Effect of Environmental Noise, Distance and Warning Sound on Pedestrians’ Auditory Detectability of Electric Vehicles

With developments in science and technology, the number of electric vehicles will increase, and they will even replace ICE vehicles. Thus, perceiving the presence of approaching electric vehicles on the road has become an important issue. In this study, the auditory detectability of the electric vehicle warning sound at different volumes, distances, and environmental noise levels was investigated. To this end, the detection rate was recorded in experiments with three environmental noise levels (50, 60, and 70 dBA), two sound pressure levels (SPLs) of the warning sound (46 and 51 dBA), three frequency combinations of the warning sound (5000, 2500, 1250, and 630 Hz for high frequencies; 2500, 1250, 630, and 315 Hz for medium frequencies; and 1250, 630, 315, and 160 Hz for low frequencies), and five distances (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 m). The main results showed that the detection rate at 51 dBA was significantly higher than that at 46 dBA under a high-frequency warning sound; however, the detection rates were similar under medium- and low-frequency warning sounds. The participants’ rates of detection for warning sounds were less than 20% under all experimental conditions, and a high-frequency warning sound was not affected by environmental noise. With regard to distances, no significant effects were observed between the distances and the detection rate at any of the three frequencies. In addition, auditory thresholds based on high-, medium-, and low-frequency warning sounds were found through logistic regression analysis results. The results of this study can be used as a reference for the future design of warning sounds.