Hybrid cars three times deadlier than petrol and diesel models as 'heavier' vehicles wreak havoc on UK roads

Campaigners warned the figures raise serious questions about whether hybrid technology is being pushed onto motorists faster than its safety risks are being properly understood.

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "It's high time we had a specialist resource to address road safety risk."

The transport research body is now pushing for a dedicated investigation branch to examine why hybrid vehicles appear to be so much more dangerous on Britain's roads.

According to the official figures, 122 people were killed in collisions involving hybrid vehicles during the past year. By contrast, 777 deaths were recorded in crashes involving petrol cars.

However, experts warn these raw numbers hide a far more troubling reality. Petrol cars currently outnumber hybrid vehicles on UK roads by nearly 20 to one.

Meanwhile, reports recorded how the UK has fewer than one million hybrid cars, compared with many millions of petrol vehicles.

When that imbalance is taken into account, the data showed hybrid vehicles are around three times more likely to be involved in a fatal collision than petrol cars.

The same analysis revealed that diesel vehicles performed slightly better than petrol cars in safety terms.

Fully electric vehicles were found to be the safest of all, with just 23 deaths recorded last year, despite almost two million EVs now being registered across the UK.

Experts stated that the heightened fatality rates linked to hybrids stem from their unique engineering design. Hybrid cars combine a traditional petrol engine with batteries and electric motors, creating a complex dual-system vehicle.

Specialists said this design can make the cars harder to control and increase their susceptibility to fires during serious crashes.

The batteries themselves present particular dangers. They can be damaged by the extreme heat generated by combustion engines, making them more likely to ignite. Once alight, battery fires are far harder to extinguish than conventional car fires.

There are also risks from the high electrical currents flowing through hybrid vehicles, which can pose serious dangers to occupants and emergency responders following a collision.

Emergency services face significant challenges when dealing with hybrid crashes. Firefighters and paramedics often require specialist training and equipment to manage the different nature of hybrid vehicle fires.

There is also the added risk of toxic gases being released if batteries are damaged, further complicating rescue efforts.

Nicholas Lyes from the road safety charity IAM RoadSmart highlighted the technical difficulties posed by hybrid vehicles. He told The Mail on Sunday: "Plug-in hybrids are often heavier and more complex vehicles owing to the fact they run on both a traditional combustion engine and a battery."

The dual power sources mean these cars require two cooling systems, along with more intricate electronics and wiring.

Insurance data appears to reinforce these concerns, with company car insurer Tusker revealing that hybrids in its 30,000-vehicle fleet experienced fires at nearly three times the rate of other vehicles, recording 3,475 fires per 100,000 cars.

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