Electric cars up to 3x likelier to hit pedestrians than ICE

[Rich Boy Spanner]

The only pedestrians I see at risk of getting hit are those with ear pods in or barking down their phone, and completely oblivious to anything around them. You could be driving a jet engined car and they wouldn't hear it.

[Pistonheadsdicoverer]

I guess that's what you call progress (the arrival of EV).
I try to imagine what sort of conversation (and ruckus) the arrival of ICE caused back in the early 20th century when horse-drawn carriage were more common.

[otolith]

Also The Guardian (2018, 2020) - traffic noise is killing people;

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/jul/...

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/mar/05/on...

Also The Guardian (2022) - traffic noise is making our children stupid

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/0...

Also The Guardian (2016) - Moonbat on why cars, all cars, are just bad - you have to keep in mind that the mindset that electric cars are just a lesser evil which can be tolerated while we sort the climate problem is embedded there and has been for a long time.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov...

[Evanivitch]

swisstoni said:

The Guardian should take care while pulling on this thread.

There is another, much larger, section of silent vehicle users in urban areas that could be called into question.

Saddling their urban bike-riding massive with spoke clickers would not go down well.
But it would be a very cheap and effective modification.

You're aware all bikes are sold legally with bells and that there's a fashion for louder free-wheel hubs on urban and road bikes for just this reason?

[turbobloke]

Evanivitch said:

swisstoni said:

The Guardian should take care while pulling on this thread.

There is another, much larger, section of silent vehicle users in urban areas that could be called into question.

Saddling their urban bike-riding massive with spoke clickers would not go down well.
But it would be a very cheap and effective modification.

You're aware all bikes are sold legally with bells and that there's a fashion for louder free-wheel hubs on urban and road bikes for just this reason?

With EVs offering even more 'improvements'.

https://www.brusselstimes.com/61738/heavier-electr...

[otolith]

turbobloke said:

With EVs offering even more 'improvements'.

https://www.brusselstimes.com/61738/heavier-electr...

To a first approximation, all road wear is inflicted by goods and public service vehicles.

It's also odd that people think the problem with a 2300kg vehicle that would be 2100kg were it diesel powered is the mass of the batteries, and not the fact that it's a massive SUV that's half a ton heavier than other EV options.

[turbobloke]

otolith said:

turbobloke said:

With EVs offering even more 'improvements'.

https://www.brusselstimes.com/61738/heavier-electr...

To a first approximation, all road wear is inflicted by goods and public service vehicles.

It's also odd that people think the problem with a 2300kg vehicle that would be 2100kg were it diesel powered is the mass of the batteries, and not the fact that it's a massive SUV that's half a ton heavier than other EV options.

The roads aren't filled with SUV tonnage in spite of exaggerated imagery from activists, and the only grand master plan out there is to flood the roads with EVs.

[Themintimperial]

A bit of gllaows humour,

But if this is true do you think you could factor the reduced CO2 emissions of someone being un-alived in the average EV lifetime.

After all the best way to save CO2 is to not have kids, maybe this is a selling point.

[Funk]

Read between the lines; this will becime justification for even more 20mph (or 15mph?} limits being imposed everywhere with more cameras for automated fines...

[otolith]

turbobloke said:

The roads aren't filled with SUV tonnage in spite of exaggerated imagery from activists, and the only grand master plan out there is to flood the roads with EVs.

[georgefreeman918]

A few years ago I drove a Renault Twizy around the Lake District (think small tight lanes and busy villages with lots of pedestrians). Given the lack of engine and tyre noise, I had some close calls with pedestrians stepping into the road without looking because they couldnt hear a car, so I can't say I am surprised!

[Pica-Pica]

otolith said:

More detail needed.
Which country (or global?).
New registrations, or all currently registered vehicles?

[otolith]

Pica-Pica said:

otolith said:

More detail needed.
Which country (or global?).
New registrations, or all currently registered vehicles?

EU. New registrations.

https://www.sustrans.org.uk/media/12439/why-are-ca...

[swisstoni]

otolith said:

Pica-Pica said:

otolith said:

More detail needed.
Which country (or global?).
New registrations, or all currently registered vehicles?

EU. New registrations.

https://www.sustrans.org.uk/media/12439/why-are-ca...

I believe that cars have generally got too big and that a country like the UK was not set up to deal with vehicles this size.

But that report studiously ignored the fact that cars have grown to enable all the safety measures that are required for occupants and other road users.
Something that has been massively successful in death and injury stats, despite the growth in car useage.

[OutInTheShed]

otolith said:

EU. New registrations.

https://www.sustrans.org.uk/media/12439/why-are-ca...

Ironically, one of the reasons I drive such a big car is 'so my bike will go in the back'.

[TheRainMaker]

Luis Nazario said:

and low speed sound generators for electric / hybrid cars didn’t become mandatory until 2019.

Really? We have a 2020 EV which is totally silent forwards or backwards and a 2021 EV which is silent forwards but makes a pulsing sound going backwards.

[turbobloke]

EV failure described in words and pics

[otolith]

swisstoni said:

I believe that cars have generally got too big and that a country like the UK was not set up to deal with vehicles this size.

But that report studiously ignored the fact that cars have grown to enable all the safety measures that are required for occupants and other road users.
Something that has been massively successful in death and injury stats, despite the growth in car useage.

It does mention safety, but it also uses a US study to make a point about the increased risks SUVs pose to vulnerable road users - which is not a transferrable observation, because a US SUV is not a UK/European SUV. It's Sustrans, so you have to take their interpretations with a health warning, but I don't think their observations that the proportion of new vehicles which are SUVs has dramatically increased, and the recent increase in the mass of new vehicles has been substantially driven by this fashion.

[otolith]

turbobloke said:

EV failure described in words and pics

Don't know why Express readers are bothered, most of them will be dead before they can't avoid driving electric.

[GT9]

turbobloke said:

The roads aren't filled with SUV tonnage in spite of exaggerated imagery from activists, and the only grand master plan out there is to flood the roads with EVs.

Road damage is a function of axle mass to the power of 4.
A million HGVs will approximately equal the damage done by a billion EVs.
We are over halfway to a million HGVs.
When do reckon we might hit half a billion EVs in the UK?