Why electric cars make you carsick faster

With electric cars, we are trying to reduce our emissions and preserve all that beautiful greenery. Unfortunately, EVs also cause passengers to see green much faster. In fact, a car with such a snazzy plug causes carsickness much faster. But why is this actually the case?

The electric car – despite fresh reluctance on the part of consumers – is on the rise. And that, of course, is just as well.

After all, by the magical year 2030, for many governments, only zero-emission passenger cars must be sold. Of course, almost all of those will be traditional EVs.

Doing green = seeing green

However, the EV transition poses some problems for motorists and the like. And we’re not even talking about infrastructure, reliability or fire safety. In fact, electric cars cause your passengers to start seeing green much faster.

In fact, the higher risk of car sickness caused by plug-in cars is causing buyers to forgo the switch. But why is it anyway that your passengers are more likely to lose their lunch in a Tesla Model Y than a Toyota Corolla? We briefly list the reasons.

1 | Total silence

Car sickness is caused by your body not being able to tell the difference between actual motion and the motion felt in your inner ear. This is especially a problem for passengers because they cannot anticipate the movements the car will make.

In an electric car, this effect is amplified by the often completely silent and vibration-free cabin. Without the noise and vibration of a combustion engine, passengers are worse at predicting what will happen next. And that can turn your stomach upside down.

2 | Abundance of screens

Electric cars are often prestige objects in manufacturers’ offerings. As a result, they are packed with the latest, most innovative technology. Either way, that means a huge deluge of giant touchscreens these days.

As a passenger, it can be tempting to focus on such a screen. Staring blindly at the dashboard obviously means you can’t see turns and traffic lights coming, making you more likely to get nauseous.

3 | Regenerative Braking

In an effort to use energy as efficiently as possible, EVs almost all have a regenerative braking system. This converts braking energy that would normally be lost as heat into electricity.

However, the system can also cause co-drivers to be unpleasantly surprised by the sudden deceleration. This is because braking is often more aggressive than conventional braking and occurs much more frequently, especially in slow-moving traffic.

4 | Sudden acceleration

At the other end of the scale, we find the often unexpectedly violent acceleration of EVs. Indeed, because of the linear and sudden torque delivery of electric motors – which means that the car fires itself immediately towards the horizon without buildup – you can be pressed painfully hard into your seat. With an inexperienced driver beside you, the ride can become particularly uncomfortable, even without extreme stoplight sprints.

How do you fix it?

First, of course, as an EV driver, you can simply teach yourself a smooth driving style. After all, as long as you don’t step on the pedals like you’re on a go-kart track, you can avoid a lot of suffering.

To deal with the other factors, major manufacturers are working on clever solutions. By now, most brands already have different adjustments for the regenerative braking system to reduce shock.

In addition, Toyota and Honda are working on software to make an EV’s acceleration feel like that of an internal combustion engine car. That means slower sprint times, but a full stomach and a clean dashboard.

The last resort is simulated engine sound, which BMW, Hyundai, Toyota and Dodge, among others, are working with.