Starting on 1st July, all electric vehicle with four or more wheels that wants to be approved for road use in the European Union is going to have to have an “Acoustic Vehicle Alert System,” or AVAS.
According to the provisions of the regulation, AVAS will be automatically engaged when the vehicle is moving at speeds of up to 12 mph and when the car is moving in reverse.
The type of sound is not specified, but it must be above 56 dB – about as loud as an electric toothbrush – and not exceed 75 dB, the sound level of an average internal combustion car.
“Given the ever-increasing number of hybrid and electric vehicles on our roads, the risk to pedestrians, cyclists and vulnerable groups has risen exponentially over the years,” said in a statement Rajus Augustine, director of Car Audio at Harman, one of the companies producing such systems.
“AVAS technologies such as HALOsonic eESS offer an affordable and effective way of increasing pedestrian awareness of an approaching EV in noisy urban environments.”
The legislation that will come into effect next month has been under review in European Union countries since 2013.
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