“It’s quiet. TOO quiet.”
That ominous four-word combination can be heard in any number of suspenseful scenes throughout the ages, and apparently it’s now an apt description for a danger for pedestrians revealed by a new study.
The research, conducted in London, found that electric or hybrid vehicles were twice as likely to hit a pedestrian as gas-powered vehicles.
Digging deeper, researchers believe a major reason for the discrepancy is the sound, or in this case lack of sound, generated by EVs and hybrids.
That assumption is supported by the fact that that level of danger went up in noisy urban areas, where the gap jumped to a three times-greater chance of being hit by an EV or a hybrid.
As a result, researchers warn that drivers of those vehicles should be “extra cautious” of pedestrians, particularly if they seem preoccupied with their phones rather than watching the roads.