It was a year in to driving his daughter to school in his new electric vehicle that Phil Bellamy discovered she dreaded the 10-minute daily ride \u2013 it made her feel sick in a way no other car did.<\/p>\n
As the driver, Bellamy had no problems with the car but his teenage daughters struggled with sickness every time they entered the vehicle. Research has shown<\/a> this is an issue \u2013 people who did not usually have motion sickness<\/a> in a conventional car found that they did in EVs.<\/p>\n For Bellamy, 51, his family\u2019s aversion to riding in his car made him wonder at the cause. He tried changing his driving style and even buying a different car but found the issues persisted. His daughters now refuse to travel with him, if possible.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we\u2019re going on a journey, they\u2019re absolutely taking travel sickness tablets immediately. They\u2019re not even considering coming in the car without them,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Bellamy enjoys driving his electric car, which is quieter and smoother compared with the vibrations of a traditional combustion engine car, but hopes manufacturers will consider how to address the concerns of passengers who are affected by motion sickness.<\/p>\n The causes of sickness could include the relatively quick acceleration of EVs compared to fuel vehicles, their regenerative braking systems and a lack of sensory triggers such as engine noise and vibrations when travelling in a car.<\/p>\n Research carried out in China<\/a>, a big producer of electric cars, found that EVs were associated with more severe motion sickness symptoms than fuel vehicles.<\/p>\n Atiah Chayne, a content creator from London, posted on TikTok<\/a> about her experiences of car sickness in EVs this summer when she booked Ubers to take her out.<\/p>\n Chayne says \u201cextreme nausea\u201d kicked in very quickly and stopped immediately after she left the vehicle, but it took her a while to realise it happened only in EVs. She now avoids using Ubers as it\u2019s difficult to find one that is not an EV.<\/p>\n Chayne says: \u201cIt usually started quickly soon after we moved off. I\u2019d say it got really bad one minute into the journey. I would put the windows down and go on my phone to distract myself,\u201d she says. \u201cThe sickness was constantly there throughout the whole journey. If your Uber is 20 minutes away from your destination, you\u2019re counting down the minutes until you get out.\u201d<\/p>\n John Golding, a professor of applied psychology at the University of Westminster in London, says motion sickness specifically affects passengers because it is, in large part, related to being able to anticipate changes in movement.<\/p>\n While drivers have control of the car\u2019s movement, passengers do not \u2013 especially those in the back seat \u2013 and he thinks this could become more of an issue with the potential introduction of self-driving cars.<\/p>\n He says the car industry is aware of motion sickness issues for some people in EVs and is looking at ways to help passengers anticipate changes in movement, such as vibrations in the car seat<\/a> that warn the passenger when the car is turning.<\/p>\n Golding says people can also either take motion sickness medication or make behavioural changes. \u201cThe simplest thing is to sit in the front to get a view. Avoid moving your head too much, don\u2019t look at your phone or start reading; that makes things much worse. If you can get some fresh air, that will help,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Backseat passengers have no control over the car\u2019s movements. Photograph: Bsip Sa\/AlamyHow to cope with motion sickness<\/p>\n Experts and the NHS suggest<\/a> behavioural changes, medication and acupressure bands could help.<\/p>\n Sit at the front<\/strong> Knowing what\u2019s going on around you is the best way to avoid motion sickness. It allows you to see and anticipate what will happen next, while in the back the view just flashes past, says Golding.<\/p>\n Try motion sickness medications<\/strong> These come in the form of patches or tablets that can be bought from pharmacies and help control how your brain and body react to movement. They should be taken before travelling<\/a>.<\/p>\n Wear <\/strong>ac<\/strong>upressure<\/strong> bands <\/strong>These are thought to work for some, though research suggests probably through a placebo effect. \u201cPlacebo effects can be very, very strong. If they work for an individual, don\u2019t knock it,\u201d Golding says.<\/p>\n Listen to a 100hz sound<\/strong> for a minute. Research<\/a> from Japan\u2019s Nagoya University suggests the vibrations at this frequency could help by stimulating a part of the inner ear that detects gravity and acceleration.<\/p>\n