2025.06.03 - The Strange Noise of a Regulated Sound

Tonight I'm sitting on a balcony brainstorming ideas and architecture for my writing app. More about that soon. But listen... Can you hear it? I can.

I live in a townhouse. Or, more technically, a rowhouse. My garage opens to a short driveway connected to the garages of four other families, and our little shared driveway connects to several other collections of rowhouses. In other words, my balcony overlooks a parking lot surrounded by 20 garage doors, which means cars coming and going at all hours. Despite that, the setting is surprisingly calm and residential. Kids play ball, ride bikes, or draw with chalk. Families barbeque. Typical suburbia.

By far the most annoying disturbance to this tranquility is one that doesn't need to exist. Not obnoxious kids or barking pets. Not neighbors blasting music or throwing parties. Not even the constant raising and lowering of 20 garage doors.

Instead, it's the sound of a dozen electric or hybrid vehicles moving in reverse. Regulations are in place to force electric vehicles to make noise when they're backing up. But something has gone terribly wrong.

The high pitched hum or buzz or whine or whatever you call it is nearly constant. I can hear it with my windows closed. I can hear it at night in bed. I can hear it on the third floor, where I'm rarely in danger of getting run over.

The sound is meant to warn pedestrians that a nearby vehicle i backing up. Fair enough. But in reverse, most cars don't travel very fast. So the amount of warning needed is minimal. Maybe 20 feet? Maybe 50? Surely not hundreds. Surely not through walls.

Amusingly, I can't hear a single ICE vehicle backing up. If I hear any noise at all from the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles, it's the sound of their rubber tires on pavement, which, incidentally, I also hear from the EVs. I couldn't tell you when the family driving the F150 is backing out of their garage, but I can hear the otherwise silent Rivian.

Lest you think this is simply a hate rant against EVs, know that I drive a Tesla. I love electric cars. Thanks to Mr. Musk's support for bigotry and fascism, later this year I'll be switching to a different EV, but the point remains that I am guilty of inflicting this same noise on unsuspecting pedestrians.

Now, I understand the purpose of this regulated sound. I understand the desire for safety. I do not, however, know the data. Is this a real problem? Are people getting mowed down by backward-moving EVs? Is the regulation to blame for the excessive volume or is it the shoddy execution by EV manufacturers.

What I do know is the noise appears to exceed the volume or range necessary for its intended purpose, and it has made silent vehicles louder than their near-silent ICE counterparts.

That seems like an overcorrection.

If, it goes without saying, this solution has reduced the number of injuries or deaths caused by EVs traveling in reverse, I am happy to live with it. But I'd still argue there must be a better way.

Anyway, back to work.