Victory for the Mail on Sunday as emergency services start tracking cause of fires in hybrid cars
Emergency services are overhauling how they investigate accidents involving hybrid cars after The Mail on Sunday revealed that motorists are three times more likely to die in hybrids than in petrol cars...
A total of 122 people died in hybrid car crashes in 2024, compared with 777 in accidents involving petrol cars, according to Department for Transport figures analysed by the MoS.
But as hybrids are outnumbered by almost 20 to 1 on Britain’s roads by petrol models, that means hybrids are three times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash. Previously, the Government did not accept that there is a problem.
A total of 122 people died in hybrid car crashes in 2024, compared with 777 in accidents involving petrol cars, according to Department for Transport figures analysed by the MoS.
But as hybrids are outnumbered by almost 20 to 1 on Britain’s roads by petrol models, that means hybrids are three times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash. Previously, the Government did not accept that there is a problem.
6 comments:
"the Government did not accept that there is a problem."
Surprise, surprise. They wouldn't want evidence to interfere with their lunacies . . . .
Strange but it seems to indicate humans be wary of a certain type of car.
Fatal to whom? The people in the car or the people they've struck?
Still, it's a thought that the hybrids are likely to be younger cars than the petrol-only yet they are more fatal. Weight? The chance of both battery fire and petrol fire? Their silence in city driving?
Or the sort of people who buy and drive hybrids? Are they like the "entitled" BMW drivers of yore?
Jannie - yes, it's as if they don't want to gather the evidence, even though it might be more inconclusive than they suspect.
James - it's enough to put me off without more information. Not that we want a new car anyway.
dearieme - it's not clear, but maybe the silence in urban areas is an issue. Whatever the issue, Government should be keen on gathering the data, but apparently not that keen.
mentions 'hybrid', but not electric only, why? Electric has more acceleration, which has led to problems with drivers not expecting such performance. (possibly the elderly sort who just ecpect a shopping trolley)?.
djc - I wondered about that. Maybe electric car fatality numbers are not readily available or are no worse than ICE cars.
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