A fright of my life tonight with an electric car

[johnnyb47]

Hi.
Tonight I was enjoying my evening ride down some remote country lane. The sun was out and i had a nagging head wind blowing against me, so i just enjoyed the cruise back home, when all of a sudden an electric car came past..
Don't get me wrong , the driver past me very cautiously but it was the fact i was completely unaware the car was there in the first place until i saw it pass me. Because the head wind was blowing in my face and the fact these electric cars are virtually inaudible, i almost jumped off the bike and into the hedge when it came past. I was startled for a few moments before i composed my self again.. Sometimes when then boot is on the other foot i often find people going for their evening walks become startled when i pass them. I tend to say hello nowadays to any walkers in front just to let them know I'm coming along. If electric cars do become popular in the near future I hope manufacturer's take into consideration to make them a little more "louder" so they can a least be heard when they creep up behind you.

 

[Dave 123]

Shocking!

 

[Lonestar]

Best to look behind more often....

 

[annedonnelly]

Our local taxi company uses electric cars. I've found that I do hear them - obviously it's road noise rather than engine noise. It is only around town in residential streets that I encounter them not country lanes, but they are louder than I expected.

 

[dfthe1]

It's a recognised issued with electric vehicles -- and theres already a great deal of work been done on it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicle_warning_sounds

 

[Smokin Joe]

They need a bell.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Best to look behind more often....

or use a mirror? Yes, I know, they're frequently derided by many cyclists (and CC forum members) as "uncool", but they're pretty useful.

As for increasing the noise made by electric cars: I hope not! I think less noise would be nice, and increasing the noise is just avoiding the real issue: people not paying attention to their surroundings. Next, they'd be proposing all bicycles have noise generators attached, to avoid "scaring" mobile phone-using pedestrians. If that ever becomes mandatory, I'll probably just stop cycling for good.

 

[macp]

It happened to me also but I was loading my car in a car park and almost stepped in front of it.

 

[johnnyb47]

It was just a combination of things tonight that caught me off guard..Where i cycle I seldomley see cars as it quite remote where i live and electric cars are as common as hens teeth here..It didn't help with a strong wind blowing in my face reducing my hearing of my surroundings. It's no excuse for not looking behind " granted" .
If i was cycling through a built up area my eyes would no doubt be everywhere looking for such dangers.

 

[Vantage]

It kind of makes the argument against wearing head/earphones while cycling pointless doesn't it?
Granted I use a rear view mirror so I'm a little more aware of my surroundings than other earphone wearing cyclists but being passed without warning is something I prefer.
I find the noise of approaching vehicles from behind makes me more tense than if I hadn't heard them.
I think if I was hobbling along to the shops and a sniper was randomly shooting people, I'd rather be taken out by surprise than have the sniper shout out to me "Hold still will ya! I'm trying to shoot you!"

 

[Lonestar]

That's a point...I use headphones...Not noticeable I am wearing them but I try to look behind as much as possible...I'm down rat-runs so it needs to be done...What I notice with pedestrians that they don't generally look when crossing down the sidestreet roads and rely on their ears...If that which isn't normally reliable as bikes are quite quiet.

Another thing down the sidestreets is as soon as I know vehicles are near I tend to make plans to let them pass...It's either that or an impatient or dodgy aggressive overtake if possible.It costs me seconds but my safety is more important.

It was just a combination of things tonight that caught me off guard..Where i cycle I seldomley see cars as it quite remote where i live and electric cars are as common as hens teeth here..It didn't help with a strong wind blowing in my face reducing my hearing of my surroundings. It's no excuse for not looking behind " granted" .
If i was cycling through a built up area my eyes would no doubt be everywhere looking for such dangers.

Not criticising...I don't know your route..I'm probably going on my routes but I see plenty of cyclists in London who don't seem to look behind enough.You can't rely on motorists to get it right all the time and some may have a mobile phone glued to their ears or other distraction.

 

[Flying Dodo]

What I notice with pedestrians that they don't generally look when crossing down the sidestreet roads and rely on their ears...If that which isn't normally reliable as bikes are quite quiet.

Quite often, when I swerve round a pedestrian who's walked out into the road in front of me without looking, I call out "If I was a car you'd be dead now, so best to always look". Most of them apologise!

 

[Lonestar]

Quite often, when I swerve round a pedestrian who's walked out into the road in front of me without looking, I call out "If I was a car you'd be dead now, so best to always look". Most of them apologise!

Pretty good there I'd probably get abuse round here.

 

[User16625]

Hi.
Tonight I was enjoying my evening ride down some remote country lane. The sun was out and i had a nagging head wind blowing against me, so i just enjoyed the cruise back home, when all of a sudden an electric car came past..
Don't get me wrong , the driver past me very cautiously but it was the fact i was completely unaware the car was there in the first place until i saw it pass me. Because the head wind was blowing in my face and the fact these electric cars are virtually inaudible, i almost jumped off the bike and into the hedge when it came past. I was startled for a few moments before i composed my self again.. Sometimes when then boot is on the other foot i often find people going for their evening walks become startled when i pass them. I tend to say hello nowadays to any walkers in front just to let them know I'm coming along. If electric cars do become popular in the near future I hope manufacturer's take into consideration to make them a little more "louder" so they can a least be heard when they creep up behind you.

Me and many other motorcyclist remove the OE exhausts and have louder ones put on our motobikes for exactly not this reason.

 

[rozzer1971]

What are they doing on the road anyway ? They don't pay road tax !