John Barlow crosses Redfern Street in the Canberra suburb of Cook five times a day, putting his own life and the life of his guide dog at risk every time.
Mr Barlow has a vision impairment after being diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa when he was 15 years old.
He relies on his hearing to cross the street — only feeling safe to step off the footpath when there is no sound from cars on the road.
However, with the sharp rise in electric vehicle (EV) ownership in the ACT, Mr Barlow is worried that one day he will be hit by one of the cars because he did not hear it coming.
"One guy actually yelled at me, 'Didn't you hear me?!' I said 'No'. I had no idea until he was virtually on top of me that he was there," Mr Barlow said.
"I use the standard noises that a car would make to make a judgement call to cross the street … with an EV because they're so silent, it makes it so challenging to cross the road.
"It really does take my confidence levels away, when I want to cross the street independently."
The sharp rise in EV uptake is prompting calls from the low-vision community to fit the vehicles with noise-emitting devices called acoustic vehicle alert systems (AVAS), so pedestrians can hear them coming at low speeds.
In a 2018 study from Vision Australia and Monash University, one in three people surveyed who were blind or had low vision said they had either been hit by or had a near miss with an electric vehicle.
However, Vision Australia says the lack of noise from EVs is a safety issue for all Australians, not just the 550,000 people who are blind or have low vision.
"In the end, it's really easy to be distracted as a driver or have the sun in your eyes. So it's really talking about safety and all aspects of our community," said Kendra Wells, the regional client services manager at Vision Australia.
US, Europe already have noise requirements
Unlike America, Europe and parts of Asia, Australia does not currently require electric vehicles to generate sound.
However, with EVs predicted to make up 90 per cent of all Australian cars by the year 2050, Vision Australia is calling on the Australian government to implement the changes as soon as possible.
Ms Wells said in the past financial year there had been 144 pedestrian deaths on Australian roads.
"We just see this problem recurring and becoming worse for our community," she said.
Canberra continues to lead the nation in the uptake of EVs, with data showing almost one in five new cars registered in the ACT this year were electric.
However, the federal government said if noise emitters were mandated, older electric cars would not need to be retrofitted with the device.
A spokesperson from the Department of Infrastructure and Transport confirmed any AVAS mandate would apply only to new vehicles entering the Australian market, from a proposed phase-in date of January 2025.
But secretary of the ACT branch of the Australian Electric Vehicle Association (AEVA), Darryl Bourke, said other vehicles should be included in the mandate.
"It's not just EVs, though obviously, that has brought the problem to the forefront because they are very quiet," he said.
"If it's a safety issue then we should be … making [that change]."
"With 80,000 EV cars already on the road, it's already a risk to our community so we would like a change to encompass all cars that are in our community," Ms Wells said.
What noise EVs make still up for debate
While fitting electric cars with noise emitters could improve safety, it would also add to the level of noise produced in Australian cities, but Vision Australia says any noise pollution would be minimal.
"We're looking for conventional sounds about 50 decibels, which is in relation to fridge humming or a quiet conversation," Ms Wells said.
And exactly what that noise sounds like is still being considered.
While car brand BMW has been working with movie score writer Hans Zimmer to create a unique sound for their electric models, all John Barlow wants is something simple and familiar.
"In an ideal world, I'd just like one standard noise whether it's an alarm or a beeping," he said.
"I do realise it's going to take some time and we've still got a few hurdles to get over yet, but hopefully down the track there'll be electric vehicles with sounds that'll make crossing the street easier for Jazzy [the guide dog] and myself."
Public submissions about the implementation of AVAS devices close on May 26.
EDITOR'S NOTE: May 18, 2023: A previous version of this story included a quote, which incorrectly attributed 144 road deaths to electric vehicles. The story has been amended to reflect that the deaths were the total pedestrian deaths on Australian roads in 2021-2022.
