Fatal crash rates in hybrid cars 'three times higher' than petrol vehicles
The alarming statistics were released by the Department for Transport
Motorists driving hybrid cars are "three times" more likely to be killed in a road traffic accident than those in petrol vehicles, according to new figures.
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Statistics released by the Department for Transport showed that 122 people died in fatal collisions involving hybrid cars last year, compared with 777 in crashes involving petrol-only vehicles.
As petrol models outnumbered hybrids by almost 20 to one on UK roads, this suggests that they are involved in approximately three times as many fatal crashes.
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, according to experts, who are calling for an inquiry.
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However, the car batteries can be damaged by the heat of the engine, which burns at extremely hot temperatures and makes them more liable to set ablaze, potentially being a factor.
The data, obtained by the Mail on Sunday, revealed 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.
Nicholas Lyes, of road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, said: "Plug-in hybrids are often heavier and more complex vehicles owing to the fact they run on both a traditional combustion engine and a battery."
Mr Lyes also warned that such complexity with "two power sources, two cooling systems and more complicated electronics and wiring" which could create "complex fire scenarios which are harder for firemen to put out."
Transport research organisation The RAC Foundation have called for a "dedicated investigation branch" to look into the trend.
Its director Steve Gosling said: "It's high time we had a specialist resource to address road safety risk."
Hybrids were also found by a leading insurer of company cars, Tusker, to burst into flames at higher rates than others.
There are less than a million hybrid cars in the UK and their popularity has stagnated recently and industry figures have privately raised concerns that demand for EVs and hybrids is not strong enough for the target to be met.