A fatal accident in Toronto raises questions about the dangers of electric vehicles

Debut of the Widget widget. Passing the widget?

Find the Widget widget. Back to the widget’s debut?

A fatal electric car crash that killed four people in downtown Toronto has raised concerns about the dangers that can arise when electric vehicles have problems.

This includes whether people can easily evacuate in the event of a fire or how high the fire risk is for current generation electric vehicles.

Observers say these types of fires may attract media attention but are not that common – so safety analysis of electric vehicles should focus on the products and their components and any resulting concerns.

Disaster in Toronto

The fatal accident in Toronto occurred on October 24 in the early morning hours. The Tesla hit a guardrail (new window)then a concrete pillar and caught fire.

The investigation into the crash remains ongoing and the full circumstances are not yet known.

Get more with a free CBC account

Comment on articles, stay up to date with our newsletters and stream more on CBC Gem.

Log in (new window)Create a free account (new window)

A witness told CBC News that the vehicle’s exterior doors appeared to be inoperable after the crash. Only one person survived, thanks to the help of other drivers who arrived at the scene.

Rick Harper, a Canada Post tractor-trailer driver, helped break the window of the burning Tesla, allowing the lone survivor to get out. He says none of the car doors could be opened from the outside.

At least I had something there with which we could break the window and save the young lady. he said.

The look in her eyes, the terror, still affects me.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from CBC News.

As it states on its website, the company’s door handles are electronic (new window)and it cannot be used without power. In such cases, the passenger must use the manual release mechanisms, which vary by model.

Because so many details of the Toronto crash are unknown, it is unclear what the condition of the remaining passengers was moments later and whether they managed to trigger the triggers.

However, it is conceivable that the driver may have better knowledge of the car’s operation than the passengers, and this could influence his reaction after an accident, said George Iny of the Automotive Protection Association (APA).

Exit

It is very unlikely, especially (as) a backseat passenger, that you would even know where the manual controls are, much less if you were to panic or get injured, Ina said.

His organization would prefer conventional door handles on these vehicles.

The balancing argument is that: “Well, if the vehicle is partially crushed after the collision, the doors won’t open anyway, Ina said.

There’s still something to be said for the old manual door handle you can pull.

Videos on social media show that finding the mechanical release can be difficult, especially in the back of the car. In some models such as the Tesla Model X (new window)you need to pry up the speaker cover on the side of the door and locate the wire that needs to be pulled.

Olivier Trescases, director of the Research Center for Electric Vehicles (UTEV) at the University of Toronto, mentions another solution – a supercapacitor that would allow parts such as doors to retain some of their charge even if the power was cut.

Now some bonus cars have it, but it is not required on all vehicles. He says yes it is always a trade-off between cost and safety.

It also says, generally speaking, the more bonus the car is the safer, which he believes is controversial.

Electric vehicles and their gasoline equivalents

Trescases said electric vehicles are generally speaking much safer than their gasoline counterparts when it comes to the likelihood of a catastrophic fire. He said gasoline has a higher energy density and is generally more flammable than lithium batteries. Electric vehicles also use battery monitoring systems.

Nevertheless, firefighters across the country are adapting to the realities of having to deal with electric vehicle fires.

That’s because when they do occur, they can be more difficult to control, said Ken McMullen, president of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs. More and more electric vehicles on the road mean emergency crews will have to change the way they respond to incidents.

They are hotter than normal when dealing with a normal combustible fire. They burn harder and spread faster, said McMullen, who is also the chief of emergency services in Red Deer, Alta.

Better security needed

Iny from APA wants better protection for drivers, also in the event of a battery fire.

He said that while the overall number of these types of fires may be low, automakers are very sensitive to the problem.

We must now take advantage of this greater awareness and vigilance to intensify our investigations and responses, – Iny said.

He also noted that the current wave of early adopters of electric vehicles will eventually be joined by a larger group of newer users who may be less aware of the problems associated with their vehicles.

The Canadian government has set an ambitious goal (new window) achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions from all new vehicle sales by 2035. This makes any outstanding concerns about electric vehicles all the more pressing.

Different standards for electric vehicles and electric bicycles

Toronto Fire says the number of reported lithium-ion battery fires has increased by about 90 per cent in 2023 (new window) compared to the previous year to 55. However, many of them used electric bikes, not electric cars.

Scientists say that the quality of batteries in bicycles is not necessarily the same as in passenger cars.

There are some serious studies that show that per 100,000 vehicles, electric vehicles are much safer, so it comes down to standards, control systems, said Trescases, director of UTEV.

“In some cases we see fires in small electric vehicles such as scooters and e-bikes because they do not have the same quality standards and do not have the same monitoring systems.

Unfortunately, they judge electric vehicles poorly.

However, he says there are some situations that are completely isolated to electric vehicles that, while rare, drivers should be aware of, such as the fact that salt water in the battery can cause a fire.

This is something that has no analogy to combustion vehicles, he said. You’ll never see a traditional vehicle sitting ignited on its own.

Quality control, supervision

Some observers continue to call for better quality control.

Josipa Petrunic, CEO of the Canadian Consortium for Urban Transportation Research and Innovation, said there needs to be more oversight of battery quality.

Almost the entire responsibility rests with automotive companies… checking the quality of batteries before they go to your vehicle, – Petrunic said.

Transport Canada told CBC News it did regulated vehicles with high voltage drive systems for over twenty years, and its standards require testing to ensure that such systems do not do this pose a risk to passengers after an accident.

It also said it is involved in developing global regulations for electric vehicle safety.

Lisa Xing (new window)Geoff Nixon (new window) · CBC News