Are Electric Cars the New Silent Killer?

A new study has warned that accidents involving electric or hybrid cars pose a greater risk to pedestrians (by twice as much) than those involving petrol or diesel cars.

A study of road traffic fatalities in Britain revealed that the risk increases by about three times in urban areas, where ambient noise levels are higher.

Scientists say necessary measures must be taken to reduce the risks, amid a broad campaign to phase out petrol-powered cars, to reach desired environmental goals.

The research team analysed the differences between electric and petrol cars in terms of pedestrian injury rates per 100 million miles of road travel in Britain, using government road safety statistics.

There were 916,713 road traffic casualties between 2013 and 2017. Of these, 120,197 were pedestrians and 96,285 were hit by a vehicle.

Three-quarters of pedestrian casualties (71,666 (74%)) were involved in a petrol or diesel car accident. About one in 50, around 1,652 (2%), were involved in an electric or hybrid car accident.

Most car accidents occurred in urban areas, with a higher proportion involving electric or hybrid vehicles (94%) than petrol or diesel vehicles (88%), and in rural areas, 6% versus 12% respectively, said study author Professor Phil Edwards. 

“Pedestrian accidents were (on average) more likely with electric and hybrid cars than with petrol and diesel cars,” Edwards added.

Younger, less experienced drivers are more likely to be involved in road traffic accidents and are more likely to buy an electric car, which may account for some of the increased risk observed, the research team said.

“One plausible explanation for our results is that ambient noise levels vary between urban and rural areas, making electric vehicles less audible to pedestrians in urban areas,” Edwards continued.

The results were published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.