--- title: "Science Finally Explains Why People Get More Carsick in EVs" date: "2025-07-20" modified: "2025-07-20" authors: - name: "Adam Ismail" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/adam-ismail" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/science-finally-explains-why-people-get-more-carsick-in-evs" categories: - "Car Tech" - "Electric Vehicles" - "News" --- # Science Finally Explains Why People Get More Carsick in EVs ![BURBANK, CA - FEBRUARY 16: Tesla Dealership along 811 S San Fernando Blvd, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023 in Burbank, CA. Tesla, Inc. is recalling 362,758 vehicles in the U.S. because its Full Self-Driving Beta software may cause a crash, according a notice from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)]() *\Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images\* One of the first things that hits you about the EV experience is its relative smoothness, compared to internal-combustion cars, with their vibrations and noise. You might assume that these attributes would make EVs more comfortable for those who tend to get [carsick](), but research has found that the opposite is in fact true. Electric vehicles can exacerbate sensations of motion sickness in passengers, and science tells us why. It's more or less the same reason why you never hear about drivers getting carsick. If you're driving a car, you know how the vehicle is about to react as you manipulate the gas, brakes, and steering. Your passengers don't, though—they can only guess. And that mismatch in expectation versus physical reality gets to the root of what causes motion sickness. Now consider an electric vehicle. All of those audio and kinetic cues that have defined cars for more than a century are now gone. There's no rumbling engine to signal movement, and, in most models, the driver doesn't even need to press the brake pedal to quickly slow down; the car does it automatically and steadily off acceleration. Passengers have even fewer signs to instinctively pick up on, and this can lead to problems, as William Emond, a PhD student at France's Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbéliard, told *[The Guardian]()*. "If we are accustomed to traveling in non-EVs, we are used to understanding the car’s motion based on signals such as engine revs, engine vibrations, torque, etc. Yet, traveling in an EV for the first time is a new motion environment for the brain, which needs adaptation," Emond explains. Emond sums it up as the brain lacking "accuracy in estimating the motion forces" of EVs, compared to our ability to estimate how gas cars behave. Two studies cited by *The Guardian* back this up: One from 2020 linked the silence of EVs to increased carsickness, while another from 2024 related seat vibrations to the phenomenon. Regenerative braking is part of the problem, too, as "low-frequency deceleration," rather than quick stabs of the brake pedal, has also been correlated with increased motion sickness. This one is admittedly a little surprising because you'd assume a slower, more gradual movement would result in less fatigue for passengers. I'm no expert, but if I had to guess, the progression from sharp acceleration to relatively sharp deceleration *without* a coasting phase—as most EVs default to [one-pedal driving]()—plays a part. That sequence goes against what we've all been primed to expect, riding in gas cars all our lives. As EVs grow within the market, it will be interesting to explore whether motion sickness will become less common, because we'll all have built more experience with them. Consider young kids in the coming decades, who might have limited or no experience with combustion-powered cars; maybe they'll fare better than us today. Even so, perhaps a larger subset of people in the future will still be prone to carsickness in an all-EV world, compared to the all-ICE one we grew up in. So many questions, and the only thing that will answer them is time. *Got a tip? Email us at tips@thedrive.com*[]() ## Author Adam is a Senior Editor at The Drive, concentrating on curating and developing the site's slate of daily journalism, from initial pitch to final copy edit. When he's not at his desk researching leads and working with writers, he's testing vehicles or reviewing racing games, new and old. He joined The Drive in 2023, following seven years of covering consumer technology and cars. A car lover and gamer since his earliest memories, Adam came to know the automotive world through video games. First it was Daytona USA, Sega Rally, and Ridge Racer; then came Need For Speed, which inspired an encyclopedic knowledge of '90s supercars, and, of course, Gran Turismo. If not for them, he'd assuredly be doing something else right now. Adam is based in the suburbs outside Philly, where there are ample roads for his hot hatch to stretch its legs. In his car, he's probably listening to indie rock, drum and bass, or Yankees baseball. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()