Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of low noise vehicles on (a) visually impaired people and (b) guide dogs.

Electric vehicles play a key role in contributing to a quieter and cleaner environment, but the Department recognises the potential risks posed by quiet electric vehicles to pedestrians, other vulnerable road users and animals.

Vehicle approval requirements have been introduced to mandate sound generators, known as Acoustic Vehicle Alerting Systems (AVAS), on new types of quiet electric and hybrid vehicles. This has applied to new vehicles being registered since 1 July 2021. The requirements ensure that electric and hybrid vehicles will always produce a minimum level of noise below twelve miles per hour and during reversing.