Study Shows That Hybrids Are More Likely to Hit Pedestrians

In an all out battle for green supremacy, hybrid vehicle owners are hell-bent on tapping the pedal into the nearest pedestrian or cyclist. The latter two may have the eco-edge, but the former has the distinct advantage of a big, ugly, two-ton vehicle. Advantage hybrid owner.

Okay, perhaps that’s a bit skewed, but a recent study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found a higher incidence of pedestrian/bicycle crashes among hybrid owners. According to the study, pedestrian crashes were found to be .9 percent among hybrid drivers and .6 percent among drivers of gas vehicles. For cyclist accidents, the numbers were .6 (hybrid) to .3.

The study was based on data since 2000 in 12 states. The NHTSA didn’t attempt to explain the discrepancies, but the quieter presence of hybrids is one logical explanation for the increase. Of course, jealous hybrid owners striving to knock off the competition and jump the rung on the eco-scale is another. We’ll let the reader decide. [GreenCarReports via Jalopnik] [Photo: mlcastle]