The government should introduce tougher regulations on electric vehicles because of dangers to visually impaired people, a sight loss charity has said.
A study published in May by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found pedestrians are twice as likely to be hit by an electric or hybrid vehicle than a petrol or diesel car, rising to three times in urban areas.
Electric vehicles are thought to pose a higher risk to pedestrians because they are quieter than petrol or diesel ones.
But the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) says quiet vehicles are especially dangerous for visually impaired people, who often rely on vehicle noise to navigate traffic.
Mike Wordingham, policy manager at the RNIB, said: “I’ve known people, it really knocks their confidence when these things happen and a near-miss means they are less likely to go out independently in the city, or it will distress their dogs in that way and that can really lead to increased isolation.
“It can also mean they don’t make important trips to attend health appointments, to go shopping or to see friends.”
The charity wants the government to review its rules on when electric vehicles have to make noise and retrofit vehicles which don’t have this technology.
In July 2021 it became mandatory for all newly registered electric vehicles to make a noise at speeds below 12.4 miles per hour through an Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS).
Until September 2023, manufacturers could install a pause function that allowed drivers to turn AVAS off whenever they wanted.
These new regulations do not apply to older vehicles.
RNIB spokesperson Erik Matthies said the charity supports green transport but wants it to be made safer.
He added: “It’s no good saying, ‘well, these cars are too old’.
“A lot of people might get them second-hand.
“We don’t want to take them off the road or anything like that, but we do want them to be safer to be around.”
In a statement, the Department for Transport said: “We want everyone to feel safe on our roads.
“It is a legal requirement for new electric vehicles to produce sound when travelling at low speeds, and when travelling faster they already produce similar noise levels to petrol and diesel cars.”