Consumer sentiment remains opposed to the notion of adding artificial noise to green cars, new research suggests.

A poll conducted by the TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk revealed 63 per cent of those who voted felt artificial noise should not be a compulsory feature on electric and hybrid cars.

The figure was up on the 55 per cent who felt this to be the case in 2008, with the idea of quiet roads and vehicles appealing to the public.

However, the website’s editor Faye Sunderland is among those warning that such an idea is unrealistic given plans in the EU and the US to introduce legislation requiring manufacturers to equip cars with minimum noise levels.

"It might sound nice to think that instead of listening to the roar of traffic on a busy street, we will be able to hear the birds sing but the truth is it won’t be like that," she argued.

A 2008 Transport and Environment report claimed that rail and road traffic noise was responsible for a staggering 50,000 fatal heart attacks every year in Europe.

Please share your thoughts

You must be logged in to post a comment.