A woman posted that riding in the back of electric vehicles makes her sick, and the internet quickly swooped in with advice.
On Dec. 1, TikToker Julia Rose (@julia.whiteeee7) posted a video, which amassed over 128,600 views as of Tuesday, expressing that being a passenger in electric vehicles causes motion sickness. “Riding in the back of an electric vehicle is a different type of car sickness omfg,” reads the text overlay in a video of her in which she appears nauseous in the back of a moving vehicle.
Are Self-Driving Vehicles More Likely To Cause Motion Sickness?
The comments were quick to validate her statement, with many comments claiming that they also get particularly motion sick from self-driving vehicles such as Teslas.
“Had to take a Tesla home from the bar on my 21st bday… thank GOD the driver had barf bags,” wrote one commenter.
“Getting motion sickness as an adult is so humbling too like mb yall im 24 and have to breathe in & outta my nose & look at something in the distance,” said another.
While research is still evolving, emerging evidence indicates that electric and self-driving vehicles can increase the likelihood of motion sickness, particularly for backseat passengers.
One major factor is the ultra-smooth acceleration and acceleration that many EVs are known for, as the lack of engine noise, vibration, or shifting cues from a traditional combustion engine causes the brain to lose familiar sensory signals that help anticipate motion. This sensory mismatch is often recognized as a significant trigger of motion sickness.
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Additionally, this problem often becomes exaggerated in self-driving vehicles as the motions become less predictable without a human driver. The unpredictability exacerbates the sensory conflict and raises the odds of motion sickness.
How Can She Avoid Motion Sickness From A Self-Driving Car?
Many comments also advised on how to avoid this kind of motion sickness. “Put the motion sickness dots on your screen babe!! it's an awesome iPhone feature,” added one commenter.
Generally, there are many strategies that experts recommend to avoid motion sickness, with many of them being surprisingly simple.
For one, sitting in the front seat will often help to avoid motion sickness. When passengers can see the environment outside, their brains get better visual cues to match vestibular signals, lowering the risk of sensory conflict and nausea.
If you must sit in the back, then minimizing visual tasks, such as reading or using a phone, is strongly advised. These tasks force the eyes to focus on a static object while the body perceives movement, a classic trigger for motion sickness.
There are also often many other vehicle-specific precautions that can be made. For example, some EVs offer gentler self-driving modes and have adjustable braking or acceleration settings.
