New law to tackle electric cars’ silent menace to pedestrians

Sound emitters will give warning of vehicles travelling at low speeds

They are green, clean and make very little noise. It is this latter quality, initially seen by many as a good thing, that has become an acute concern for safety campaigners, who fear that the rising number of electric vehicles constitutes a silent menace.

When they travel at under 20mph the vehicles can barely be heard, especially by cyclists or pedestrians listening to music through headphones. "The greatest risks associated with electric vehicles are when they are travelling at low speeds, such as in urban areas with lower limits, as the noise from tyres and the road surface, and aerodynamic noise, are minimal at those speeds," said Kevin Clinton, from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.