The electric car does not pollute in use, requires less maintenance and costs less electricity than gasoline at the same distance. But he has another quality that changes his life …
Remember the first confinement? This somewhat surreal time when, locked up, city dwellers rediscovered (or discovered) amazed by the silence barely disturbed here and there by the birdsong and the 8pm applause for caregivers?
Remember the almost oppressive calm that reigned over our cities? This calm that later made us realize what we were assuming until then without really being aware of it: the noise of our modern societies is emitted mainly by wheeled traffic. And therefore for thermal engines, whether in cars, commercial vehicles or two-wheeled motorized. And also planes, to a lesser extent, since the latter is not continuous, except for living at the foot of an airport.
Motors? Not only that, of course. A moving vehicle emits another noise pollution, either by bearings, various frictions or aerodynamics. But the sum of the noise emitted by the engines is certainly greater than the sum of all the others, even if the recent cars are getting quieter and quieter.
More cars, more noise. It was radical.
You see me coming … No, electric cars are not completely silent, they still emit a few decibels, and when they do not emit, we force them to emit with the AVAS so as not to create road genocide in armies of pedestrians who have recently become deaf and blind. But electric cars are much quieter than thermal ones, at least up to a certain speed, and therefore especially where this is a problem, i.e. in the city.
And yet, when we talk about electricity, silence – even if it is mentioned, even in advertisements, and sometimes in a somewhat biased way – is no longer the first argument that arises in conversations. We talk about ecology, zero emissions, cost of use and maintenance, fine particles, weight, autonomy, but rarely noise pollution. And yet it is probably the only unstoppable and indisputable argument. Anti-EVs will always be able to oppose with their usual bad faith tinged with ignorance that an electric car “pollutes more than a thermal one” or that it just “displaces the problem”, but they will never be able to argue. the fact that an electric car is quieter. Because precisely, it is a fact. And the noise that is not emitted in our streets is not sent to the mines of Africa or China.
Noise pollution, this insidious enemy
It is an underestimated issue, of which we talk very little in the end, but noise pollution is an insidious scourge that deteriorates the quality of life and can even have a direct impact on health. Its consequences are not limited to simple fatigue or temporary discomfort. ADEME estimates, for example, in a recent study (PDF) that every year, noise pollution generates 155.7 billion euros in social costs due to the diseases it causes or the loss of heritage value, and that in France, 25 million of people are affected. due to the effects of noise pollution, of which 9 million are overexposed with chronic health effects. A study that also confirms that road traffic is indeed the main source of inconvenience. I know, ADEME studies are worth what they are worth and are often discussed, but it still gives an idea of the problem, and ADEME is not the only one that has produced reports that, whatever the sources, in general go all. in the same direction.
Then, of course, the car is not the only one responsible for this contamination of the eardrums, but it is not very difficult to imagine in a scenario of anticipation that a big city where only 100% electric vehicles circulate (cars, utilities, transport public, etc.). 2 wheels) would get rid of an overwhelming part of its noise, and that the calm that would reign there would certainly be very favorable to our collective mental health.
In addition, the silence or, in any case, the reduction of noise pollution produced by electric vehicles not only affects the inhabitants of the city or the neighbors. The occupants of the vehicle also benefit, as it is now acquired that at a mileage and a half equivalent, a trip on board an electric car is much less tiring than on board a thermal, even considered silent. The absence of vibration due to the combustion and transmission engine combo also has something to do with it. That’s why we recently added sound level measurement to our supertests.
Here, too, beyond induced behavior, the electric car will no doubt contribute to a more peaceful and less aggressive society.