In terms of the laws of physics and economics, hybrid vehicles make much more sense than pure battery-powered cars. And unlike EVs, they have found a viable market niche. But data from the U.K. suggest that hybrids are unusually dangerous. From the London Times: “Fatal crash risk ‘three times higher’ in hybrid cars than petrol.”
Motorists in hybrid cars are substantially more likely to die in road collisions than those in conventional petrol vehicles, according to statistics from the Department for Transport.
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Overall, the data shows that there was one death for every 8,000 hybrid cars on the roads last year compared with one death for every 20,000 diesel vehicles, and one death for every 25,000 petrol engines.
EVs were safer than hybrids:
The data suggests fully electric vehicles have the lowest fatality rate at one death for every 55,000 of these cars on the road.
That is probably because EVs are disproportionately driven around town and not on the highway, due to limited range.
So why are hybrids dangerous?
Some experts believe the higher death rates could be explained by hybrids’ combination of petrol engines and batteries and electric motors, which can be harder to control and more prone to fires.
And battery fires are harder and more complicated to extinguish. That is the obvious explanation, given that EV batteries are prone to bursting into flame even without an accident. But there are other possibilities:
Car safety analysts suggested that several factors could contribute to the disproportionate fatality rate seen in hybrids. The additional weight of batteries and electric motors alters vehicle dynamics and crash energy distribution compared with single-engine cars.
In any event, be forewarned: if you are driving a hybrid vehicle, it appears that you are at increased risk of traffic fatality.
