Are Silent Cars a Danger to Road Users?

The issue of silent cars being a danger to pedestrians and cyclists was brought up recently by the European Parliament. Pedestrians will not be able to hear the cars coming which is danger to themselves, also the issue of the blind will arise and they will not know when the car is near.

Guide dogs for the blind first addressed the issue and warned of the threat of silent cars and the general threat of cars driving at low speed with next to no noise. A point raised was the highway codes advice on the fitting of a bell on a cyclists bike in order to warn pedestrians of your presence.

Electric cars along with Hybrid cars are built to feel less world attacking and the feature of a silent engine is one that will attract customers and motorists. Noise pollution is a big issue for residents who live close to a road or a main road and the issue has been addressed with the production of the new and silent electric cars.

However, we at Gap 123 believe that a little noise will not harm anyone, but a slow and silent car may be very hazardous at the road side. Cars such as the new Renault and the Nissan Leaf are the vehicles who may be involved in more road incidents than the average noisy car. BMW, Ford and Mercedes have all invested heavily into the electric car market and may well face a backlash of criticism for producing cars that are silent or next to.

For years and years protesters have raised the issue of noise pollution caused by cars and other vehicles and it may not be fair that when the manufacturers do produce a noise free car they are criticised. What do you think about the silent Electric cars?