Electric cars ‘hit pedestrians at twice the rate of petrol or diesel vehicles’
Study finds the vehicles’ quieter engines are a significant factor in higher fatality rates
Michael Searles,
HEALTH CORRESPONDENT
22 May 2024 • 3:51pm
Researchers called on the Government to mitigate the risks as it phases out petrol and diesel cars in pursuit of net zero
Electric cars hit pedestrians at double the rate of petrol or diesel vehicles, a study in a BMJ journal has found.
Experts said that electric or hybrid cars were twice as likely to be involved in a road accident with a bystander than a petrol or diesel car over the same distance.
The researchers suggested the vehicles’ quieter engines were a significant factor in higher fatality rates and called on the Government to mitigate the risks as it phases out petrol and diesel cars in pursuit of net zero.
The study looked at the number of casualties from road collisions in Britain between 2013 and 2017 using Road Safety Data and calculated the number of pedestrians that had been hit by different types of cars.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/05/21/electric-cars-pedestrians-twice-rate-petrol-diesel/
