The whole “silent killer EV” narrative just got debunked. University of Leeds researchers analyzed 167,000 pedestrian casualties across Britain and found electric vehicles hit pedestrians at essentially identical rates to petrol cars—57.82 crashes per billion miles for EVs versus 58.88 for conventional vehicles.
That statistical tie matters because it contradicts years of hand-wringing about quiet EVs mowing down unsuspecting pedestrians. The study’s lead author, Professor Zia Wadud, puts it bluntly: “Our results show that [EVs increasing collisions or making them more severe] is not the case.”
The Hybrid Twist Nobody Saw Coming
Here’s where it gets interesting: hybrids actually showed double the pedestrian crash rate at 120.14 per billion miles. Before you swear off Priuses, though, context matters. Most hybrids on British roads work as taxis and ride-hailing vehicles, racking up massive urban mileage where pedestrians are everywhere.
Despite more frequent crashes, hybrid-involved injuries proved less severe than conventional car accidents. Meanwhile, EVs’ extra 0.3 tons of battery weight didn’t translate to worse pedestrian outcomes, likely because newer EVs pack advanced safety tech like automatic emergency braking that older gas cars lack.
SUVs: The Real Problem Nobody Talks About
Want to know what actually threatens pedestrians? That Suburban in your rearview mirror. The Leeds study found “an abundance of evidence” that SUVs cause significantly more serious and fatal pedestrian injuries than standard cars. Their higher front ends strike torsos and heads instead of legs, turning survivable accidents into tragedies.
Professor Wadud’s advice cuts straight to the point: “We should worry less about the potential dangers of electrified vehicles and more about the growing prevalence of SUVs.”
The study covered 2019-2023, coinciding with Europe’s Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System rollout that forces EVs to make artificial noise at low speeds. This timing matters because an earlier London School of Hygiene study found EVs roughly twice as dangerous to pedestrians—but that research lumped hybrids with pure EVs and used older data.
Your urban walking safety depends more on vehicle size and driver behavior than whether something runs on batteries or gasoline.
