

As the 1 July deadline for all electric vehicles in the UK to reach a specified noise level approaches, Volvo Trucks has revealed the noise emitting system to be fitted to its full range of electric trucks. The requirement is for all vehicles to be audible at low speeds, on a sliding scale with a minimum sound level of 56dB(A) at 12mph.If this requirement is not met by the basic vehicle, a separate acoustic vehicle alerting system (AVAS) must be fitted.
The Volvo system exceeds the basic requirement and features four distinct sounds, according to different situations, which vary in frequency if the vehicle is accelerating or decelerating. "We are particularly proud to have developed high quality, premium sounds that are noticeable enough to warn people close to the truck, and yet still pleasant for the driver and other road users,” said Volvo Trucks' traffic and product safety director, Anna Wrige Berling. “The sounds are designed to not penetrate through walls. Our electric trucks will still allow for quiet night-time deliveries and contribute to better working conditions for the drivers and a quieter, cleaner environment.
You can see, and more importantly hear, the system in action here. It retains the ability of existing models to switch off the reversing alarm during the prescribed hours of darkness to comply with UK legislation.
Wrige Berling added “We truly welcome this new legislation. From when we were children, we have learnt to rely not only on what we see, but also what we hear in traffic – sometimes so much so that people don’t even look before crossing a street! With our new alert system, we want to help ensure that pedestrians and cyclists notice when they are close to our electric trucks.”