- NHTSA has opened an investigation to determine whether electric vehicles and hybrids dating back to 1997 should emit the same audible pedestrian warning sounds as their more recent counterparts.
- The federal safety agency previously approved Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141, which requires all 2020 and newer electric and hybrid vehicles under 10,000 pounds to be equipped with a pedestrian warning sound.
- If NHTSA decides to approve a new requirement for older models, it could pose a logistical challenge, as an estimated 9.1 million vehicles could be on the recall list for an adapted pedestrian warning.
Among the ways they differ from traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, electric cars and hybrids don’t sound the same. They are silent, and this can be a safety issue. There’s been a law on the books for several years that requires new electric and hybrid vehicles to be sold with a warning sound for pedestrians on board. Now, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a new investigation to determine whether electric vehicles and hybrids dating back to 1997 should have the same audible warning sounds as newer vehicles.
The investigation is credited as stemming from a private individual’s petition, filed in July 2022. The citizen whistleblower requests the new requirement and cites as support the 2018 law (FMVSS 141) that requires vehicles to Electric and hybrid vehicles under 10,000 pounds must be equipped with a pedestrian. warning sound The petition states that it is wrong that hybrid and electric vehicles built earlier do not have to meet the same standard as vehicles built later.
The law was created to protect visually impaired and blind people who rely on auditory signals when crossing streets. NHTSA documents note that this concern dates back to at least 2010, with the Pedestrian Safety Improvement Act of 2010, which became law in January 2011.
NHTSA estimates that there are more than nine million hybrid and electric vehicles that do not have built-in audible alerts; all of them could be subject to a retrofit rule, which is likely to pose logistical challenges to both automakers and owners of older vehicles.
Take the Takata airbag recall, where nearly 70 million airbags were required to be replaced for safety reasons. Honda and other automakers have spent years hounding owners of older models to bring their vehicles to the new airbags. The logistical uphill climb required to track down each of the more than nine million owners of hybrids and electric vehicles from 26 years ago could be complicated and ultimately fall short of full completion. NHTSA declined to comment as the investigation is ongoing.
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Associate News Editor
Jack Fitzgerald’s love of cars stems from his still unwavering addiction to Formula 1.
After a brief stint as a detailer for a group of local dealerships in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue auto writing. Pursuing his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel to Wisconsin looking for stories in the automotive world before landing his dream job at Car and driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf.
