This issue is being addressed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). To support discussions at both UNECE and with the European Commission, the Department for Transport undertook research into the possible risks posed by electric and hybrid electric vehicles to the safety of vulnerable road pedestrians and other road users. Although the research found no current evidence of a higher accident rate for these vehicles, a panel of visually impaired subjects did find that detecting the approach of a hybrid vehicle operating in electric mode at speeds below 20 km/h (12 mph) was harder, on average, than detecting the approach of conventional vehicles with whose sounds they were familiar. The full reports on that work may be found on the Department's website.