Cambridge Mobile Telematics Research into Electric Vehicle Risk Unveils Key Insights into Changes in Road Safety in an EV Future
New CMT research presented at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Conference shows that electric vehicles have unique risk factors from traditional vehicles
Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT), the world’s largest telematics service provider, shared its new research findings into driving risk for electric, hybrid, and traditional vehicles in a keynote at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Charging Into an Electrified Future Conference.
The new research shows that drivers of electric vehicles exhibit acceleration risks ranging from 180% to 340% higher than when driving traditional combustion vehicles. In the keynote, CMT answered the question of how this risk translates to safety and, ultimately, crash outcomes. The data for the research comes from millions of vehicles across the CMT DriveWell® Platform.
CMT’s presentation focused on how the insurance industry and road safety professionals can further reduce risk by incentivizing safe driving for electric vehicle drivers. The key to reducing risk for EV drivers is a deeper understanding of the risk variables that impact safety outcomes. CMT’s research examines the differences in risk between internal combustion engines and electric vehicles across multiple variables, including driver fatigue, vehicle range, distracted driving, and speeding.
“Among the most compelling new findings are the comparisons between drivers who operate both an electric vehicle and an internal combustion vehicle, allowing for a better understanding of risk across vehicle platforms,” said Ryan McMahon, VP of Strategy for CMT. “These findings include an analysis of Tesla drivers who also operate another vehicle. These drivers are nearly 50% less likely to crash while driving their Tesla than any other vehicle they operate. We conducted the same analysis on individuals who operate a Porsche and another vehicle. In this case, we observed the opposite effect. Porsche drivers are 55% more likely to crash while driving their Porsche compared to their other vehicle.”
CMT’s keynote with Ryan McMahon, “Electric Drivers: Changes in Driver Behavior,” was held on May 24 at the IIHS-HLDI Vehicle Research Center in Ruckersville, VA.
To see the full presentation and review the research, Ryan McMahon will hold a bonus webinar on June 16. Click here to learn more and register.
