New research shows that hybrids are safer than conventional counterparts – the odds of being injured in a crash are 25% lower for people driving a hybrid.
Hybrids are about 10% heavier than conventional vehicles and the extra mass gives them an advantage in crashes, according to research by the Highway Loss Data Institute.
It’s good news for green-minded drivers – they don’t have to trade safety for fuel economy. Not so long ago, car buyers had to choose between the two because fuel-efficient cars tended to be smaller and lighter.
The analysis included more than 25 hybrid-conventional vehicle pairs, all 2003-11 models, with at least 1 collision claim and at least 1 related injury claim filed under personal injury protection or medical payment coverage in 2002-10.
Hybrids’ injury odds were 27% lower than their standard counterparts for collision claims with a related personal injury claim and 25% lower than their twins for collision claims with a related medical claim.
Even with advances in occupant protection, larger vehicles still are safer choices than smaller ones. That’s why downsizing vehicles to improve fuel efficiency has traditionally resulted in safety trade-offs. The trend among automakers now is to boost fuel economy by designing more efficient internal combustion engines and by adding hybrids to their fleets.
Although hybrids share the same footprint and structure as their conventional counterparts, they outweigh them because of the added heft of battery packs and other components used in dual-power systems. At about 3,600 pounds, a hybrid Honda Accord midsize sedan, for example, can weigh as much as 480 pounds more than a conventional Accord. A hybrid Toyota Highlander, a midsize SUV, weighs about 4,500 pounds, compared with about 4,170 pounds for the conventional Highlander.
The Toyota Prius and Honda Insight were excluded from the study because they are only sold as hybrids. The analysis controlled for calendar year, rated driver age and gender, marital status, vehicle density (number of registered vehicles per square mile), garaging state, vehicle series, and vehicle age.
Hybrids and pedestrians: A separate analysis shows, however, that hybrids may be as much as 20% more likely to be involved in pedestrian crashes with injuries than their conventional twins.
When hybrids operate in electric-only mode pedestrians can’t hear them approaching, so they might step out into the roadway without checking first to see what’s coming.
It’s a problem that’s cropped up as hybrids have become more common, and it’s one the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is working to address. Earlier this year Congress gave the agency three years to come up with a requirement for equipping hybrids and electric models with sounds to alert unsuspecting pedestrians.
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