Fascinating footage captures how quiet city of 17 million sounds with mostly electric vehicles on roads
While carbon emissions might be the most prominent concern for many when it comes to cars, one major impact of vehicles on the road relates to the sheer amount of noise pollution that they produce.
You only need to think back as far as the COVID 19 pandemic to see quite how much of a difference a world without cars can make, as the return to peace and quiet gave many a new perspective on something many rely on so heavily.
Unfortunately vehicles are a necessity for the daily living of millions across the world, causing streets to be filled with noisy cars that are often contributing to growing emissions as they chug away.
China seems to have killed two birds with one stone when it comes to its mass adoption of electric cars, however, as not only is the carbon impact significantly reduced, but it's made a measurable impact on noise levels in even the busiest of cities.
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Nothing shows this better than one particular video shared on TikTok, by FrankCohen2000, as it shows the busy streets of Shenzhen – a city with around 17.5 residents – and there's one thing you simply can't miss.
Despite cars and scooters soaring past the person recording, there's barely a sound to be heard outside of the occasional honk of a horn or slight screech of a brake, giving a hopeful vision for the future of transportation.
It'd be easy to mistake this on an audio level for a city that's a fraction of the size, yet it shows how much of a difference simply switching to electric cars en masse can make to the experience for everyone.
"We are so used to the noise pollution, it's sad," notes one commenter underneath the video, with another arguing that "cities aren't loud, cars are loud."
A third declared that "as an owner of an EV myself, I absolutely love this and hope this is the future for the US!"
There are some negatives though that you might not explain, as one user on Reddit explains: "The only downside is that you had to constantly check behind you for any EV scooters silently zooming pass [sic] you on the sidewalk."
Some electric cars have added 'fake' exhaust noises as a safety precaution, but it becomes more complicated when scooters are added into the mix, and it's definitely something to consider for the future.
People have suggested implementing new infrastructure that separates foot traffic from electric scooters and bikes, but that obviously requires potentially significant work that's often easier said than done — yet a worthwhile investment if the future is looking to be electric.