Guide Dogs UK calls for louder EV noise to protect visually impaired
Guide Dogs UK wants electric vehicle noise generators to be louder, work above 18mph and cover more vehicles, saying quiet EVs put blind and partially sighted pedestrians at risk.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Guide Dogs UK is warning that quiet electric vehicles are putting blind and partially sighted pedestrians at risk, and it wants the law on vehicle noise changed.
The charity says electric cars and other quiet vehicles can be hard to detect when they are stopped at a crossing, moving slowly or pulling out in a car park. For guide dog owners, that can remove a key safety cue. Guide dogs are trained to stop and stay put when they hear the engine noise of a car. If an electric vehicle is silent, the owner may not know it is there and could tell their dog to keep walking when it is not safe.
The warning was illustrated by the case of Maisie McAdam in Swindon. She has very limited vision and relies on her guide dog Janie for independence. She said she has no vision in her left eye and no peripheral vision in her right eye, describing it as like looking through a tunnel. Sudden approaches by cars are frightening, she said, because they can come out of nowhere.
McAdam said approaching a crossing is always anxious when you are blind. If an electric vehicle is approaching quietly and she does not know it is there, she could tell Janie to keep walking when it is unsafe, putting them both at risk.
Since 2023, all quiet vehicles have been required to generate noise up to around 12 miles an hour. They also cannot have a pause switch for that sound. Guide Dogs UK says this is not enough. It wants the noise to be louder by law, to operate up to over 18 miles an hour, and to apply to more vehicles, not just cars and buses.
The Department for Transport said new electric vehicles are legally required to produce sound at low speeds and when reversing. It said the requirements are kept under review as technology evolves.
Guide dog owners say the world is changing faster than the law. They argue that reviews and changes to the rules are essential to protect people with impaired vision.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Guide Dogs UK is calling for electric vehicle noise rules to be louder by law, to apply above 18 mph, and to cover more vehicle types than cars and buses. | |
| Since 2023, UK rules require quiet electric vehicles to make a sound at low speeds and when reversing, with no pause switch, and the Department for Transport says the rules are under review. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC ONE West led on the safety warning through a local case in Swindon, using Maisie McAdam and her guide dog Janie to show how silent EVs affect daily travel. Its tone was sympathetic but factual, setting the charity's call for tougher noise rules against the current legal requirement and the Department for Transport's response. The report focused on the gap between existing EV sound rules and what Guide Dogs UK says is needed.
- “I've got no vision at all in my left eye and in my right eye I've got no peripheral vision, so it's like looking through a tunnel.”
- “It becomes quite scary when a car approaches you very suddenly, so cars can literally come out of nowhere and be quite an alarming experience.”
- “Streets need to be safe for people who are blind and partially sighted.”
Broadcast Timeline
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