Lola Baird asked her boyfriend to stop the car on the roadside. It had only been about 40 minutes since the journey had started and she was feeling so nauseous that she could not stop herself from vomiting.
24-year-old Lola, a resident of North London, had never suffered from motion sickness before. But about two years ago her boyfriend bought an electric vehicle (EV).
Since then, whenever he takes her on long car trips, Lola feels "extremely nauseous".
The problem increased so much that she even asked her boyfriend to change the car.
Lola is not alone. Some other people also told BBC News that they or their children feel more car sick when sitting as a passenger in an electric car. However, on the other hand, many EV drivers say that they do not face any such problems.
So what could be the reason for these complaints of motion sickness?
Dr. Irene Di Giulio, senior lecturer in anatomy and biomechanics at King's College London, also does research on motion sickness.
He says that the research done so far indicates that some people may have more motion sickness in electric vehicles than in petrol or diesel cars.
Dr. Nicholas Heck, a neurologist at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, has also heard such complaints from some of his patients. He is an expert in problems related to dizziness and vertigo.
"They feel that they are more likely to get motion sickness in electric vehicles or are more sensitive to it," he says. He adds, "I've heard about it many, many times."
According to him, every month about two patients report getting motion sickness, especially while traveling in electric vehicles.
However, research into any possible link between electric vehicles and motion sickness is still in its early stages. Some experts say that at present there is no solid evidence on the basis of which anything can be said with certainty.
Dr. Bill Yates, who has done research on motion sickness at the University of Pittsburgh, says that the research done so far on this topic is "still very limited and vague".
Mark Quigg says his new electric car is "brilliant" to drive. But he soon realized that his nine-year-old daughter's problem of motion sickness increased significantly when she traveled in it.
Many electric car owners contacted BBC News and said that they or their family members do not face any such problems while traveling in electric vehicles. Some people even said that they have less motion sickness in EVs compared to conventional petrol-diesel cars.
Vicky Edmonds, CEO of EVA England, an organization of electric vehicle drivers, says motion sickness is not a concern among her members.
China's electric vehicle company Xpeng has said that "This is a legitimate question and it is not just your misconception." According to the company, this problem may be due to "some side effects of the way electric cars are designed and engineered."
According to Hack, the cause of motion sickness is "a mismatch in the signals we receive from our senses." When the signal received from one of these does not match the other signals, motion sickness can occur.
According to Dr. De Giulio, electric vehicles do not have the sound and vibration of the engine by which we usually know when the car is accelerating. Another reason could be regenerative braking. Due to this, the person may feel for a few moments as if his body is shaking back and forth when the speed of the car changes suddenly.
Experts say that women and children are more sensitive to motion sickness. According to Professor John Golding, motion sickness usually peaks between the ages of 8 and 10.
Academic experts say that travelers can adopt some measures to reduce the problem of motion sickness:
1. Look out the front window and avoid looking at the phone or reading a book.
2. If possible, sit on the front passenger seat.
3. Keep your head steady by resting it on the headrest.
4. Tilt your seat back a little.
5. Keep the breathing rate normal and controlled.
6. Open the window for fresh air.
In the future, automakers may include features such as software to soften sudden sharp acceleration and sound systems to give passengers a sense of the car's speed.
