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Cities Aren't Loud: Cars Are Loud (2021) [video]

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Re: Cities Aren't Loud: Cars Are Loud (2021) [video]

#61

Post by est31 »

s_dev wrote: post #11
enlyth wrote: post #5

The author in the video kind of dismisses EVs saying that at speed there's not much of a difference, but one of the things I definitely noticed when visiting Bergen was how damn quiet the city was because almost everyone was driving EVs. It had a noticeably positive effect on me.

It's so weird that the 'noise' of petrol cars is considered a safety feature. I've heard from the older generation "Yeah but EVs don't make noise which makes them extremely dangerous. Could easily kill a child or old woman who steps out on to a road because they don't hear a car coming". It must be the same group of people with their anecdotes about seatbelts and airbags making cars more dangerous.

There is EU regulation 2017/1576 that requires to make noises if driving at low speeds.

https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/news/electric-and...

I'm an EV fan, but lower noise levels makes them more dangerous, not less, at least to the people they can potentially hit (of course for people living next to roads, noise is more hazardous from a more general health point of view). Cars are killer machines and stuff like seatbelts and airbags protect passengers but not pedestrians or cyclists hit by the car. So if you are a pedestrian or cyclist, then having the ability to hear the car is really great.

Re: Cities Aren't Loud: Cars Are Loud (2021) [video]

#62

Post by IshKebab »

enlyth wrote: post #5

The author in the video kind of dismisses EVs saying that at speed there's not much of a difference, but one of the things I definitely noticed when visiting Bergen was how damn quiet the city was because almost everyone was driving EVs. It had a noticeably positive effect on me.

Yeah EVs are significantly quieter in cities where they're going slowly and tyre noise is relatively low.

Not going to make as much difference if you live near a motorway though since the tyre noise there is really really loud. (I still think it might make some difference though because engines going at 70mph are really loud too.)

Re: Cities Aren't Loud: Cars Are Loud (2021) [video]

#63

Post by kqr »

jenadine wrote: post #18

I live near an intersection, and the most annoying noise is honking. Why do driver have to honk so much is beyond me. Also quite annoying is ambulance/police. They are really loud.

Honking is basically the only real way drivers have to communicate with the world outside their car. When a honk is needed to say anything you have to use it for everything.

(The contrast is particularly stark against e.g. cycling where you can just match pace with a stranger and hold a brief conversation about whatever happened.)

Re: Cities Aren't Loud: Cars Are Loud (2021) [video]

#64

Post by tcfhgj »

enlyth wrote: post #5

The author in the video kind of dismisses EVs saying that at speed there's not much of a difference, but one of the things I definitely noticed when visiting Bergen was how damn quiet the city was because almost everyone was driving EVs. It had a noticeably positive effect on me.

Locally Evs are mostly louder than fossil fuel engines, because of the artificial sound they make.

And not to forget the tire noise is still quite loud compared to people just talking

Re: Cities Aren't Loud: Cars Are Loud (2021) [video]

#65

Post by rhaway84773 »

enlyth wrote: post #5

The author in the video kind of dismisses EVs saying that at speed there's not much of a difference, but one of the things I definitely noticed when visiting Bergen was how damn quiet the city was because almost everyone was driving EVs. It had a noticeably positive effect on me.

I suspect speed limits were incredibly low there as well.

At low speeds modern gas cars are almost completely quiet too.

Re: Cities Aren't Loud: Cars Are Loud (2021) [video]

#66

Post by bryanlarsen »

est31 wrote: post #43
detaro wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really depends on the speeds. At slower speeds in residential areas the difference is noticeable, especially when cars stop and accelerate again. On larger faster roads not so much.

Indeed, the video says that: the tire noise for ICEs becomes louder than the engine at about 50 kmph. This means that for speeds slower than that, the more important component is the noise of the engine.

That's probably for a constant speed, though. ICE cars are loudest when they are accelerating. On many cars the engine is louder than the tires if you're floor the accelerator no matter what speed.

Re: Cities Aren't Loud: Cars Are Loud (2021) [video]

#67

Post by noduerme »

darkteflon wrote: post #44
david-gpu wrote: post #17

I live in a high-rise condo next to a six-lane stroad that was even showcased on this YouTube channel and the 24/7 traffic noise is annoying, particularly when you want to go for a walk and can't even hold a conversation. This didn't happen in the places where I lived back in Europe because zoning laws were different. Instead of the sprawl of freehold single family homes separate from a dense urban core, these much q…

I see this take about Japan all the time and do not understand it. No offence, but have you spent any time in Japan? Rural areas might be quiet for sheer low population density, but the cities are disgusting. PM2.5 levels in Tokyo yesterday were like 6x WHO limits and absolutely no one on the local news was talking about it. Every morning I see pregnant and new mothers with infants or small children squeezing between…

> and wonder what the cost of all of this will be

Likely the same extended lifespan that's been prevalent in Japan over the past century of smoking, diesel and construction (along with the occasional nuclear catastrophe). Humans are apparently more ruggedized than they look on paper.

Re: Cities Aren't Loud: Cars Are Loud (2021) [video]

#68

Post by noduerme »

bluescrn wrote: post #59

Cars are a fairly constant and relatively low-level background noise, except for boy racers with intentionally-loud exhausts and revving aggressively, or anyone honking angrily. Trucks and buses going over speed bumps, now that's much more annoying road noise (when there's a speed bump on a moderately busy road just outside your bedroom window) Frequent emergency sirens and car alarms, they're pretty loud and sleep-i…

And here I am just trying to differentiate between fireworks and gunshots.

Re: Cities Aren't Loud: Cars Are Loud (2021) [video]

#69

Post by robertlagrant »

david-gpu wrote: post #17

I live in a high-rise condo next to a six-lane stroad that was even showcased on this YouTube channel and the 24/7 traffic noise is annoying, particularly when you want to go for a walk and can't even hold a conversation. This didn't happen in the places where I lived back in Europe because zoning laws were different. Instead of the sprawl of freehold single family homes separate from a dense urban core, these much q…

> This means people can live within walking distance to where they work and where they shop

This is less common than you think. There are 8500 or so malls in Europe[0]. I happen to live near an (expensive) shop, which I use because I like walking places, but I also know I have a tech salary that lets me buy a place that's in walking distance of a shop, and afford to shop in it regularly.

Also, plenty of people don't live near where they work. Not very hot take: while for any new cities it's a good idea to try and take emissions into account, the best driver for lower emissions and more convenience isn't large-scale city planning. It's Zoom.

[0] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/11-biggest-malls-europe-23271...

Re: Cities Aren't Loud: Cars Are Loud (2021) [video]

#70

Post by Reason077 »

lynx23 wrote: post #22
enlyth wrote: post #5

The author in the video kind of dismisses EVs saying that at speed there's not much of a difference, but one of the things I definitely noticed when visiting Bergen was how damn quiet the city was because almost everyone was driving EVs. It had a noticeably positive effect on me.

I was very excited about EVs reducing the noise level in my city. Until I realized that most of the noise of a modern car actually comes from the tires. There sin't much difference between a modern non-EV car and an EV, sadly.

At highway speeds there might not be much difference in noise levels, but there's a huge difference on city streets. In cities in with particularly noisy vehicles such as motorcycles, diesel buses, etc, electrification makes a huge difference.

With EVs slowly becoming more dominant in central London (most taxis, and many buses and delivery vans are electric now), I've several times had the slightly eerie (but happy) experience of being at busy intersections and noticing that it was unusually quiet. Then looking around and seeing that every vehicle waiting at the intersection was electric or plug-in hybrid.

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