Electric cars could be the cure for millions of people in the UK living with the deafening noise of traffic.
A new study by GRIDSERVE found 81% of people can hear road noise from their house with one in seven completely unable to escape the rumble.
A third of people said they are losing sleep because of loud night-time traffic, a fifth said the issue was impacting their mental health, while some even reported that their house regularly shakes due to heavy traffic. The excess road noise is forcing people to keep windows shut, play music or use ear plugs or ear defenders.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports around 40% of adults in Europe are exposed to long-term average noise levels about 55 decibels (dB).
That’s well above the 30dB level that the WHO says is the recommended noise levels for communities (equivalent to a loud conversation).
And it found that adults living in areas with the noisiest daytime traffic were five per cent more likely to be hospitalised for strokes than those from quieter areas, as well as suffer from stress-related health issues.
So how can electric vehicles help traffic noise?
Data shows that a widespread switch to electric vehicles would have a massive impact on reducing traffic noise, with the average EV around 10dB quieter than a petrol or diesel equivalent.
Why? There’s no noisy and rattling engine up front, instead there’s a gentle motor whine regardless of speed. The only noise that transmits outside is the soft rumble of tyres on the tarmac.
In residential areas where most are travelling at low speeds, it means a single vehicle powered by an engine is as loud as 10 electric vehicles.
Spread this impact across the country and the number of people exposed to harmful noise pollution would be drastically reduced, not to mention the benefit to air quality in these areas.
