Drivers and Passengers Getting Sick While in Electric Vehicles – Doctor Confirms It’s ‘A Real Thing’

Electric vehicle drivers can literally make their passengers sick, some experts say, while others say the lack of sound in an EV contributes to motion sickness.

Motion sickness in EVs “is a real thing,” said Dr. D.J. Verret, an ear, nose and throat doctor in Texas, according to ABC.

“The brain sets up a model for what it expects in certain situations,” he said. “In combustion cars, you hear the engine revving and know someone is stepping on the accelerator. The car moves forward. In an EV, the auditory and visual inputs don’t fit the model that you are actually moving.”

Passengers are most likely to suffer, he said.

“If you’re the driver, your head moves when you turn the wheel to the left,” he said. “Our brain is responding to what it’s expecting to happen. If you’re a passenger, you can’t see those motions. If you have a certain lateral acceleration — like turning a corner fast — that will increase your potential for dizziness and motion sickness.”

Ed Kim, president and chief analyst of AutoPacific, called Teslas the “worst offenders,” saying they can be “very jerky and really abrupt.”

John Voelcker, a contributing editor at Car and Driver, said it’s not just the vehicle.

“A lot of motion sickness, honestly, is because of the driver.”

He said abrupt acceleration and braking wreaks havoc with riders.