Personal Injury Blog

Hybrids Offer Better Vehicle Safety Standards than Non-Hybrids

November 18th, 2011

hybrid vehicle safety standardsDriving a hybrid vehicle is more than just environment friendly.  A new study by the Insurance Institute Highway Safety shows that these cars provide better vehicle safety standards and protect occupants in accidents much better than conventional vehicles do.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Highway Loss Data Institute found that on average, the odds of being injured in an accident involving a hybrid vehicle was about 25% lower than for people who were driving nonhybrid vehicles.  According to the Highway Loss Data Institute, one of the biggest factors for this discrepancy is that hybrids are much heavier than conventional vehicles.  The additional mass gives these vehicles an advantage when they are involved in accidents. Hybrid vehicles are typically heavier than their non-vehicle counterparts even when they look like the same size.

Researchers analyzed more than 25 hybrid-conventional pairs.  These vehicles were all from between the 2003 and 2011 models.  Each vehicle had at least one accident claim, and at least one related injury claim filed.  The analysis found that the hybrid vehicles rates 7% lower than non-hybrid counterparts for accident claims related to personal injury protection claims and 25% lower than conventional vehicles for accident claims with a related medical payments coverage claim.

Los Angeles car accident lawyers will find that these results are a shot in the arm for those who want to save money on gas and control the extent of their footprint, and also want crash protection.  Not so long ago, people looking for a fuel efficient car had limited options, because most fuel-efficient cars were lighter and seen as being less safe.  However, now people can choose cars that are not only environment friendly, but also do a good job of protecting them in accidents.

Typically, people who are driving smaller lighter vehicles are at a greater risk of being injured in accidents.  Occupants of heavier vehicles like pickup trucks and SUVs are much more likely to survive an accident.   A larger vehicle can escape serious damage even when it is involved in an accident with a stationary object.  However, larger vehicles are typically gas guzzling machines, and do not promise fuel efficiency.  For automakers, the challenge has been to combine fuel efficiency with better crash protection, improved vehicle safety standards, and it seems they have found their answer in hybrids.

However, another study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows that while hybrid vehicles may be much safer for occupants, they are linked to much higher pedestrian accidents.  The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety are much more likely be involved in pedestrian accidents that end in injuries compared to conventional vehicles.  These findings are similar to those that were conducted in 2009 and 2011 that showed that hybrid vehicles caused more numbers of pedestrian accidents than conventional vehicles.

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