Video: Race stunt raises noise pollution awareness

Nissan recently organised a night-time race stunt in one of Europe’s quietest French villages. Footage was taken of four Nissan LEAF vehicles racing around backstreets at high speeds without waking anyone up. Members of the village were filmed while they slept to monitor their reactions.

This event was targeted to coincide with the 19th annual International Noise Awareness Day (INAD) to demonstrate how quiet electric cars actually are to assist INAD raise awareness about noise pollution levels across Europe.

The running noise of the Nissan LEAF engine is 21dB, recording less noise than a ceiling fan (26dB), which is way below the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) night-time noise target for Europe (40dB).

The WHO would normally not approve of such fun, but as the video shows, nobody in the village even noticed that there was a race. Even the chickens had no idea (turns out you can’t sneak anything by the dogs though).

According to the WHO, at least 13.5% of Europeans are exposed to road traffic noise at levels exceeding 55dB, which is considered detrimental to human health. The medical effects of noise levels include insomnia (50dB), obesity (50dB), psychic disorders (60dB) and reduction in life expectancy (50dB).

“One thing that surprises people most about the Nissan LEAF is the feeling of near silence; it is incredibly liberating and makes for a very relaxing driving experience. Most of the noise you hear when a Nissan LEAF is running at low speed in town is actually artificially created to help alert pedestrians to the vehicle’s presence,” says Jean-Pierre Diernaz, director of electric vehicles for Nissan Europe.

“Electric vehicles like the Nissan LEAF will play a very large role in the move to create ‘smarter cities’ worldwide – cities that aim to create smart solutions for a range of city problems from air pollution to traffic congestion. The goal is to build cities like these where people drive electric vehicles like the Nissan LEAF and the new e-NV200, which will launch in June. This is a concept that Nissan supports wholeheartedly and aims to be a part of now and in years to come.”