Are electric vehicles more or less of an accident risk than petrol or diesel cars?

For many of us, especially those who don’t yet own one, there’s something distinctly graceful about watching EVs silently moving down the road, especially in busy cities like London or Cardiff.

There is a view that EVs, because they are quiet and smooth, must be gentler in a collision. They aren’t. In some settings, particularly at low speeds near pedestrians, the risks are different and sometimes worse.

An analysis of UK road traffic accidents found that mile to mile, electric and hybrid cars were about twice as likely to be involved in pedestrian collisions as petrol/diesel cars, and roughly three times as likely in urban areas (5.16 vs 2.40 pedestrian casualties per 100 million miles).

What’s different about EVs?

Slow speed, low sound

EVs are almost silent at low speeds: pedestrians, cyclists, and bikers are accustomed to using the noise from ICE vehicles to warn them of the presence of cars. If we hear the roar of an engine getting louder, we know a vehicle is approaching without having to cast a glance over our shoulder. That’s not the case with EVs, and we may only realise one is close by when we turn our heads to do a final check as we start to cross the road and then quickly step back onto the pavement, as the EV glides by, too close for comfort.

The potential dangers EVs present at low speeds are highlighted even more when pedestrians and EVs come together in car parks, or while the former is crossing a driveway and the latter is emerging.

It should be noted that the silent dangers EVs pose to sighted pedestrians at low speeds are far more serious for blind pedestrians.

As a result of the ‘low speed, quiet sound’ issues, legislation was introduced in the EU and UK by virtue of UNECE regulation 138, which required all new licensed hybrid and electric vehicles to be fitted since 2021, with an AVAS (Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System). This applies to all new vehicle types from July 1, 2019, and all new vehicles from July 1, 2021. There was no legislation requiring existing cars to be updated with AVAS technology.

This works by the vehicle emitting a sound when travelling at low speed to alert pedestrians and other vulnerable road users, such as cyclists and bikers, of its approach.

There have been some issues with this system, as the legislation sets minimum performance levels, rather than a uniform tone, so the kind of noise emitted may vary from EV to EV. There have also been issues with complaints that the volume of the artificial ‘sound’ is too quiet to be heard. Conversely, some complaints relate to the sound being irritating!

Heavier vehicles

Although the issue of a lack of sound at low speeds has garnered more headlines, the weight of EVs is considered by many to be a more pressing concern.

A good deal of power is required to propel an EV, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that the weight of a suitable battery system to achieve the required output is huge, from around 500kgs to 900kgs or more. That’s a hefty weight, which necessitates stronger and heavier suspension systems, as well as the extra weight of additional safety equipment.

When an English judge said, when summing up in a pedestrian accident claim, “a motor car is in one sense a lethal weapon and its propensity to injure human beings in a traffic accident, is obvious”, EVs were a mere twinkle in the eye of their inventors.

Any vehicle travelling at speed is likely to cause serious injury or a fatal accident if it hits another road user. Even with low-speed impacts, a pedestrian, cyclist or biker can suffer injury to hips, wrists and heads. Should an EV come into contact with a pedestrian, even at low speed, the likelihood of serious or fatal injuries becoming the outcome increases significantly.

So, what types of EV-specific accident claims are personal injury lawyers handling?

There is no such thing as an EV-specific type of accident. The law of England and Wales in relation to road traffic accidents provides:

• All road users owe each other a duty of care. So, drivers must keep a proper lookout for the presence of other road users. Equally, other road users must do the same.

• However, when the Highway Code was updated in January 2022, it introduced a new hierarchy of road users, which places a greater responsibility on those road users who can cause most harm in the event of a collision, to reduce the danger they pose. It does not make drivers automatically at fault. The hierarchy is designed to protect the safety of the most vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders, and motorcyclists.

• The upshot is that someone driving a car must take extra care to avoid harming vulnerable road users. However, they too owe a duty of care to all other road users.

However, given the extra weight carried by EVs, it can be argued that they owe that extra bit of care, compared to similar-sized petrol or diesel-powered vehicles, especially in the circumstances we’ve already described.

Here are some types of road traffic accidents that may be more likely to involve EVs and lead to a personal injury claim being brought:

Low noise, low speed, low impact collisions.

Low-impact collisions have occurred every day and have done so for a long time, well before the invention of EVs. It’s still possible for someone to be injured in a low-impact collision and suffer injuries. A low-impact collision between a car and a vulnerable road user is still likely to result in the pedestrian, cyclist, biker or horse rider falling to the ground and breaking a bone or suffering head or brain injuries.

The extra element that is introduced into the equation in this type of accident is that the cause of the accident is often the lack of noise masking the presence of the EV.

Heavier EVs have more crash energy if a collision occurs

When an EV, as opposed to an ICE-powered vehicle, collides with a pedestrian or other vulnerable road user, it does so in a heavier vehicle, which may result in more serious injuries to the vulnerable road user.

In cases where an EV driver collides with another vehicle in a rear-end shunt, the heavier weight carried by the EV could result in more severe injuries to the driver and any passengers in the car that was shunted.

Over-reliance by the EV driver on ADAS technology

EV cars are equipped with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). These systems incorporate a combination of advanced all-wheel drive, automatic emergency braking systems, lane-keeping assist, intelligent cruise control, collision avoidance, parking aids, rear cross-traffic alert, and blind spot detection (BSD).

Overreliance on the vehicle’s technology can lead to complacency, which in turn leads to reduced vigilance, driver distraction, or drowsiness, all of which are causes of serious accidents. ADAS technology helps, but it doesn’t replace keeping a proper lookout.

Conclusion

Electric transport brings real benefits, but the risks of driving near vulnerable road users, and pedestrians in particular, have not disappeared; they have changed. Quiet at low speed, extra mass and an over-reliance in driver aids can all be managed.

Perhaps the best way of doing that is the old-fashioned way. Stay alert and drive extra safely whilst in the vicinity of vulnerable road users. The Highway Code is a pretty practical handbook. It’s a pity we don’t use it more.