Washington establishing timeline for sales of ‘loud’ EVs

Whenever we test drive an EV, we try to bring along a passenger who screams things out the window like “Beware! Silent car!” and “Electric vehicle! Don’t get hit!” But we understand that for some of you this might not be an option. Luckily, it looks like initiatives to outfit electric vehicles with warning sounds have been picking up steam, from the Pedestrian Safety Act last year to a new bill that would have the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration establish a three year timeline for auto manufacturers. According to Autoblog, “there’s no word as to how loud the noise would be or what it will sound like,” although drivers would not be able to turn it off, and it would likely be variable, depending on your speed — not unlike the system Brabus uses in its Smart High Voltage EV. As for your car-lovin’ Engadget editors, we’re already looking for one that emulates the growl of the ’68 Ford Mustang that Steve McQueen drove in Bullitt.