Hybrid Cars – are they safer?

According to a new US study* occupants may be safer in a hybrid vehicle than in a conventional gas-powered model.

Statistically, the study found that injuries sustained from a collision were 25% lower  for occupants of hybrids.

According to the study, this is “good news for green-minded drivers who don’t want to trade safety for fuel economy…..not so long ago, car buyers had to choose between the two because fuel efficient cars tended to be smaller and lighter”.

Ironically, the reason that hybrids potentially provide more passenger safety is because they weigh more.  “Hybrids on average are 10% heavier than their standard counterparts.  This extra mass gives them an advantage in crashes that their conventional twins don’t have” due to the added weight of battery packs and other dual-power system components.

But there is a downside:  hybrids are more likely to be involved in striking pedestrians and cyclists, because when operated in electric-only mode, they are much quieter than conventional vehicles.

To reduce this risk, safety groups are calling for hybrids to generate artificial noise to alert others sharing the roads.

*Highway Loss Data Institute www.iihs.org

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