The development of electric vehicles raises safety concerns in the event of accidents and damage to infrastructure

CALIFORNIA (FOX26) — They haven’t taken over California’s highways yet, but we’re seeing more electric vehicles on the road.

According to the Department of Energy, there are 1,200,000 electric vehicles in California.

What may surprise you is that electric vehicles outperform standard combustible cars.

That’s what a 7,000-pound electric vehicle can do to a barrier going 60 miles per hour.

The University of Nebraska at Lincoln crashes cars at a Midwest traffic safety facility.

Remember that battery electric vehicles are very safe in the tests they are designed to meet. Both were rated using federal standards, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests, said Professor Ron Faller of Lincoln University in Nebraska.

Another test opens your eyes to what happens when a truck hits a barrier.

it backs up a few feet, but the truck didn’t jump over or go through the concrete.

We weren’t surprised. If you have more energy and momentum in a collision with a heavier vehicle, that particular barrier will experience more displacement and a greater level of damage, which it also suffered, Faller said.

While the crash didn’t surprise the research director, it did concern Fresno Assemblyman Jim Patterson.

When I watched the test video, I was absolutely amazed. “Here’s equipment so heavy and dangerous that it will destroy the K-rail,” Patterson said.

Professor Faller believes it is too early in testing electric vehicles to draw conclusions.

what he noticed when he crashed the car was the g-force measured by the on-board sensor.

Typically, the mass of our vehicles with similar barriers allows for acceleration reductions in the range of 10-16 g. I’m just throwing out a number, but within that range, Faller said.

Professor Faller says the limit is 20.4.

In our battery-electric sedan test, we achieved passenger lateral acceleration of 32 g, more than 50% above our allowable tolerance, Faller said.

Faller calls that number alarming, but says the sensor reading cannot determine whether the people in the car will be seriously injured.

Patterson, vice chairman of the Utilities and Energy Committee, thinks it’s time for the feds to get involved.

I really think that, given this evidence, the folks at the National Transportation Safety Board should conduct serious crash testing of these very heavy and very dangerous electric vehicles, Patterson said.

Professor Faller says it’s unknown whether all electric vehicles will behave the same as the vehicles tested in Nebraska.

We have many years of research and research to do before we can say anything. We’re just getting started.

It will be three to five years before Professor Faller feels he has enough research to better address the safety issues surrounding electric vehicles.