A new report indicates that electric vehicles (EVs) are more prone to pedestrian incidents than their counterparts. [emphasis, links added]
A British study found that collisions with pedestrians were twice as likely with electric or hybrid vehicles than with gas or diesel-powered vehicles.
Myke Luebbers of the Illinois Freedom Alliance has worked with both propane and electric forklifts.
“As noisy as the propane is, it is a benefit because you can hear those forklifts coming down an aisle. Whereas an electric fork truck, until it gets within a few feet of you, you don’t hear the whine of that electric motor,” Luebbers said.
The report published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health suggests that the risk to pedestrians is [three times] greater in urban environments.
As more Illinois drivers use EVs, other issues with lithium batteries have become more prevalent.
Luebbers explained that crashes become more dangerous when there’s heat from lithium batteries.
“Fires-wise, as a volunteer firefighter, hybrid vehicles and full-electric vehicles present a whole other set of problems for us,” Luebbers said.
Luebbers added that flooding the vehicle with water works better than foam to extinguish the blazes.
The farming community also has concerns with EVs. Luebbers said the batteries have a lack of staying power for agricultural work.
“A lot of farmers joke, ‘Well, you want to sell me an electric tractor, how long is the extension cord gonna be?’ They are not fans of it by any means,” Luebbers said.
According to the Illinois Secretary of State’s office, more than 100,000 EVs are registered in the Land of Lincoln.
Top photo: Behzad Ghaffarian on Unsplash
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this silent issue is one I brought to the fore when I saw the first few examples of Prius several decades ago, as I knew some blind persons who relied on sound cues, even met one who learned to use a bit of echo location to judge her location in various places. I worried then, and now, that silent automobiles could be a mortal danger to blind pedestrians.
The early hybrids (Prius was the first) were quiet when running at a slow speed but that’s not the case anymore. My wife and I both have Honda hybrids and at low speeds where you cannot hear the whine of the tires it makes its own “whine” sound electronically so that pedestrians can hear the car coming up. Except for “muscle cars” when a car is going at higher speeds (20+MPH) you cannot hear the engine, just the tire noise.
Some small gas powered car engines are extremely quiet as well. It pays to be aware of this when walking through car parks especailly outside supermarkets when there’s usually a lot of activity.