If you didn’t know, electric cars don’t make a lot of sound. Most of the ones sold in Australia don’t make any, apart from road noise from the wheels, and the engine under heavy acceleration (which you can usually only hear from inside the car). But there is absolutely a safety argument to be made for low-speed noise, and under newly introduced design rules by the federal government, electric cars will be required to make sound when moving slowly.
This new legislation will require electric vehicles, hybrids, and hydrogen vehicles sold in Australia to emit sounds at low speeds, so that they can be heard in such circumstances as car parks, driveways, or intersections.
This is purely with safety in mind, if you’re not looking and can’t hear a car coming, you’d assume there isn’t a car coming, but with EVs, that isn’t always the case.
From November 2025, the revised Australian Design Rules will require electric, hybrid, and hydrogen vehicles to be fitted with an Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System or AVAS. This system will need to emit sound, of at least 50 decibels (and less than 75 decibels) when below the speed of 20km/h.
“This is a significant win for those the blind and low-vision community who have long been advocating for alert systems like this to be introduced in Australia,” the Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, and Local Government Catherine King said.
“As more and more Australians choose to drive EVs we are committed to ensuring that they are safe for both driver and others using the road.”
In some countries, low-speed sounds are already required for EVs, and to be fair, some electric cars already do have low engine speed sounds in Australia, such as those from Hyundai and BYD, but the vast majority don’t.
Here’s a good example, my shared driveway is extremely shallow, and goes out onto a busy pedestrian footpath. But with the structure of my driveway that has a steep incline, along with tall brick fencing along its sides, it’s often difficult for me to see incoming cars from each direction. Naturally, I go slow and minimise risks as much as possible, and to be fair, safety features, such as reverse-sounding lights and surround cameras, make this easier, but without actual engine noise, there’s room for improvement especially when it comes to people with difficult seeing.
“We are ecstatic and congratulate the current federal government for listening to our concerns and acting on this very important issue as pedestrians who are blind or have low vision will be able to navigate public spaces with more confidence,” director of government relations, advocacy and NDIS for Vision Australia Chris Edwards said.
“It’s been a long road, but through persistence and putting the safety of Australia’s blind and low-vision community in front of the government, we’ve achieved the result we wanted. We also recognise the proactive step the government has taken in expanding the requirement to include electric trucks, busses and other heavy vehicles.”
Edwards spoke to The Driven (via AAP) about the “Russian roulette” experience of crossing a busy road when you’re a legally blind man. “To cross a road when you don’t know if a car is there is a very frightening experience,” he said in the article.
Vision Australia has been a champion of calling for such legislation, having released a submission during the consultation period for fuel efficiency standards two years ago.
Image: Gizmodo Australia