Emergency services are changing their approach to investigating accidents with hybrid vehicles following a report by The Mail on Sunday indicating that drivers are three times more likely to die in hybrids compared to other types of cars.petrol cars.
Experts think the increased fatality rate might be due to the mix of petrol engines, batteries, and electric motors, which increase the likelihood of fires.
Some claim that when it comes to safety, “they are the worst of both worlds.”
Officials announced last night that fire and rescue teams will now monitor the origins of fires.
First responders will indicate if the ignition source was a battery and whether the battery was being charged during the incident.
A total of 122 individuals lost their lives in incidents involving hybrid vehicles in 2024, whereas 777 people died in crashes with petrol-powered cars, as per data from the Department for Transport analyzed by the MoS.
However, since hybrids are outnumbered by nearly 20 to 1 on British roads by petrol vehicles, this suggests that hybrids are three times more likely to be involved in a fatal accident. Earlier, the Government did not acknowledge that there was an issue.
Transport officials stated: “According to analysis from the insurance sector, hybrid vehicles have a lower risk of catching fire compared to those with internal combustion engines.”
Nevertheless, they declined to make their results available to the public.
Tusker, which covers 30,000 corporate vehicles, discovered that hybrid cars had a higher tendency to catch fire.
Some people think the higher fatality rates might be due to the greater distance traveled by hybrid vehicles, which are commonly used by Uber drivers.
Shadow transport minister Richard Holden stated: ‘It’s evident that The Mail on Sunday’s coverage has shifted the conversation on this matter, prompting the Government to reconsider and acknowledge the risks associated with certain hybrid vehicles.’
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