Electric Vehicles are Safer than ICE Cars

[phxsmiley]

This article is an interesting read, related to the recent Tesla safety results, but discusses how Electric cars are safer in crashes than a typical ICE car.

http://www.designnews.com/author.as...dustry_auto,bid_318,aid_267317&dfpLayout=blog

 

[Klayfish]

Interesting read, and some of the points brough up are valid, but not sure how much those alone will account for being a "safer" car. Lower CG is great, definitely helps reduce roll over, so no dispute there. Engine blocks are solid as a rock, but the structure around the engine is designed to absorb impact, plus the motor mounts can absorb energy before being destroyed. So I don't know exactly how much the lack of one will contribute. The gasoline part is true, but it's fairly rare that gasoline escapes a vehicle in an accident. Decades ago it was more common, but today most tanks are well protected and fuel spills in vehicles are rare.

Again, great stuff, but I wouldn't want to use those points alone to hang my hat on and say EVs are safer than ICE cars. The cars actual crash structure is just as important, probably more so.

 

[TomT]

Yep, I think it is a given that some EVs will be safer than ICEs and some will be less safe than ICEs. It is no different really than with any other car...

Again, great stuff, but I wouldn't want to use those points alone to hang my hat on and say EVs are safer than ICE cars. The cars actual crash structure is just as important, probably more so.

 

[Boourns]

Again, great stuff, but I wouldn't want to use those points alone to hang my hat on and say EVs are safer than ICE cars. The cars actual crash structure is just as important, probably more so.

I think the thesis here is that EVs have the potential to be safer than ICE cars. Based on the article and the results of the Tesla tests as I understand them, EVs don't have an engine under the hood, which makes for a nice big crumple zone. Obviously, you can put a 9V battery in a coke can with wheels and it'll be a death trap. But it's the inherent design of EVs -- no engine, no gas, low center of gravity -- that gives them advantages over a traditional ICE car in terms of safety.

I am interested to see how the i3, with it's Batman carbon fiber bones, performs in crash tests.

 

[Klayfish]

Obviously, you can put a 9V battery in a coke can with wheels and it'll be a death trap.

I have no doubt someone has already tried this. :lol:

And yes, for the record, I do agree that the thesis of EVs having great potential for crash safety exists.

 

[ranss12]

I wonder what the actual serious accident rate is (injuries/deaths per million miles driven). I expect that in the search for range and battery life the average EV driver drives more gently than the average ICE driver - I know I do. Insurance companies must have stats on this.

 

[surfingslovak]

I wonder what the actual serious accident rate is (injuries/deaths per million miles driven). I expect that in the search for range and battery life the average EV driver drives more gently than the average ICE driver - I know I do. Insurance companies must have stats on this.

Interesting, that's possible. Another thing to consider is that EVs are driven by a small segment of the population, which could create another bias a statistician would notice. What's even more interesting is that we haven't heard of any EV fires. Aside from the Volt that burned out three weeks after a crash test. There were some problems with the Fisker, but those were attributed to a fan, I believe, and not the traction battery. Be it as it may, we if EVs had the same incidence of fires like ICE vehicles, we should have seen dozens, if not hundreds of them by now. Weren't fire and the shock hazards always mentioned first in conjunction with EVs? That did not come to pass. Why isn't the press writing about that?

 

[Klayfish]

Insurance companies must have stats on this.

No, not yet. There really isn't enough data out there yet to show trends. I'm sure there will be fairly soon. I'm involved in one with a Tesla now, but it's the first EV one I've seen in quite some time. In the past 3 years, I think I've come across maybe 5 or 6 EV claims, vs. countless thousands of ICE claims. Probably fairly reflective of the ratio of ICE/EV cars.

I'll bet we may see some trend, but nothing overwhelming. Sure, some EV drivers are hypermillers and drive with an egg under the throttle. But that doesn't gaurantee red lights won't get run or stop signs missed, etc... I don't have specific data, but I'm not sure cars like the Prius have a significantly different accident rate than other cars, and their drivers are often hypermillers too.

And no, I haven't heard of any trends regarding fires or shocks in EV claims. There are certainly precautions to take when dealing with one, whether at an accident scene or during repair, but there haven't been widespread reports of issues. I know a bunch of Fiskers burned after Hurricane Sandy, but that was due to salt water causing corrosion.