According to a British study, electric cars may pose a greater risk of accidents for pedestrians than cars with a combustion engine. According to analysis of older data from Great Britain, the risk of an accident is twice as high as with petrol or diesel vehicles.
The research team explains in the ‘Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health’ that they are less audible, especially in cities, due to ambient noise. Drivers of electric or hybrid cars should pay more attention to pedestrians as they may not hear them and step onto the road, the scientists said. In addition, work must be done to neutralize the increased risk. Possible technical solutions included collision avoidance systems and autonomous emergency braking.
The team also emphasizes that the results should not deter people from walking or cycling. Instead, the data should be used to better understand and do something about potential risks in road traffic.
Data from 2013 to 2017 formed the basis
Researchers led by Phil Edwards of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine examined the risk of accidents in Britain using data from 2013 to 2017. Of the approximately 96,000 pedestrians hit by a car or taxi, around three quarters were hit by a vehicle with a diesel or petrol engine (almost 72,000) and two percent (approximately 1,700) by an electric car or hybrid car. About a quarter no information was provided.
The researchers compared these figures to the distance each type of vehicle travels and calculated the number of pedestrian accidents per 100 million miles (about 160 million kilometers). The annual average for electric and hybrid vehicles (5.16) is twice as high as for petrol and diesel engines (2.40). Most accidents happen in metropolitan areas.
The result should be treated with caution
However, the researchers pointed out that the analysis lacks data from after 2017 and that there could be a bias due to the fact that younger, less experienced drivers are more likely to own an electric car – younger drivers are generally more involved in traffic . accidents. Factors such as weight differences or acceleration of the vehicles can also play a role.
Source: Krone
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