Petrol soundtrack the fix for silent electric cars?

Auto-maker Lotus and The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association are working together to create a “soundtrack” for nearly silent electric cars, according to the Environmental Transport Association (ETA).

Research has found that electric cars could pose a threat to blind pedestrians who rely on traffic noise while navigating streets.

Lotus and the guide dog group aim to develop a system that would replicate the noise of a petrol-fuelled engine and would be activated when drivers press the accelerator pedal.

A spokesperson for ETA acknowledged electric cars can pose a problem for blind people, but questioned the proposed fix.

“When we test drove the near-silent Nissan FCV it was obvious that even greater care was needed around pedestrians, but it seems a shame that the artificial noise being developed for electric cars cannot be anything more imaginative than the sound of a petrol engine,” the spokesperson said.