Highway Loss Data Institute study results show hybrid cars safer in accidents

Hybrid Auto Crash TestThe results of an insurance institute study have been released, showing that hybrid vehicles have a safety level that is 25 percent higher for drivers and passengers than traditional cars in the case of an accident.

The study also showed that they are more dangerous when pedestrians are involved in the accident.

Hybrid vehicles operate on both internal combustion and electric motors. The Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) report showed that as their batteries increase their weight by an average of 10 percent, hybrid cars have an extra level of safety when compared to their conventional counterparts.

A vice president of HLDI, Matt Moore, who was the author of the report, explained that “This extra mass gives them an advantage in crashes that their conventional twins don’t have.”

When compared with non-hybrid vehicles, the chances of being injured in an auto accident are 25 percent lower for drivers and passengers in hybrid cars.

The HLDI study included an examination of over 25 conventional-hybrid pairs of vehicles. These were all models from 2003 through 2011. Each of them had a minimum of one collision claim with at least one injury claim made in relation to it, between the years 2002 and 2010.

Separately, another study was performed to examine the likelihood that hybrids would be involved in an accident with a pedestrian where an injury resulted. What they found was that when compared to the more conventional models of cars, hybrids could be up to 20 percent more likely to be involved in such an incident.

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