Why your EV might be making you sick
New study explains why people prone to motion sickness might want to rethink their next carScientists have backed it up yet again: electric vehicles can give you motion sickness.
If you’ve been driving an EV for a few years or more, that might sound a little dramatic. You might be thinking, ‘I’ve never felt sick in my Nissan LEAF’, but that’s probably because you’ve either adjusted to the almost silent ride, blast your music, or drive really slowly.
Or, perhaps the only time you’ve been in an EV was when you were in the back of an Uber, on your way home from Friday night drinks, and just put the queasiness you felt down to those espresso martinis you double-parked at happy hour.
Well, good news: you’re not crazy and the martinis were not, in fact, a sign you can no longer handle your liquor.
You were simply a victim of motion sickness.
According to recent findings from France and reported by The Guardian, experiencing motion sickness is an EV is actually very normal, and more common than you might think.
Heck, we even have anecdotal evidence of seasoned motoring journalists getting car sick on press launches!
“Greater sickness in EVs can be attributed to a lack of previous experience, as both a driver and as a passenger, where the brain lacks accuracy in estimating the motion forces because it relies on previous experience in other types of cars,” said William Emond, a PhD student researching car sickness at the Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbéliard, in France.
According to the science, most of us are simply used to how an internal combustion-engined (ICE) car operates – they make noises. As such, we’ve been able ‘to adapt to their specific cues’ because our brain uses the sound/s to anticipate acceleration after hearing the engine rev, signaling a change of speed is about to occur.
Most electric vehicles simply don’t produce the same noises, although there are plenty of manufacturers now engineering artificial sounds to help with this, and they can be switched on or off (and even customised) at the user’s discretion.
Most use speakers within the cabin to play sounds hoped to help those prone to motion sickness, but some (like the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N) even have an external speaker, so passersby can hear your EV ‘revving’.
Some vehicles, like the Audi Q6 e-tron, now offer visual cues to help the driver anticipate changing speed: the speedometer size increases as you accelerate, as if it’s coming towards you. It does the opposite when you slow down.
Regeneration braking can also be a factor when it comes to motion sickness, with low frequency deceleration said to be associated with higher levels of the ailment.
“If we are accustomed to traveling in non-EVs, we are used to understanding the car’s motion based on signals such as engine revs, engine vibrations, torque, etc. Yet, traveling in an EV for the first time is a new motion environment for the brain, which needs adaptation,” said Emond.
Emond isn’t the first to make this discovery.
Previous studies have suggested strong correlations between motion sickness severity and the seat vibrations in electric vehicles, while a 2020 study found the lack of engine sound in an EV might be a major contributing factor to increased feelings of carsickness.
What is motion sickness?
It’s thought to be caused by a mismatch between various sensory signals the brain simultaneously receives about the body’s movement. It happens when the inner ear (which helps control balance), the eyes, and the body send conflicting information to the brain.
Common symptoms include nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite and increased salivation, headaches, drowsiness, and cold sweats, among others.
“Better knowledge of self-motion allows us to anticipate motion forces, which is crucial for motion sickness,” said Emond.
“Yet, when the motion forces as estimated or anticipated by the brain differ from what actually is experienced, then the brain interprets this ‘neural mismatch’ as a situation of conflict. If this conflict persists over time, it may surpass a threshold for triggering autonomic reactions of the body such as symptoms apparent to ‘motion sickness’.”
It’s much more common for passengers to experience motion sickness symptoms in an EV, because they’re not controlling the vehicle and therefore don’t know what is coming next.
“When discovering a new motion environment, the brain needs to habituate because there is no knowledge of previous experience in such a context. This is, for example, why almost everyone becomes sick in zero-gravity environments,” added Emond.
Related: Seven tips to reduce car-induced motion sickness
Related: Jaguar and Land Rover teach driverless cars how to reduce motion sickness
Related: Citroën creates funky glasses to help prevent car motion sickness
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