Discomfort, known as motion sickness or kinetosis, can affect some passengers even before completing a journey in an electric vehicle. Symptoms, which include progressive nausea, dizziness, and discomfort, can make short trips difficult to endure.
Rowena Romagnoli began noticing this association after seeing a humorous post on social media about passengers feeling unwell in BYD models. She told Olhar Digital that she had noticed a frequency of discomfort in ride-sharing cars, but only made the connection after seeing the meme about the strange sensation in BYD models, researching, and realizing that the problem is more common than imagined.
Due to this condition, Rowena set a tolerance limit of journeys up to 15 minutes, because beyond that, nausea and dizziness become almost unbearable. For longer trips, she prefers other types of vehicles or travels only if someone accompanies her.
Kinetosis can occur in various transports, such as buses, airplanes, and conventional cars. In electric vehicles, certain acceleration and braking characteristics can contribute to the discomfort of sensitive people, but this does not imply that all passengers will feel nauseous or that the models are inadequate.
To understand the cause of nausea, it is essential to know how the body processes movements. The brain integrates information from vision, the vestibular system (located in the inner ear), and body perception to recognize the body's position in space. When these signals do not correspond to the expected movement, a feeling of disorientation arises.
Sérgio Semeraro Jordy, a doctor specializing in Neurology and advanced in Neuroimmunology at Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo, explains that kinetosis is linked to the difficulty of integrating this information. Symptoms can include paleness, cold sweats, nausea, vomiting, abdominal discomfort, dizziness, and excessive salivation.
Vision plays a crucial role in this process. For example, when reading on a cell phone during the trip, the eyes focus on a static object, while the inner ear registers the vehicle's accelerations, curves, and braking. This divergence between sensory signals can hinder the brain's interpretation of movements and worsen the discomfort.
In this context, following the landscape or the horizon can help the passenger better interpret changes in speed and direction. Conversely, reading, watching videos, or focusing on a screen can intensify symptoms, especially in individuals predisposed to kinetosis.
Although kinetosis is not exclusive to electric cars, specific attributes of these automobiles can make the trip more uncomfortable for certain passengers. Among these factors are the quick response of the engine to the accelerator and regenerative braking, a technology that recovers energy from movement for the battery. These elements influence the perception of speed variations during the journey.
In electric vehicles, the motor can provide power quickly, causing the vehicle to gain speed in a short time. Intense acceleration, followed by sharp deceleration, can increase discomfort due to a sequence of abrupt movements.
This can happen with regenerative braking. As soon as the driver takes their foot off the accelerator, the car begins to slow down. Although the system recovers energy, the deceleration can cause discomfort, especially when the driver rapidly alternates between accelerating and releasing the pedal. The intensity of this effect depends on both the vehicle's configuration and the driving style.
The low noise level of electric cars can also impact the perception of movements. In combustion vehicles, the sound of the engine and vibrations help the passenger perceive changes in speed, signs less evident in electric ones. However, the exact contribution of this difference to nausea must be analyzed cautiously.
Jordy emphasizes that rapid changes in acceleration and deceleration seem to play a more significant role in the onset of nausea. He compares the action of the electric car, which accelerates very fast, and when the foot is removed from the accelerator, regeneration acts as a brake, generating a 'new jolt.'
Predisposition to kinetosis varies among people and may involve genetic factors. The neurologist points out that children, particularly between six and twelve years old, are more vulnerable, and women tend to report the problem more frequently. Family history can also influence it, although it is not a determining factor.
Jordy also mentions vestibular migraine, a condition associated with dizziness and balance changes, which can increase the probability of discomfort during travel. He stresses, however, that not every nauseous passenger has migraines or any neurological disease.
The travel scenario also influences. A passenger who tolerates short distances may start feeling nauseous on long trips, especially those with constant curves and frequent speed changes. Jordy also warns that traveling sitting with your back to the direction of movement can worsen discomfort, as it hinders the visual anticipation of the path.
One of the simplest solutions is to avoid looking at the cell phone during the trip. Instead of focusing on a screen or book, the passenger should observe the road or a distant point through the front window. According to Jordy, this helps the brain correlate physical movement with visual information.
For long trips, taking breaks helps interrupt continuous exposure to movements. Other medical recommendations include avoiding heavy meals before leaving and asking the driver to drive smoothly.
Rowena discovered a way to manage the discomfort using her own cell phone. She used the iPhone's 'Motion Indicators' feature, which displays dots on the screen moving according to the vehicle, especially in curves and braking, which provided her with great relief. This feature is also available on compatible Android phones, called Motion Assist, requiring Android 17 or higher and updated Google Play Services.
Jordy warns that the effectiveness of this tool can vary individually. If nausea is frequent, intense, or limits daily activities, it is advisable to seek medical help to investigate the symptoms and discuss options, such as medication, always under professional guidance.
In addition to the passenger's actions, the vehicles themselves can be adjusted to provide greater comfort. Some electric models offer driving modes that modify the accelerator response and different levels of regenerative braking, which can smooth out speed changes.
Davi Bertoncello, founder and CEO of Tupi Mobilidade and communications director of the Brazilian Electric Vehicle Association (ABVE), states that such adjustments are part of developing the driving experience. He does not have consolidated data to confirm whether nausea is a recurring complaint or a generalized demand from Brazilian consumers, classifying it as a matter of comfort and adaptation, not an intrinsic problem of electrification.
Bertoncello confirms that some models sold in Brazil allow adjusting the accelerator response and the intensity of regenerative braking, making speed transitions smoother, but this does not mean the vehicle has specific technology to prevent kinetosis. The availability of these features must be checked with each manufacturer.
He adds that international solutions under study involve visual references and sensory stimuli, whose effectiveness and availability vary. The way of driving is also fundamental: gradual accelerations, light braking, and anticipating curves help avoid abrupt movements. Ride-sharing drivers and fleets can adopt these practices, considering the vehicle's adjustments.
Bertoncello clarifies that these are good driving practices, but not a formal recommendation from ABVE regarding kinetosis. The real assessment of the problem's frequency in Brazil still depends on studies in real conditions.
In summary, the advancement of electric cars does not need to be incompatible with comfortable travel; understanding the causal factors allows mitigating discomfort without generalizing the problem to electrification.