No One Is Talking About Electric Car Deaths, So I Have To
Given a choice, would you prefer to hit a car that’s more like a large moving cardboard box or a swinging wrecking ball. It’s a no-brainer. Most people would pick the lighter vehicle. That’s because it has less mass so you’ll suffer less impact and injury.
But here’s the thing: what will happen in the years to come as we see more electric cars on the road, given that EVs are significantly heavier than traditional combustion engine cars and their lithium batteries are highly flammable.
This means car crashes will get deadlier but no one is talking about this. I’ll expose the real risks of heavy EVs and what happens when a massive four-ton electric truck hits your combustion engine car.
And it’s not just about weight. EVs can accelerate faster than traditional cars because they have more torque.
If you combine these two aspects alone, you can see why EVs can be deadlier on the road. WATCH:
h/t JOS
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Russ D
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It’s just not the weight of EVs that are a problem. I read a study last year (I should have bookmarked it) that EVs are causing cancer because of the thousands of volts underneath the driver car seat.
Thanks but not thanks to EVs
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STEVYN R DEMBO
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The heavy EVs will also wear out their tires way faster. These EVs will also put more wear and tear on road surfaces. There is no free lunch!
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T. C. Clark
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A guy who visits auto auction sites in person noted that he seems to see more burned Teslas than any other burned models. The burned Tesla he showed seemed to be completely burned so I wondered why it was even there – appeared to be zero value – no salvage. Insurance co.s may have the statistics which would reveal the truth.
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Howdy
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“That’s because it has less mass so you’ll suffer less impact and injury.”
So where do the hummers, pickups, MPVs and other large vehicles fit into this? The point is moot.
“lithium batteries are highly flammable.”
No they are not. Petrol spontaneously combusts, li-ion cells do not, unless a problem occurs within a cell. Even a diesel will make a good bonfire with the right conditions despite the fuel being harder to ignite.
“what happens when a massive four-ton electric truck hits your combustion engine car”
What happens when a semi hits your IC car? Where’s the difference?
“EVs can accelerate faster than traditional cars because they have more torque”
Come on now, even cars with less torque than a tesla can soon land you in trouble particularly under acceleration.
The whole article is clutching at straws.
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T. C. Clark
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All things being equal – you will be safer in a larger mass vehicle in a collision – less g-forces on your body in deceleration than on the person in the lesser mass vehicle. Scotty was in effect saying that if you continue to buy the lightweight ICE vehicle, you are being more and more outnumbered – more heavy EVs around you. Tesla Model S goes 0 to 60 in 2.6 seconds – that is not a safety feature. Insurance co,s know which cars burn more and reflect it in insurance rates. EVs are not helping the environment and the gubment should not be promoting EVs and EVs should pay a tax for road maintenance..
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lloyd
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Fire departments are concerned about responding to the EV car fires due to the llithium batteries with their toxic materials connected to the batteries. I think you must be a huge proponent of the Green Revolution and EVs.
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D. Boss
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Howdy is correct, this article is misinformed at best and lying at worst. The danger of death or injury increases as the mass, size and structure of the vehicle decreases. Big pick ups, vans and SUV’s (all with an actual steel frame) are far safer in an accident than small cars made of tinfoil and plastic.
Many years ago I had a business partner who was also a full time firefighter/first responder. Because he is always the first to arrive at vehicle collisions, his first hand experience led him to only buy sturdy, large trucks for his own use, and he would not even get into a small car which he describes as “coffins on wheels”. That’s because in accidents, people in heavier vehicles often walk away, but the small/light cars, he was scraping out the body remnants into a body bag.
Electric cars are stupid, but the argument they are less safe because they are heavier, or faster to accelerate is just not in accordance with physics of impacts/crashes, and empirical evidence of the injury/death outcomes.
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Howdy
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“I think you must be a huge proponent of the Green Revolution and EVs.”
The article is not about green revolution, Lloyd, so I haven’t addressed that, but due to the claims about EV, and the way they are put forward, things needed to be put into perspective. The article simply comes across as a desperate attempt.
I don’t see electric road vehicles having any future at all as a mass transport.
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