Electric cars 'three times' more likely to hit pedestrians than petrol vehicles

A research report has revealed that electric cars pose a greater risk to pedestrians compared to their petrol counterparts, as they are harder to hear due to their quieter engines particularly in bustling urban locales.

The investigation analysed British road accidents involving both types of vehicles and the startling findings indicated that for each mile travelled, electric and hybrid cars were twice more likely to collide with pedestrians than fossil fuel-driven ones. This risk further soared to three times higher in city areas.

"Electric cars are a hazard to pedestrians because they are less likely to be heard than petrol or diesel cars," said Phil Edwards, lead author of the study and a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. "The government needs to mitigate these risks if they are going to phase out the sale of petrol and diesel cars."He added: "If you're moving to an electric car, remember it's a new kind of vehicle.

"Drivers of these vehicles need to be extra cautious." He added: "If government made sure these systems were installed in all electric vehicles and retrofitted them to older electric cars, that would be a good start." Nicola Christie, professor in transport safety at UCL, wared: "When these cues are missing this could be very problematic for people in busy urban areas.

"The problem could be exacerbated for people with poor visual acuity or for children who find it hard to judge the speed and distance of vehicles," she said. "If the government is planning to promote a transition to electric cars, then that will bring some risk to pedestrians unless we take care of this," said Edwards.

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