A study highlights that electric cars are responsible for more accidents with pedestrians than thermal cars in the city. The silence of electric vehicles is not all good.
Electric cars cause many more accidents involving pedestrians than gasoline or hybrid cars, concludes a British study relayed by The Guardian. According to researchers, the driver of an electric car is three times more likely to hit a pedestrian in an urban area than the driver of a thermal car. In general (in urban and rural areas), the risk is twice as high with an electric vehicle.
The main reason for this huge difference is the noise produced by cars. If the significant reduction in noise pollution is to be credited to electric vehicles, the silence of their engine can lead to pedestrians being less vigilant. “Electric cars pose a danger to pedestrians because they are less likely to be heard than gasoline or diesel cars”confirms Phil Edwards, lead author of the study and professor of epidemiology and statistics at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Electric cars, a real danger for pedestrians in the city
“They [les voitures électriques] are much quieter than the cars of old, and pedestrians have learned to navigate the roads by listening to traffic. Drivers of these vehicles must be extremely careful”, adds the researcher. The sample of the study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, is particularly large. The data comes from 51.5 billion kilometers traveled in an electric car and 4.8 billion kilometers traveled in a thermal car. The analysis is based on 916,713 road accident victims in the UK, including 120,197 pedestrians.
In terms of volume, thermal cars obviously cause more accidents than electric cars, given that there are even more of them. But if we relate accidents to kilometers traveled, the rate then becomes largely unfavorable to electric cars.
Besides engine noise, two other arguments can explain this trend. Because of their batteries, electric vehicles are much heavier, which can extend stopping distances. The average age of electric car drivers is also lower, reflecting a lack of experience behind the wheel compared to drivers of a thermal vehicle.
Source: The Guardian