Electric Cars More Often Involved in Accidents with Vulnerable Road Users Due to Silence
- According to a recent study by the Belgian traffic institute Vias, electric and hybrid vehicles are significantly more frequently involved in injury accidents with pedestrians and cyclists than...
- Over the past five years, the market share of electric and hybrid vehicles in Belgium surged from 3 percent to 20 percent, according to Vias data.
- The traffic institute conducted practical tests involving an enclosed circuit and a listening study with 70 participants, half of whom were blind or visually impaired.
According to a recent study by the Belgian traffic institute Vias, electric and hybrid vehicles are significantly more frequently involved in injury accidents with pedestrians and cyclists than traditional cars. Published on August 28, 2026, the report states that vulnerable road users account for 42 percent of injury accidents involving electric cars, compared to 27 percent across all passenger vehicle types. The institute attributes this disparity partly to the near-silent operation of electric motors at low speeds, which reduces the reaction time for pedestrians and cyclists trying to detect oncoming traffic.
Rising Market Share and Safety Implications
Over the past five years, the market share of electric and hybrid vehicles in Belgium surged from 3 percent to 20 percent, according to Vias data. As adoption climbs, the safety dynamics on urban streets are shifting. Vias points out that while the lack of engine noise is not definitively proven as the sole root cause of every crash, it creates a distinct vulnerability for pedestrians and cyclists who rely on auditory cues to navigate traffic safely. To combat this issue, the European Union mandates that all new electric vehicles feature an Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System, known as AVAS, to emit a synthetic sound at low speeds. However, Vias highlights that these mandated sounds vary wildly between manufacturers in both volume and tone. In practice, some vehicles emit sounds that are difficult to hear clearly over typical urban background noise.
Experimental Findings on Auditory Detection
The traffic institute conducted practical tests involving an enclosed circuit and a listening study with 70 participants, half of whom were blind or visually impaired. Listeners sat with headphones and pressed a button as soon as they detected an approaching vehicle against varying levels of background noise. The results showed stark differences in how easily vehicles are heard at slow speeds. At 10 kilometers per hour, 38 percent of hybrid vehicles and 32 percent of electric cars went unnoticed by participants, compared to 27 percent for cars powered by traditional internal combustion engines. At 20 kilometers per hour, hybrid vehicles proved even harder to spot than pure electric models, with 18 percent escaping notice alongside 11 percent for combustion vehicles and 7 percent for electric cars. Testing on the closed circuit using five different cars revealed that while traditional engines consistently produced around 55 decibels at 10 kilometers per hour, electric vehicles equipped with active AVAS systems showed inconsistent output levels depending on the brand.
Proposed Regulatory Changes
In response to these findings, Vias is calling on regulators to overhaul current standards. The institute advocates for a more uniform sound system across the automotive industry, arguing that letting individual manufacturers choose their own tones creates dangerous inconsistencies. Furthermore, Vias wants the mandatory minimum noise level increased for speeds up to 10 kilometers per hour to ensure that vulnerable road users, particularly individuals with visual impairments, can reliably hear approaching traffic before a conflict occurs.
