A recent study analysing UK road accidents concluded that battery electric and hybrid cars are dangerous. Significantly more likely to hit a pedestrian than petrol or diesel vehicles. According to the aggregated data With 32 billion miles driven by BEVs and HEVs and more than 3 trillion miles driven by gasoline and diesel vehicles, research shows that electric vehicles are likely to perform essentially the same way in non-urban environments. it was done. Hitting a walking person It was three times as expensive as an internal combustion car, but This is more likely in urban areasThere is There are probably some factors herebut it’s still pretty wild to see this massive spread of cornering people between the two groups.
There are no hard and fast rules to explain this phenomenon, but you can use some logic to determine what’s going on here. Firstly, especially in the UK, EVs and hybrids are much more likely to be driven in pedestrianized urban areas. Additionally, EVs and hybrid vehicles are increasingly likely to be purchased by younger and less experienced drivers.
Another big factor is that battery-powered cars are much quieter than gasoline or diesel cars, even though some companies have installed pedestrian warning systems that make noise at low speeds. In my personal experience, the artificial sounds made by EVs and hybrids make it difficult to accurately gauge speed and distance with your ears. You can hear them without looking up and you might think they’re 10 or 15 feet away, when in fact they’re right next to you.
“Electric cars are less audible than petrol or diesel cars, which makes them dangerous for pedestrians,” said study lead author Phil Edwards, professor of epidemiology and statistics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. said guardian“Governments need to mitigate these risks if they are to phase out the sale of petrol and diesel cars.”
“If you’re going to move to electric vehicles, remember that it’s a new kind of vehicle,” Edwards continued. “They are much quieter than older cars, and pedestrians have learned to listen to traffic and navigate the road. Drivers of these vehicles need to be especially careful.”
The study focused on national traffic accident data from 2013 to 2017, the most recent period available. The analysis included 916,713 motor vehicle accident fatalities and injuries, of which about 13% were pedestrians. About a quarter of pedestrian fatalities and injuries were the result of being struck by a battery-powered vehicle. A quarter of all pedestrian accidents is a significant figure, considering that gasoline and diesel vehicles drive much longer distances.
If you’re riding an EV or hybrid, remember that you’re quietly moving through the world. This applies to everyone. No matter what car you’re driving, you’re in a cage, pedestrians are meat-based Gundams for small-brained pilots, and there’s little they’re immune to. Don’t hit pedestrians, even if they cross the road illegally or look down at their cell phones, causing a minor nuisance.
This article was originally published Yalopnik.
