Electric Vehicles Are No More Dangerous To Pedestrians Than Gas Cars, Major Study Finds

The fear that silent electric vehicles endanger pedestrians is unfounded. A decade of British road safety data shows battery-powered cars posed no greater threat to people on foot than conventional gas vehicles during 2019-2023.

Zia Wadud, a professor of mobility and energy futures at the University of Leeds, analyzed more than 167,000 pedestrian casualties involving cars, taxis, and private hire vehicles across Great Britain between 2014 and 2023. During the most recent five-year period, pedestrians proved no more likely to collide with a fully electric vehicle than a gas-powered car. When crashes did occur, injuries were equally severe regardless of whether batteries or gasoline powered the striking vehicle.

The timing of these findings matters. The United Kingdom banned sales of new gas and diesel passenger cars starting in 2030, and other nations enacted similar deadlines. Pedestrian safety concerns have shadowed the electric vehicle transition, especially since road crashes kill roughly 274,000 pedestrians worldwide each year.

Electric Vehicle Pedestrian Safety Matches Gas Cars

Between 2019 and 2023, electric vehicles accounted for 1.38% of pedestrian casualties. Measured per mile driven, casualty rates were essentially identical: 57.82 for electric vehicles versus 58.88 for gas-powered cars, a statistically insignificant difference.

Hybrid electric vehicles showed a different pattern. These cars produced casualty rates more than double those of both electric and conventional vehicles at 120.14 pedestrian casualties per billion miles. Researchers point to driving patterns rather than vehicle design. Hybrids dominate Britain’s taxi and ride-share fleet (because of fuel efficiency and clean air compliance), meaning they drive three to four times more miles than typical private cars and operate mostly in pedestrian-heavy urban areas.

The study, published in Nature Communications, focused on 2019-2023 data because earlier years showed unstable casualty rates as electric vehicle technology matured and adoption remained small. Before 2019, limited electric vehicles and restricted driving ranges produced unreliable patterns.

Heavy Batteries Don’t Increase Pedestrian Injury Severity

Electric vehicles weigh substantially more than comparable gas cars because of heavy battery packs. This weight difference sparked concerns that pedestrians struck by electric vehicles might suffer worse injuries. The research examined injury severity, separating casualties into slight or severe categories (combining serious injuries and fatalities).

The data showed no meaningful difference. Pedestrians hit by electric vehicles faced no higher risk of serious or fatal injuries than those struck by conventional cars. Active safety features like automatic emergency braking, more common in the newer electric vehicle fleet, may offset dangers from increased weight.

Hybrid vehicles actually produced less severe injuries than gas cars, despite higher collision rates. Newer safety technologies reduce harm when crashes happen, even if they don’t prevent all collisions.

Other factors mattered more than vehicle power source. Large SUVs increased the likelihood of serious pedestrian injuries, matching earlier research on how vehicle size and shape affect crash outcomes. Older vehicles posed greater risks through outdated safety standards. Roads with higher speed limits produced dramatically worse pedestrian injuries, with 70 mph zones far outpacing 20 mph areas.

Warning Sounds May Have Leveled the Safety Playing Field

A shift occurred around 2019 when regulations required electric and hybrid vehicles to include acoustic vehicle alert systems. These devices emit artificial sounds at low speeds to warn pedestrians of approaching vehicles. The timing coincided with a sharp drop in electric vehicle casualty rates.

Average pedestrian casualty rates for electric vehicles fell from 137.2 per billion miles during 2014-2018 to 57.8 during 2019-2023. Hybrid vehicles saw similar declines, from 201.6 to 120.1. While overall pedestrian safety improved, reductions for electric and hybrid vehicles exceeded the smaller decrease in gas vehicles, which dropped from 73.6 to 58.9. The pattern suggests the warning sound requirement likely contributed to pedestrian protection, though the study stops short of claiming proven causation. More electric vehicles entered the fleet during this span, and nearly all new models carried required warning systems.

Electric vehicle sales jumped after 2019, rising from 292,000 at the end of 2021 to 806,000 by late 2023. The fleet expansion combined with the audio alert mandate brought electric vehicle safety performance in line with conventional cars.

What Electric Vehicle Safety Means for Climate Goals

The research addresses a key question as vehicle electrification accelerates worldwide. Transport emissions account for roughly one-quarter of greenhouse gas pollution, making the sector a climate priority. The shift to electric vehicles raised legitimate concerns about unintended consequences for vulnerable road users.

The findings can reassure policymakers and the public that electrification need not compromise pedestrian safety. Electric vehicles reduce carbon emissions compared to similar gas cars (even when electricity grids aren’t fully carbon-free) without creating new hazards for people on foot.

Understanding which safety features most effectively protect pedestrians could guide regulations for all vehicles regardless of power source. Active safety technologies like collision avoidance systems play a major role, suggesting that mandating such features across entire vehicle fleets could save lives.

The study used Great Britain’s STATS19 road safety database, which captures every officially reported collision in the country. The research team used statistical models accounting for vehicle exposure by comparing casualty numbers to miles driven by different vehicle types. This methodology controlled for variations in driving amounts, particularly important given travel pattern disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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