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Silent Killers? Are EVs Heavyweight Pedestrian Murderers?
Are electric vehicles actually "silent killers" stalking our streets? The internet comments section certainly thinks so, claiming the quiet motors and heavy batteries of EVs make them a menace to pedestrians. But a brand new study published in Nature Communications has crunched the numbers from the UK's road safety database, and the results upend that narrative. In this video, Kate break down why the data shows pedestrians are actually no more likely to collide with a fully electric vehicle than a gas car , and why the surprising "danger" statistic actually belongs to hybrids, which have a significantly higher casualty rate.
Does the massive weight of an EV battery guarantee a worse injury? The study suggests that while EVs are heavier, they don't cause more severe injuries, likely thanks to modern active safety tech stepping in to save the day. However, the data does identify a clear villain: the massive rise of SUVs, which are significantly more likely to cause severe or fatal injuries regardless of what powers them. Join Kate as she explores how noise regulations and vehicle bloat are shaping the safety of our streets, and why we need to stop blaming the battery.
⏱️ Episode Timeline
00:00 – Introduction
01:21 – Some background to the study
01:52 – What does a successful green transition mean?
03:02 – Pedestrian mortality and morbidity statistics
05:05 – What questions was this study examining?
06:14 – More depth on pedestrian statistics
07:32 – What was the second question this study examined?
07:42 – Confounding factors
09:17 – Vehicle weight and pedestrian fatalities
11:20 – Vehicle miles driven by type
12:39 – Are EVs more likely to be involved in incidents with pedestrians?
13:15 – What about hybrids?
14:25 – Context is queen
15:44 – Do EVs cause worse injuries?
16:24 – How can you help reduce pedestrian fatalities
18:03 – Conclusion
18:55 – Thanks for Watching!
🔗 Links:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-66463-8 - Comparing pedestrian safety between electric and internal combustion engine vehicles
https://www.racfoundation.org/media-centre/at-least-one-in-twenty-car-miles-driven-is-now-zero-emission – RAC Foundation – EVs now drive more miles on average than gas vehicles.
https://www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(23)00404-X - Quantifying electric vehicle mileage in the United States
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13504851.2019.1582847 – EV usage (US)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9QTPyMJGgo&t=1s – Do loud pipes save lives.
https://www.iihs.org/research-areas/fatality-statistics/detail/pedestrians – IIHS fatality facts.
👥 Today’s Sponsors
🌱 Electric Vehicle Association - https://www.myeva.org
⚡ EnergySage - https://www.kqzyfj.com/click-101290941-16952262
—
✊ Get Involved 🗳️ https://indivisible.org/town-hall-resources
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📰 https://www.transportevolved.com
🔥 https://www.patreon.com/transportevolved
☕ https://ko-fi.com/transportevolved
📺 https://www.youtube.com/transportevolved
👕 https://www.redbubble.com/people/TransportEVd/
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🎙️ Credits:
Host: Kate Walton-Elliott
Camera, Edit, Color: Kate Walton-Elliott & Vi Horton
Art & Animation: Erin Carlie, Kate Walton-Elliott
Producer: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Music: via Artlist.io
© Transport Evolved LLC, 2025
💬 What else can we do to improve pedestrian safety?
Start the conversation in the down below, or come on over to our Discord (it's free!).
View all episodes
By Are electric vehicles actually "silent killers" stalking our streets? The internet comments section certainly thinks so, claiming the quiet motors and heavy batteries of EVs make them a menace to pedestrians. But a brand new study published in Nature Communications has crunched the numbers from the UK's road safety database, and the results upend that narrative. In this video, Kate break down why the data shows pedestrians are actually no more likely to collide with a fully electric vehicle than a gas car , and why the surprising "danger" statistic actually belongs to hybrids, which have a significantly higher casualty rate.
Does the massive weight of an EV battery guarantee a worse injury? The study suggests that while EVs are heavier, they don't cause more severe injuries, likely thanks to modern active safety tech stepping in to save the day. However, the data does identify a clear villain: the massive rise of SUVs, which are significantly more likely to cause severe or fatal injuries regardless of what powers them. Join Kate as she explores how noise regulations and vehicle bloat are shaping the safety of our streets, and why we need to stop blaming the battery.
⏱️ Episode Timeline
00:00 – Introduction
01:21 – Some background to the study
01:52 – What does a successful green transition mean?
03:02 – Pedestrian mortality and morbidity statistics
05:05 – What questions was this study examining?
06:14 – More depth on pedestrian statistics
07:32 – What was the second question this study examined?
07:42 – Confounding factors
09:17 – Vehicle weight and pedestrian fatalities
11:20 – Vehicle miles driven by type
12:39 – Are EVs more likely to be involved in incidents with pedestrians?
13:15 – What about hybrids?
14:25 – Context is queen
15:44 – Do EVs cause worse injuries?
16:24 – How can you help reduce pedestrian fatalities
18:03 – Conclusion
18:55 – Thanks for Watching!
🔗 Links:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-66463-8 - Comparing pedestrian safety between electric and internal combustion engine vehicles
https://www.racfoundation.org/media-centre/at-least-one-in-twenty-car-miles-driven-is-now-zero-emission – RAC Foundation – EVs now drive more miles on average than gas vehicles.
https://www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(23)00404-X - Quantifying electric vehicle mileage in the United States
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13504851.2019.1582847 – EV usage (US)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9QTPyMJGgo&t=1s – Do loud pipes save lives.
https://www.iihs.org/research-areas/fatality-statistics/detail/pedestrians – IIHS fatality facts.
👥 Today’s Sponsors
🌱 Electric Vehicle Association - https://www.myeva.org
⚡ EnergySage - https://www.kqzyfj.com/click-101290941-16952262
—
✊ Get Involved 🗳️ https://indivisible.org/town-hall-resources
❤️ Support the Show
📰 https://www.transportevolved.com
🔥 https://www.patreon.com/transportevolved
☕ https://ko-fi.com/transportevolved
📺 https://www.youtube.com/transportevolved
👕 https://www.redbubble.com/people/TransportEVd/
🛍️ https://amzn.to/40xOyjm
₿ 1QRZRGCCXUKPDZ2DZ9KX9JYJXMZDYHYGFZ0MN4WH
💬 Join the Conversation
🐘 https://mastodon.transportevolved.com/@show
💬 https://discord.gg/9WAjfQn
🌀 https://bsky.app/profile/transportevolved.bsky.social
🔁 Subscribe to our 2nd channel - https://www.youtube.com/transportevolvedtake2
🎙️ Credits:
Host: Kate Walton-Elliott
Camera, Edit, Color: Kate Walton-Elliott & Vi Horton
Art & Animation: Erin Carlie, Kate Walton-Elliott
Producer: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Music: via Artlist.io
© Transport Evolved LLC, 2025
💬 What else can we do to improve pedestrian safety?
Start the conversation in the down below, or come on over to our Discord (it's free!).