Hybrids Chalk Up more Injury Claims for Pedestrians

This brief article reports recent findings that hybrid vehicles may be as much as 20% more likely to be involved in pedestrian crashes with injuries than conventional vehicles of the same make and model. The author reports details from a recent study by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) that examined how frequently bodily injury liability claims were filed for 17 hybrids and their nonhybrid counterparts, when there was no related collision or property damage. The study used vehicles that were from model years 2002-2010 and included data from 25,382 bodily injury liability claims. The HLDI study findings are compatible with 2009 and 2011 studies by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that concluded hybrids have a higher rate of pedestrian and bicycle crashes than do nonhybrids. The author notes that the quiet operation of hybrid vehicles in electric-only mode probably contributes to this increased crash risk.

Language

  • English

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Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01360890
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Jan 25 2012 11:58AM