Incidence rates of pedestrian and bicyclist crashes by hybrid electric passenger vehicles: An update

摘要

Hybrid electric passenger vehicles first became available to consumers in 2000, and their numbers, as well as their proportion of the passenger vehicle fleet, have increased every year since their introduction. By 2009, the number had increased to constitute 0.6% of the passenger vehicle fleet. Advocacy groups have raised pedestrian safety concerns about hybrid electric vehicles because a vehicle using the electric motor may be relatively quieter than a vehicle using an internal combustion engine and may not emit the sounds that nonmotorists rely on for warning as vehicles approach.