Electric cars up to 3x likelier to hit pedestrians than ICE
Discussion
GT9 said:
Road damage is a function of axle mass to the power of 4.
A million HGVs will approximately equal the damage done by a billion EVs.
We are over halfway to a million HGVs.
When do reckon we might hit half a billion EVs in the UK?
That's per mile, need to account for HGVs doing a lot more miles too? A million HGVs will approximately equal the damage done by a billion EVs.
We are over halfway to a million HGVs.
When do reckon we might hit half a billion EVs in the UK?
otolith said:
That's per mile, need to account for HGVs doing a lot more miles too?
TBH, there are other reasons why its getting worse...Increased rainfall, inadequate drainage and water-logging combined with temperature oscillations around freeze/thaw in winter make for the perfect road destruction conditions.
Not quite sure where we go from here in terms of identifying the culprits for changing weather patterns.
Sky-gremlins I guess.
Oilchange said:
You’re funny.
2.5 tonnes of metal that can accelerate like a bullet, silently, in an estate where children live and play is a recipe for disaster.
Not all EV's match this criteria. A Tesla Model 3 is approx 1800kg in weight. And a BMW 340i Touring is also approx 1800kg.2.5 tonnes of metal that can accelerate like a bullet, silently, in an estate where children live and play is a recipe for disaster.
So does that mean we need to get rid of all cars that weigh over a certain weight? Or just focus on the large stupid ones? And does that include the 2400kg Range Rovers for example?
turbobloke said:
Totally believe a link that references EV brake dust 
. That's poor, even for you J4CKO said:
This may be down to increased Smartphone ownership as well, I pass a secondary school on the way to work and even in a noisy bright red car they dont see you, often looking at their screen, sometimes with headphones in.
... and there are YouTubes from trams showing pedestrians walking out in front of them, trams are not silent!When I was at school we were taught to LOOK. If everyone starts relying on noise then what about push-bikes?
GT9 said:
otolith said:
That's per mile, need to account for HGVs doing a lot more miles too?
TBH, there are other reasons why its getting worse...Increased rainfall, inadequate drainage and water-logging combined with temperature oscillations around freeze/thaw in winter make for the perfect road destruction conditions.
Not quite sure where we go from here in terms of identifying the culprits for changing weather patterns.
Sky-gremlins I guess.
Either way, the 'weight' thing is really just another proxy for what some don't like but can't say. Like the 'height' thing.
And as a nation we possibly need to consider whether the way that we have traditionally made up our roads needs to change so as to accommodate the changed environment?
TheRainMaker said:
Luis Nazario said:
and low speed sound generators for electric / hybrid cars didn’t become mandatory until 2019.
Really? We have a 2020 EV which is totally silent forwards or backwards and a 2021 EV which is silent forwards but makes a pulsing sound going backwards.As for pedestrians not being aware, even with an EV that has an acoustic sound warning system I find that it isn't unusual to be able to drive up behind people in car parks who are walking away from you without them being aware you are there - and this isn't people with headphones on, just ordinary people who don't associate the sound with that of a car.
SpidersWeb said:
From 1 July 2019 acoustic sound warning systems had to be fitted to new models, but existing models could continue to be manufactured without them up to July 2021 when all EVs registered after then had to have them fitted.
As for pedestrians not being aware, even with an EV that has an acoustic sound warning system I find that it isn't unusual to be able to drive up behind people in car parks who are walking away from you without them being aware you are there - and this isn't people with headphones on, just ordinary people who don't associate the sound with that of a car.
The louder the vehicle the fewer the number that step out in front of it. And it is why, I have assumed, bikers will rev up randomly when filtering as it's the most efficient method for being 'seen'. It was very rare in London to have people step out in front of any of the TVRs at the junctions and turnings where when using a different car it was almost inevitable. As for pedestrians not being aware, even with an EV that has an acoustic sound warning system I find that it isn't unusual to be able to drive up behind people in car parks who are walking away from you without them being aware you are there - and this isn't people with headphones on, just ordinary people who don't associate the sound with that of a car.
off_again said:
Oilchange said:
You’re funny.
2.5 tonnes of metal that can accelerate like a bullet, silently, in an estate where children live and play is a recipe for disaster.
Not all EV's match this criteria. A Tesla Model 3 is approx 1800kg in weight. And a BMW 340i Touring is also approx 1800kg.2.5 tonnes of metal that can accelerate like a bullet, silently, in an estate where children live and play is a recipe for disaster.
So does that mean we need to get rid of all cars that weigh over a certain weight? Or just focus on the large stupid ones? And does that include the 2400kg Range Rovers for example?
Oilchange said:
I should’ve emphasised the silently bit. Incidentally, I think all cars should make some noise to alert pedestrians to their presence, not just evs, which happen to be very quiet.
It's surprisingly easy to sneak up on people in a Toyota Previa when all the mechanical bits are buried behind the front axle.Oilchange said:
I should’ve emphasised the silently bit. Incidentally, I think all cars should make some noise to alert pedestrians to their presence, not just evs, which happen to be very quiet.
Agreed - with the increased use of PHEV's (or hybrids for that matter), there will be a lot more cars crawling around at slow speeds silently. Add in low rolling resistance tires, its pretty easy to sneak up on people. I nearly hit a drunk idiot crossing the road the other day! But then again, he was jaywalking and off his tits, so I will call that one his fault..
off_again said:
Agreed - with the increased use of PHEV's (or hybrids for that matter), there will be a lot more cars crawling around at slow speeds silently.
This. I followed a couple of cyclists in my PHEV in EV mode along a single track today who didn’t hear me behind them - they were clearly surprised that there was a car following behind them when the road widened and I could pass. At 10 mph there is no tyre noise to hear. At 30 mph it doesn’t matter so much what the propulsion method is as most cars are kicking out a fair bit of tyre noise at those speeds that is louder than most engines.
MrTrilby said:
This. I followed a couple of cyclists in my PHEV in EV mode along a single track today who didn’t hear me behind them - they were clearly surprised that there was a car following behind them when the road widened and I could pass.
At 10 mph there is no tyre noise to hear. At 30 mph it doesn’t matter so much what the propulsion method is as most cars are kicking out a fair bit of tyre noise at those speeds that is louder than most engines.
My old PHEV had a secondary horn for politely alerting people....At 10 mph there is no tyre noise to hear. At 30 mph it doesn’t matter so much what the propulsion method is as most cars are kicking out a fair bit of tyre noise at those speeds that is louder than most engines.
MrTrilby said:
This. I followed a couple of cyclists in my PHEV in EV mode along a single track today who didn’t hear me behind them - they were clearly surprised that there was a car following behind them when the road widened and I could pass.
Don’t forget cyclists are also dealing with wind noise in their ears. Sometimes you cannot hear anything around you. It’s one of the reason I use a radar unit when cycling. Gassing Station | EV and Alternative Fuels | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff