Study shows people are 'twice as likely to be hit by electric or hybrid cars'

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A new study has revealed people are twice as likely to be hit by electric or hybrid cars than their fuel counterparts.The risk is three times greater in towns and cities for those travelling the old-fashioned way on foot, according to the study of road casualty statistics in the UK.

Scientists have urged for there to be measures taken to reduce the risk to pedestrians. This news comes as the aim continues to drive out fossil-fuelled vehicles in order to reach "Net Zero" environmental targets.Road traffic injuries are currently the number one cause of death among children and young people in the UK - and one in four of these road traffic fatalities are pedestrians.

As we continue to shift to electric and hybrid cars, concerns have been voiced that these motors may pose more of a risk than petrol or diesel cars due to them being quieter.The risk increases even further in urban areas where background ambient noise levels are higher, according to experts.

Researchers compared the differences in pedestrian casualty rates for every 100 million miles of road travel in Britain between electric and hybrid and fossil-fuelled cars, using Government road safety statistics.The scientists estimated annual mileage from National Travel Survey (NTS) data, with the figures only starting to include hybrid as a vehicle fuel type in 2013.An archiving glitch precluded uploading relevant data since 2018, so the period studied was from 2013 to 2017.