Heavy Hitters: EVs Smash Through Guardrails, Raising New Safety Concerns
A new car safety study has proven that electric vehicles (EVs) are too heavy to be restrained by guardrails that line roads in case of accidents, researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln said. [emphasis, links added]
As the number of EVs such as Teslas and Chevrolet Bolts takes over the roads amid concerns over the environmental impact of gasoline-powered vehicles, one of the lead researchers from the university’s Midwest Roadside Safety Facility (MwRSF) warned that there needs to be “some urgency to address this issue.”
In a study sponsored by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) and partnered with Auburn University’s Transportation Research Institute, MwRSF conducted a “first-of-its-kind crash test” of an EV pickup truck in October 2023.
The test used a 7,148-pound 2022 Rivian R1T truck that was sent at a barrier at a speed of 60 mph, with footage showing the heavy EV completely blasting through the guardrail and launching over the concrete wall while sending chunks of it flying:
The R1T’s immense weight is largely attributed to its 135-kWh battery pack, which brings the vehicle’s weight to a “ton more than a Ford F-150 SuperCab,” car review site Edmunds states.
“There is some urgency to address this issue,” MwRSF assistant director Cody Stolle told the university’s news publication in January. “As the percentage of EVs on the road increases, the proportion of run-off-road crashes involving EVs will increase as well.”
Even though the impact with the concrete brought the pickup truck to a halt, “several of the 5,000-pound barriers were pushed back 10 feet — 50 percent more than normal,” CBS News reported of the test on Thursday.
The researchers stated that safety barriers and guardrails are typically tested using vehicles weighing between 2,400-5,000 pounds — significantly lighter than EVs, “which typically weigh 20 percent to 50 percent more than gas-powered vehicles.”
“MwRSF research suggests that EVs are involved in run-off-road crashes at about the same rate and about the same speeds as gasoline vehicles,” the university said.
“That would mean an EV crashing into a roadside barrier could have 20 percent to 50 percent more impact energy.”
“It is going to be necessary to reexamine the designs of roadside barriers even beyond the EVs,” said Stolle. “It’s a critical and timely need.”
Another test, conducted on a 2018 Tesla Model 3 in September 2023, resulted in the sedan’s structure being able to lift the guardrail and pass underneath it before stopping behind the barrier.
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Howdy
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“The test used a 7,148-pound 2022 Rivian R1T truck”
The ICE Hummer H1 is heavier, with a kerb weight of 8,114 pounds. Why isn’t that a problem?
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VOWG
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Center of gravity and a battery that is a mass capable smashing through concrete.
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Howdy
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I assume you mean the battery centre of gravity VOWG? Why does that matter? The test vehicle climbed over the wall regardless. That being the case, and judging by the image, the vehicle is short on front impact protection and crumple zones.
The Hummer, if we assume the engines’ higher position gives it a higher centre of gravity, will mount the wall easier, and it’s heavier mass will be giving it greater potential to keep moving. It grew from a military vehicle, and that suggests a tough design.
I say again, why is the Hummer not a problem?
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D. Boss
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BBB. Or Bullsh*t Baffles Brains. There are plenty of normal gasoline or diesel powered vehicles that weigh as much or more than these idiotic electric vehicles. And these models have been on the road for decades.
Example a Ford F350 dual wheel pickup has an empty weight of 6,900 to 8,200 lbs – AND they can carry 2 tons or 4,000 lbs of payload in the bed. Clearly heavier than the EV truck tested. Ford sold 60,000 F series trucks in 2023, of which at least 30% were as heavy or heavier than the EV of the idiotic article. And that does not include Chevy or Dodge trucks of the same caliber.
I could go on, as for example I own a Chevy G2500 extended van, which weighs 6500 lbs empty and can carry 1500 lbs payload, so it comes in at 8000 lbs loaded. There are hundreds of thousands to millions of vans, pick ups, etc that weigh as much as the EV.
This does not address even larger trucks, like dump trucks (lorries to the brits), straight trucks, cube vans, and semi trucks all of which are double to order of magnitude heavier than the EV test.
My point is by comparison to vehicles already on the road, this EV crash test is meaningless, as a humongous proportion of vehicles as heavy or heavier already populate our roads, and have accidents into barriers.
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