Green cars to be fitted with alarms?

Date: 7/5/2010

Electric cars could be risking the safety of pedestrians because they do not make any noise, experts have suggested.

A study by the University of California revealed that zero-emission vehicles get 40 per cent closer to walkers without them noticing than those with traditional engines, the Daily Mail reports.

Staff at Warwick University will now work with green car manufacturers to test a range of sounds which can be incorporated into the automobiles to act as a warning to people on foot.

Professor Paul Jennings remarked: "We will have a week with music and weeks with natural sounds, engine noise and also with science-fiction sounds."

He added that individuals are more reactive to noise than they actually realise and he said that sound indicates whether a vehicle is going faster.

Nissan and GE have recently signed a three-year contract which stated that the two firms will work together to find ways of developing electric vehicles to ensure they are safe enough to be used on a mainstream basis.