Canada mandates noisemakers on hybrids and EVs

Article content

If you’ve thought of buying an electrified vehicle because you can sneak home late at night without being heard, your plans have been foiled. The Canadian government has mandated that all hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) must contain devices that make noise at low speeds, effective immediately.

Article content

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Canada mandates noisemakers on hybrids and EVs Back to video

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Play Video

Pretty much anything you buy with an electric motor already has a sound device, but it’s now mandatory on all light-duty electrified vehicles sold in Canada. This includes cars, SUVs, trucks, buses, and low-speed vehicles with a gross weight rating of 4,536 kg or less — in effect, anything that the average consumer will be buying.

The automaker can decide what type of sound the car will make — most of those already equipped produce a continuous tone — but under the mandate, the volume and pitch must adjust so those nearby can tell if the vehicle is speeding up or slowing down. It must also make a sound when reversing. The Canadian requirement aligns with similar standards set internationally, including in the U.S. Overall, the volume of the artificial sound must, at a minimum, be comparable to that produced by a gasoline-powered vehicle.

Article content

The mandate is all about those people who are close by the vehicle. Hybrids and EVs don’t make much noise at low speeds, if any, and so they pose a risk for pedestrians, especially those with limited vision, or cyclists. The Ministry of Transport reports that between 2013 and 2017, there were an estimated 19 fatalities and 991 injuries resulting from collisions between hybrids and pedestrians, and three fatalities and 523 injuries involving cyclists. A study by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that hybrids and electric vehicles were about 20 per cent more likely to collide with a pedestrian and 50 per cent more likely to hit a cyclist than vehicles with gasoline engines.

Article content

Even though EVs generate virtually no noise from their motors, they create the same level of tire noise as similarly-equipped gasoline vehicles at higher speeds. The issue is when they’re moving at low speeds through parking lots or turning at intersections, when pedestrians and cyclists won’t hear them approach unless they have noise emitters.

Now in case you haven’t been listening to the cars coming at you, hybrids and EVs sold in Canada already do make noise, because they’re made to meet the U.S. and international standards. But just to be sure, Canada now has the mandate on its books as well, and it seems to be primarily due to pressure from advocacy groups for those with impaired vision and disabilities.