Study: EV has higher accident risk for pedestrians

Electric cars are seen as the savior on the road to a carbon-neutral future. However, the all-electric vehicles also have a major disadvantage, as a recently published study from London makes clear. Researchers have found that EV pose a greater risk to pedestrians. This is apparently not only due to the quiet engine.

London study on EV

The electric car has many advantages over cars with polluting combustion engines. However, a study commissioned by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine has now also identified a decisive disadvantage that primarily affects other road users. Many thousands of traffic accidents were examined as part of the study.

One of the findings was that out of more than 120,000 pedestrians involved in accidents, a total of 96,000 were hit by cars. The researchers were not only able to establish that the accident risk for pedestrians in urban areas is significantly higher than in rural areas.

What’s more, the number of accidents caused by an electric car is twice as high as for combustion engines. In the city, the risk is even three times as high. The reasons for this clear discrepancy are not clear from the study. However, there are a number of triggers that can be considered. In addition to the quieter engines, the drivers are probably also significantly younger on average than those with combustion engines.

Manufacturers have already reacted to the risk

Of course, the problem of electric cars being too quiet is not new. In order to minimize the risks, there has therefore been a so-called noise requirement for every new electric car since 2019. Electric cars must make themselves noticeable on the road by humming or making a similar noise.

Conversely, however, this also means that almost every electric car registered before 2019 does not have the acoustic warning signal. Accordingly, the study led by researcher Phil Edwards demands that older models should also be required to be retrofitted.

Study on EV with outdated figures

As worrying as the study results sound, the data basis used by the researchers is also questionable. Particularly in the still relatively young electric car sector, it is questionable whether the accident data between 2013 and 2017 is really meaningful. After all, the so-called noise obligation had not even been introduced at that time.

Comparative figures from today would be much more exciting. This would make it possible to work out how useful the new noise obligation is. What is certain, however, is that there is still a big difference between e-car accidents in the city and in the countryside. According to Nicola Christie, Professor of Transport Safety at UCL, this is probably due to pedestrians.

Over the years, many people have become accustomed to not looking before crossing the road, but simply relying on their hearing. While this might work with a noisy combustion engine, it’s obviously not a good idea with an electric car. However, according to an article in the Guardian, the quiet running of the electric motor is probably not the only problem with electric cars.

On top of this, the generally high weight is a safety concern. If drivers find themselves in the predicament of having to brake hard, the braking distance is also longer on average due to the higher weight compared to a combustion engine. Another risk factor is the sometimes rapid acceleration.