On the Risk of Quiet Vehicles to Pedestrians and Drivers (original) (raw)
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On the hazard of quiet vehicles to pedestrians and drivers
Applied Ergonomics, 2014
The need to produce more efficient and less polluting vehicles has encouraged mass production of alternative energy vehicles, such as hybrid and electric cars. Many of these vehicles are capable of very quiet operation. While reducing noise pollution is desirable, quieter vehicles could negatively affect pedestrian safety because of reduced sound cues compared to louder internal combustion engines. Three studies were performed to investigate people's concern about this issue. In Study 1, a questionnaire completed by 378 people showed substantial positive interest in quiet hybrid and electric cars. However, they also indicated concern about the reduced auditory cues of quiet vehicles. In Study 2, 316 participants rated 14 sounds that could be potentially added to quiet alternative-energy vehicles. The data showed that participants did not want annoying sounds, but preferred adding "engine" and "hum" sounds relative to other types of sounds. In Study 3, 24 persons heard and rated 18 actual sounds within 6 categories that were added to a video of a hybrid vehicle driving by. The sounds most preferred were "engine" followed by "white noise" and "hum". Implications for adding sounds to facilitate pedestrians' detection of moving vehicles and for aiding drivers' awareness of speed are discussed.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2020
Sales of electric and hybrid electric vehicles are increasing steadily worldwide, and consequently their presence increases in city areas. At low speeds, the low levels of noise produced by these vehicles could become a new risk factor for road users. However, the magnitude of the risk has not been accurately determined. In addition, its inclusion in the work environment could pose a new risk that should be managed. Thus, in relation to low noise levels of electric and hybrid vehicles, this study aimed to characterise the risk situations and determine the risk perception of workers as pedestrians and internal combustion engine vehicle drivers coming into contact with these vehicles. The data were extracted from 417 questionnaires filled out by the employees of public service companies who come into contact with electric and hybrid vehicles during their working day in the city of Málaga, in the region of Andalusia, Spain. According to the experiences reported, it seems that the risk ...
On Adding Sound to Quiet Vehicles
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 2008
Alternative energy vehicles such as hybrids and electric tend to run quieter than many hydrocarbon fueled vehicles. Their relative quietness could negatively affect pedestrian and driver safety because of reduced sound cues compared to louder vehicles. The present study examined preferences for sounds that might provide an acceptable auditory cue to quiet vehicles. Participants heard and then rated 18 sounds (3 variations in six categories). Each sound was displayed in conjunction with a video of a moving hybrid vehicle. The sounds of an engine, white noise, and hum sound in that order were most preferred as added sound to a quiet vehicle. Implications for adding sounds to facilitate pedestrians' detection of moving vehicles and for aiding drivers' awareness of speed are discussed.
Transport Reviews, 2015
The growing popularity of electric devices and the increasing number of hybrid and electric cars have recently raised concerns about the use of auditory signals by vulnerable road users. This paper consolidates current knowledge about the two trends in relation to cycling safety. Both a literature review and a crash data analysis were carried out. Based on a proposed conceptual model, knowledge gaps are identified that need to be addressed for a better understanding of the relation between limitations on auditory information while cycling. Results suggest that the concerns regarding the use of electronic devices while cycling and the advent of hybrid and electric vehicles are justified. Listening to music and conversing on the phone negatively influence cyclists' auditory perception, selfreported crash risk and cycling performance. With regard to electric cars, a recurring problem is their quietness at low speeds. Implications of these findings in terms of cycling safety are discussed. Search terms "cycling", "cyclist(s)", "cycling safety" or "pedestrian(s)", "pedestrian safety" were included in all searches and combined with "music", "mobile/cell phone(s)", "distraction" or "media devices".
PloS one, 2016
We face a likely shift to electric vehicles (EVs) but the environmental and human consequences of this are not yet well understood. Simulated auditory traffic scenes were synthesized from recordings of real conventional and EVs. These sounded similar to what might be heard by a person near a major national road. Versions of the simulation had 0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% EVs. Participants heard the auditory scenes in random order, rating each on five perceptual dimensions such as pleasant-unpleasant and relaxing-stressful. Ratings of traffic noise were, overall, towards the negative end of these scales, but improved significantly when there were high proportions of EVs in the traffic mix, particularly when there were 80% or 100% EVs. This suggests a shift towards a high proportion of EVs is likely to improve the subjective experiences of people exposed to traffic noise from major roads. The effects were not a simple result of EVs being quieter: ratings of bandpass-filtered versio...
