TikTok videos are highlighting an unexpected downside to electric vehicles: travel sickness.
One video, with over 10,000 likes and comments featuring a passenger saying “yes!!!! electric vehicles make me feel so travel sick!?”, while another shows someone joking “The way I’m fighting for my LIFE anytime my Uber is a Tesla”:
The suspected culprit is regenerative braking – a feature found in Teslas and most other EVs that slows the car by feeding energy back into the battery rather than through traditional braking. Some TikTok users claim the effect is worse when drivers aren’t used to how it handles, creating a stop-start motion that can be more disorientating than a petrol or diesel car.
For passengers who use their phone or tablet during the journey – which only makes the mismatch between what the eyes see and what the body feels more pronounced – tech recycling comparison site Compare and Recycle is highlighting a simple, lesser-known iPhone setting that could help. Lee Elliott, chief product officer at Compare & Recycle, explains how it works and why it’s worth switching on.
Lee Elliott, chief product officer, said, “Car sickness is often caused by a mismatch between what the eyes see and what the body feels, and using a phone or tablet while in a moving vehicle is one of the most common triggers. Regenerative braking can make this worse, since the more variable deceleration adds another layer of motion the body has to process. But it’s worth knowing there’s a built-in setting that can help reduce that effect.
“Vehicle Motion Cues, found under Settings > Accessibility > Motion on most Apple devices, display a subtle set of moving dots around the edge of the screen that shift in response to the car’s movement.
“Because the dots move in sync with the vehicle, they give the eyes a visual cue that matches what the inner ear is already sensing, which is what helps ease that underlying mismatch. It works with the device in normal use, so people can still watch videos, play games or read while it’s active. It can be set to come on automatically whenever the phone detects it’s in a moving vehicle, so there’s nothing to remember once it’s set up.”
He adds: “It’s also worth remembering this isn’t just a car journey issue. The same setting and the same principles apply on trains, coaches and ferries too.
What can Android users do?
For those not using Apple devices, Lee says there are other ways they can utilise similar apps: “Android doesn’t have this feature built in yet, but there are free apps that do a similar job. KineStop overlays the same kind of moving dots on the screen and works in much the same way as Apple’s feature.
“Samsung users also have Hearapy, a free sound-based app designed to ease motion discomfort, though it’s tuned for use with Galaxy Buds specifically. Neither is quite as seamless as a built-in setting, but they’re a genuinely useful option for anyone whose phone isn’t an iPhone.”
What if the setting doesn’t help?
For anyone who still feels unwell even with the setting turned on, Lee suggests having a screen-free option ready as a backup: “For people who still feel unwell even with the setting enabled, it’s worth keeping a screen-free backup on hand.
“An audiobook can give you something to focus on without needing to look at a screen at all, and can help once symptoms start to appear.
“Of course, while these settings can be useful, none of them replace the value in regular breaks and fresh air, which remain the most effective way to manage travel sickness on a long journey.
“But for anyone who knows a screen will be part of the trip regardless, particularly in an EV, it’s a straightforward setting that takes moments to turn on and could make a noticeable difference.”
© Image by Matheus Bertelli
