowed on the rear of vehicles because they cause a
hazard; only red is allowed for the most part as warning lights and
brake lights. The safety implications are obvious. Still, many LED
systems offer colors that emanate from under the vehicle and can
be seen from all sides, including the rear.

In the same way, adding your own sound to your electric vehicle is
arbitrary and confusing. Here again is a two-way conundrum for
vehicle makers: the motoring public could be enthused about a
customizable set of choices for EV warning sound systems.
However, customized EV noise generating programs could be very
confusing and exacerbate the problem rather than helping. This is
an area in which marketers see a valuable selling opportunity
while safety engineers see several problems. A better look at
vehicle noise production and consistency shows that choice in
sounds is a double-edged sword.

What noise?

Vehicle noise is divided into two categories: the noise heard

outside the vehicle at speed and the noise heard inside the
vehicle. Wind and road conditions contribute greatly to both noise
indicators. Complaints of traffic noise in high-speed and
congested areas multiplied as populations grew. As a result, more
research was done on reducing exterior noise in cars and trucks.
Here are a few facts about vehicle noise:
 ICE noise is as low as it has ever been.
EVs are so quiet that they pose a threat to pedestrians
Complaints about vehicle noise Today’s electric vehicles
harness the power of advanced battery development, drivetrain
technology and noise-reduction materials.
The noise-vibration-harshness (NVH) ratings in vehicles gets
better every year
The number of vehicles crowding roadways complicates noise
abatement.

Since road noise has been the top noise pollution problem in the
EU since 2012 (1), adding exterior noise to vehicles seems
unthinkable, but that is exactly what is happening. New rules in
place for adding sound alerts to EVs are becoming final. In the
U.S., the final rule (2) for minimum sound requirements in EVs and
hybrids (when operating as electrics) is in place. Let’s examine the
basics of the rule.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) adopted

rules for vehicles under 10,000 pounds that requires a multi-
frequency set of sounds to be emitted when travelling at low
speed. The rule lists frequencies at thirds of an octave but does
not specify the type of noise required except to say that music is
not acceptable. The rule prefers that manufacturers install sound
production modes using a psychoacoustic model. Psychoacoustics
is the study of the perception of sound and the effects sounds
have on physical bodies. (3)

The idea is to produce a sound that not only warns that what is
approaching is a motor vehicle but also forces an immediate
response from the hearer. For example, we know that if we
perceive a sound as a gunshot, we duck or run from that direction.
A similar booming sound of thunder elicits a far less aggressive
reaction, but we do hear thunder as a danger signal.
The sound emitted from EVs should cause people to stop and look
in that direction and this reaction should be immediate. Perhaps
the final sound type will be a combination static/volume adjusted
“white noise.”

Engineers are attempting to design sound combinations that have

these qualities but do not add significantly to noise pollution,
according to this report. This is a challenge since very few
frequencies do not add to an overall noise level. Also, carmakers
have made it clear that they want their vehicles to have sounds
unique to their brands. This fits well in the consumer psyche as
well: One-brand customers are the most loyal and valued
customers in automotive sales.

As this article explains, engineers use a sound board much like

those that record and separate musical instruments and voices.
Sound designers try to blend smooth noise with staccato noise,
adding “roughness” to the mix for added instantaneous
recognition. “… controls are used to create a synthetic sound
which is then processed and adapted according to the results of
listening tests conducted with human subjects.
Designers are already considering the next step, in which
pedestrians and cyclists will be instantly recognized by the vehicle.
“More and more cars with automatic pedestrian detection will be
coming onto the market. We recommend that the e-vehicle only
transmit sounds when a pedestrian is in the vicinity."

Custom sounds: Pros and cons

As we’ve seen, “quiet car” rules make sound production

mandatory. The best approach is yet to be determined, but one
report (4) notes that the U.S. Department of Transportation wants
fifty percent compliance by September 2019. This puts sound
production and standardization on a very fast track.
Will there be standardization? The report states that sounds from
nature and music could be offered. Owners will choose from day
to day which sounds their car will emit at low speed. The sounds,
however, could be regulated to the point that music and natural
sounds will be ruled out. The car enthusiast could be stuck with
the sound of a whirring propeller in monotone as the only allowed
warning sound, depending on the further regulation in the EU or
U.S.

Manufacturers will have added costs that reach beyond sound

systems. Custom exterior speakers that are protected from the
weather and debris generated by high-speed driving will be
expensive. Whichever is chosen, the sound-emitting system is
soon to be available everywhere. Although it adds to sound
pollution, it is expected to save lives and property. “On the plus
side, audible EV alerts are hoped to prevent 2,400 injuries
annually by 2020 when they’ll find their way into what’s expected
to be about 530,000 electric-powered models, the report said.
Will consumers have a choice? Will confusion cause more
problems than the present situation? Most engineers are on board
with a sound enhancement, so much so that new European
vehicles must have a system included by 2019 and all existing
electric vehicles must be retrofitted by 2021. (5) The rules will
further state that sound must be emitted in reverse and can’t be
turned off.

“(In an) example in Japan, … a guide dog and its owner were killed
by a reversing EV whose driver had deactivated the sound emitter
with a pause function. These will be banned under the new EU
directive.

Al Tuttle is news and features editor whose experience includes Media

News Group, Reed Elsevier, New York Times New England and years of
freelancing. He specializes in industrial and commercial writing. He
was in sales for industrial companies and manufacturers for 15 years.
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Higher performance and innovation in EV/HEV vehicles

Currently, the issue of Noise, Vibration and Harshness has a very important
role in many steps of the automobile development process: from the
elimination of bothersome noise to the development of an attractive
engine sound to shape the character of the vehicle.
At our Noise Optimisation EV/HEV conference in January 2019, IQPC will
provide you the chance to meet experts and exchange with like minded
peers information, with case studies focusing on trends plus new
technologies and presentations followed by discussions and interactive
sessions.

PARTICIPATING COMPANIES

Sources
1. https://www.env-
health.org/IMG/pdf/2012_04_TE_Position_Paper_New_EU_Vehicles_Noise_Limits_5
pg.pdf
2.
https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/documents/quietcar_finalrule_111
42016.pdf
3. https://automotive.electronicspecifier.com/safety/acoustic-vehicle-alert-system-
for-traffic-safety
4. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgorzelany/2018/02/27/coming-quiet-car-rules-
could-allow-drivers-to-choose-their-own-ev-sounds/#11dbd0fa4997
5. https://www.engadget.com/2018/05/08/european-evs-fitted-with-sound-
emitters-by-2021/