Electric and hybrid cars are more likely to hit pedestrians, according to a new report

Reports suggests EVs are silent but potentially deadly

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

Data collected from 32 billion miles of battery-powered car travel and 3 trillion miles of petrol and diesel car trips in the UK has revealed that, mile-for-mile, electric and hybrid vehicles were twice as likely to hit pedestrians when compared to the internal combustion engine vehicles. This number rose to 2.5-times as likely in urban areas.

The study, which was carried out by researchers at theLondon School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine(LSHTM), analyzed Road Safety Data (STATS19) datasets that hold all reports of pedestrians injured by collisions with cars or taxis in Great Britain between 2013 and 2017.

The datasets revealed that out of the 96,285 pedestrians who had been hit by a car or taxi, 74% per cent of those were struck by a petrol or diesel car, while just 2% were struck by an electric or hybrid car.

However, researchers calculated that the average annual casualty rates of pedestrians per 100 million miles for electric or hybrid-electric cars and taxis was twice as likely as accidents involving petrol or diesel engines, with the figures equating to 5.16 accidents per 100 million miles for electric and hybrid, and just 2.40 for petrol or diesel cars and/or taxis.

Phil Edwards, Professor of Epidemiology and Statistics at LSHTM, believes the main reason behind the statistics is simply because electric and hybrid cars are quieter than their petrol or diesel counterparts.

“Given the damaging impacts of air pollution from petrol and diesel cars, overall electric cars are almost certainly better for our health, but our research shows that more needs to be done to reduce the risk they pose to pedestrians, particularly in noisy urban environments,” Edwardssaid in the new report.

Although the statistics were based on road traffic accidents in the UK, a 2017study by the US Department of Transportationfound that electric and hybrid cars posed a 20% higher risk to pedestrians than petrol and diesel cars, and a 50% higher risk during low-speed moves, such as turning, reversing, starting into traffic and pulling to a stop, according toThe Guardian.

Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.

Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.

Analysis: the sound of silence

The study conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) only analyzed UK travel and road accident data from 2013 to 2017, with the paper’s lead author, Phil Edwards,stating that numbers from 2018weren’t available due to “an archiving problem”.

Since July 2019, all new hybrid and electric vehicles sold in Europe have been legally required to be fitted with an external acoustic system that plays a sound when the EV in question is operating at low speeds. Due to the lack of accident data, it is difficult to say whether incidents with pedestrians have reduced thanks to this initiative.

What’s more, there are substantially more electric and hybrid vehicles on the road now than there were in 2017, when the statistics used by the paper’s authors ran out. Although we have no empirical data to back it up, we predict that pedestrians are arguably now more aware of quieter electric and hybrid vehicles than they were seven years ago.

“If you’re moving to an electric car, remember it’s a new kind of vehicle,” Phil Edward toldThe Guardian. “They are much quieter than the old-fashioned cars, and pedestrians have learned to navigate roads by listening for traffic. Drivers of these vehicles need to be extra cautious.” Sound advice, we’d say.

You might also like

Leon has been navigating a world where automotive and tech collide for almost 20 years, reporting on everything from in-car entertainment to robotised manufacturing plants. Currently, EVs are the focus of his attentions, but give it a few years and it will be electric vertical take-off and landing craft. Outside of work hours, he can be found tinkering with distinctly analogue motorcycles, because electric motors are no replacement for an old Honda inline four.

I fell in love with the cute and compact Hyundai Inster, but it has one major drawback

The 6 best electric motorcycle concepts and launches from EICMA 2024

Phishing attacks surge in 2024 as cybercriminals adopt AI tools and multi-channel tactics