Earlier this month there are Parliamentary questions about reporting on electric cars. The thrust of the news is that in 2030 there will be many extra serious injuries due to the increase in the number of electric cars, as these are heavier and accelerate faster. There would also be a higher damage frequency. Not everyone expects things to go that fast.
In June, researchers from Trend-Rx and Automotive Insiders wrote that there is a risk of more serious injuries in traffic due to the increase in all-electric vehicles on the road. These cars are on average 250 kilos heavier than a model with a fuel engine and also accelerate faster. As a result, cyclists and pedestrians are particularly at risk, with 1,400 extra serious injuries per year as a possible result in a number of years. Incidentally, plug-ins, including a fuel engine, often weigh just as much if not more than a fully electric car. Also, large SUVs are heavy by themselves, regardless of the form of drive.
Mark Maaskant of Prodrive Academy, a company that provides road safety and user training, has reservations about that expectation. He hopes and does not expect those extra serious injuries to come. “Apparently, the researchers assume one on one that exactly the same crashes as now occur, but that as a ‘weaker road user’ (i.e. a pedestrian or cyclist) you will be hit with a heavier car”, notes Maaskant, who points to changes in the pipeline. “Many of those new electric and heavier vehicles have the then mandatory safety systems on board, such as an emergency braking system. This must be mandatory in the EU on all new cars from 2022 and cannot be turned off.”
Adjustment of infrastructure and legislation
The researchers will also examine the presence of safety systems in the car. As far as they are concerned, this does not guarantee the prevention of accidents, as these systems do not always function properly. Maaskant, on the other hand, expects that the systems can do what is necessary to help prevent accidents. He prefers to see the government think more broadly and that the infrastructure grows with the ever-increasing variety of vehicles on the road.
“With the advent of more and more bicycles, small electric delivery vehicles and speed pedelecs, it is important that legislation and regulations grow with innovation. So think of wide bicycle paths with separate lanes, safe roundabouts, perhaps larger 30-kilometer zones, because it is important that your traffic flows (cars, cyclists, pedestrians) and makes speed differences as small as possible, “says Maaskant.
‘Comparing apples to oranges’
Another topic of the researchers was the alleged higher damage frequency in electric cars. Voogd & Voogd Verzekeringen issued a similar report on this in July. Electric cars would do twice as much damage as fuel vehicles, while the number of damages for the larger electric vehicles would be up to 40 percent higher than average.
“These studies compare apples with pears,” says Maaskant. “The apples are ‘all cars in the Netherlands’ and the pears are ‘all electric cars in the Netherlands’. Electric cars are mostly business vehicles. These cars drive more kilometers than private cars. And not all damage from private vehicles is shown in the statistics insurers: people drive on with a dent or a scratch “, Maaskant concludes.