Evaluation of sounds for hybrid and electric vehicles operating at low speed
PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2000
Electric vehicles (EV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), operated at low speeds may reduce auditory cues used by pedestrians to assess the state of nearby traffic creating a safety issue. This field study compares the auditory detectability of numerous synthetic sounds for hybrid and electric vehicles operating at a low speed. The sample includes pedestrians who are sighted and legally blind, independent travelers, with self-reported normal hearing. The test site has the acoustic characteristic of an urban area with a typical ambient noise level of approximately 58-61 dB (A). Dependent variables include proportion of detection and detection distance. Synthetic sounds tested, that resemble those of an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle, produce similar detection distances as the actual ICE vehicle tested for a 6 mph constant speed operation. In some instances, synthetic sounds designed according to psychoacoustic principles were detected much sooner than the reference ICE vehicle tested. Synthetic sounds that contain only the fundamental component of combustion noise, but lack the harmonics and other high-frequency characteristics of an actual ICE were relatively ineffective, with their detection distances being only about half of those of an ICE vehicle.
Detectability and annoyance of warning sounds for electric vehicles
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 2013
Electric or hybrid vehicles are very quiet at low speeds, which represents a very good opportunity to reduce traffic noise annoyance in cities. On the other hand, this may be very hazardous for vulnerable pedestrians (e.g. visually impaired people). The aim of the eVADER project is to propose solutions in order to add warning sounds to such cars, while fulfilling two contradictory goals : sounds should be detectable but should not contribute to traffic noise annoyance. Different perceptual experiments have been conducted : the first one evaluated the influence of various timbre parameters on sound detectability. It was shown that an electric vehicle equipped with one particular sound was as easily detected as a diesel one, while keeping a very low level. Then the influence of some timbre parameters (pitch and temporal modulation frequency) on the distance and speed as perceived by listeners was measured. Finally, a third experiment was devoted to the consequence on traffic noise annoyance of such warning sounds.
PROMET - Traffic&Transportation, 2014
The paper discusses the issue of adding artificial warning sounds to hybrid and fully electric vehicles in order to increase traffic safety by making these vehicles audible at low speeds. The goal of this modification is to enable the pedestrians to perceive possible danger coming from such a vehicle in time to respond accordingly. Following the results of previous research which state that the sounds of internal combustion engines are valid candidates for artificial warning sounds, a preliminary examination of the suitability and acceptability of different engine sounds in various modes of operation has been conducted. The chosen modes of operation are running in idle, at 2,000 rpm and 3,000 rpm with the vehicle stopped. Both gasoline and diesel engines were investigated. To expand the range of engine sounds, the type of vehicles was not limited to personal cars. The results show significant differences in suitability of engine sounds for the stated purpose, with vehicle type being the main differentiating factor.
A Case Study: The Urban Residents’ Choice for Electric Vehicles Warning Sounds
American Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering
Nowadays, people are exposed to noise on a daily basis. Therefore, in an overvibrant urban environments electrical vehicles operating at low speed are too quiet to be detected by pedestrians (especially vulnerable group are visually impaired people) and urban residents in general. Thus, electric vehicle warning sounds are sounds created to alert and warn pedestrians to the presence of electrical vehicles (e.g. hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and all-electric vehicles) moving at low speeds. The goal of this paper is to determine through a case study what the pedestrians would desire and prefer the electrical vehicle warning audio signals to sound like. The case study involved 201 participants who had the task to fulfil a specially designed questionnaire for this purpose. Regarding the questionnaire, the participants were not prepared in any way for the testing they were just advised to keep in mind that the warning sound they select for the "role" of a pedestrian should not be irritable at the same time for the "role" of a driver. The results obtained from the questionnaire were analyzed and discussed in the paper. When speaking about the concept of smart cities and the legislation around the whole world today this is certainly a hot topic where the opinion of pedestrians and future drivers should not be overlooked.