{"id":2164266,"date":"2024-01-31T17:33:02","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T22:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/crash-tests-raise-red-flags-over-electric-vehicle-safety\/"},"modified":"2024-01-31T17:38:39","modified_gmt":"2024-01-31T22:38:39","slug":"crash-tests-raise-red-flags-over-electric-vehicle-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/crash-tests-raise-red-flags-over-electric-vehicle-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Electric Vehicle Safety Concerns Raised by Crash Tests"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcrash-tests-raise-red-flags-over-electric-vehicle-safety%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2164266&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Are America&#8217;s Roadside Guardrails Ready for Electric Vehicles?<\/h2>\n<div>\n<figure><figcaption>Rivian electric truck (Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>America&#8217;s\u2062 system of roadside guardrails may \u200dnot be able to handle \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/as-ev-sales-grow-battle-over-u-s-road-weight-limits-heats-up\/\" title=\"As EV sales grow, battle over U.S. road weight limits heats up\">heavy electric vehicles<\/a>, according to preliminary crash test results of a study released Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>Researchers at the University \u2062of Nebraska <a href=\"https:\/\/news.unl.edu\/newsrooms\/today\/article\/nebraska-experts-weigh-highway-safety-and-electric-vehicles\/\">crashed<\/a> \u200can over\u200b 7,000-pound electric pickup truck, a 2022 Rivian\u200c R1T, into a \u200cguardrail at \u200c60 miles per \u200chour, resulting in the car tearing straight through the\u200c barrier. A separate test saw a Tesla Model 3, which\u2063 weighs about 4,000 pounds, pass through a \u2064guardrail with a little more resistance, lifting the barrier and\u200b passing underneath\u2063 before stopping behind it.<\/p>\n<p>While EVs\u2063 offer\u200b superior protection\u2062 for their occupants in crashes with other vehicles, \u2064safety officials say, some pieces of roadway infrastructure may not be\u2063 able to accommodate them. The metal guardrails are\u200c often\u2064 located on bridges and roadsides overlooking cliffs or bodies of water to prevent \u200dcars from going off the\u2063 road.\u2064 Due to the weight of the batteries that power them, EVs tend to be between \u200c20 and 50 percent heavier than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/californias-state-pension-invests-millions-in-chinese-state-owned-companies\/\" title=\"California\u2019s State Pension Invests Millions in Chinese State-Owned Companies\">gas-powered cars<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/electric-vehicles-crash-test-guardrails-nebraska-3ec299a7ad87d0f63a6dd9357f663fce\">according<\/a> to the Associated Press. Heavier EVs \u2062especially, such as the Rivian truck in the study, may be too much for the present barriers, which \u200dare supposed to stop vehicles that weigh \u20625,000 pounds\u2063 at most.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Guardrails\u2064 are kind \u200bof a safety feature of last resort,&#8221; <strong>Michael Brooks<\/strong>, director \u200cof the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety, told the AP. \u200d&#8221;I think what you\u2019re seeing here is the real concern with EVs\u2014their weight. There are a lot of new \u2064vehicles in this larger-size range coming\u200b out in that 7,000-pound range. \u200cAnd that\u2019s a\u2062 concern.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cody \u200cStolle<\/strong>, assistant \u2064director of the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility located at the university, told the outlet\u2064 that the compatibility between the EVs and guardrails is poor.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Right \u200bnow, electric vehicles are at or around 10 percent of new vehicles sold, so we have some time,&#8221; Stolle said.\u200b &#8220;But as EVs continue to be sold and become more popular, this will\u200b become a more prevalent problem.\u200b There is some urgency to address this.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Stolle compared the present difficulties with EVs \u200dto the challenge brought by the increasing\u2063 popularity of\u2062 heavier SUVs and pickup trucks in the \u200c1990s, a\u200b change to which\u2063 guardrail technologies had to adapt.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;So, here we are \u2064trying\u200d to do the same thing again: Adapt to the changing \u200dmakeup of vehicles on the road,&#8221; Stolle told the \u2063AP.<\/p>\n<p>The adequacy of roadside safety mechanisms is not the only difficulty facing the ongoing transition to EVs, which President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration is attempting\u200d to \u2062incentivize. Charging stations for the vehicles are \u2064often out of order or crowded, which Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/energy\/not-so-easy-being-green-jennifer-granholm-encounters-charging-woes-angry-families-on-electric-vehicle-promotion-tour\/\">experienced<\/a> over the \u2063summer when her\u2063 staff \u200cused a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/3-recent-failures-of-green-energy-policies\/\" title=\"3 Recent Failures of Green Energy Policies\">gas-powered car<\/a> to reserve \u2064a charger for her during an EV road trip, angering\u200c other EV drivers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> What were the findings of the recent crash test study conducted \u200cby\u200d researchers at the University of Nebraska regarding \u200cthe compatibility of guardrails with heavy electric vehicles?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Lectric vehicles pose a\u2063 challenge to America&#8217;s system of roadside guardrails, \u2063as highlighted by the\u200c results\u200c of \u200ca recent crash test study conducted \u2063by researchers at the University of Nebraska. \u2062The study\u2062 revealed that these guardrails may not be\u200d capable of handling the weight and force of heavy electric vehicles.<\/p>\n<p>In the study,\u2064 an electric \u200dpickup \u200dtruck weighing over 7,000 pounds was crashed into a guardrail\u200c at a speed of 60 miles per hour. The result \u200cwas surprising, as the\u200c vehicle tore straight through the barrier. In a separate \u200dtest involving \u2062a Tesla Model\u200b 3 weighing approximately 4,000 pounds, the guardrail \u200boffered a little more resistance. However, the \u200cbarrier was \u2063still lifted, and\u2062 the vehicle passed underneath before coming\u2063 to\u200c a stop behind it.<\/p>\n<p>While electric vehicles provide\u200c superior protection for\u200b their \u2064occupants\u2063 in crashes with other vehicles, the issue\u2062 lies in\u200c the compatibility of these vehicles \u2064with existing infrastructure. Metal guardrails are\u200d often placed on bridges\u2064 and\u200b roadsides overlooking cliffs \u200dor bodies of water to prevent cars from veering off the road.\u200c The weight of EVs, which is usually 20 to 50 percent heavier \u2064than\u2062 traditional\u2062 gasoline-powered cars,\u2064 makes it challenging for\u200b guardrails to effectively \u200dhandle the force during a \u200dcollision.<\/p>\n<p>The findings of this study raise concerns\u2063 about \u200dthe safety of\u200c America&#8217;s roadways in the face of an increasing number of electric vehicles on the streets. With the growing \u200bpopularity of EVs and their adoption by mainstream consumers, \u200bit is imperative\u200b that \u200cthe existing \u200dinfrastructure is ready to accommodate these vehicles.<\/p>\n<p>One possible solution to this \u2062issue is the \u200cdevelopment and \u200cimplementation of specialized guardrails designed to\u200c handle the unique\u200b characteristics of electric vehicles. These guardrails\u200b could be reinforced or redesigned to better withstand \u200cthe force of\u200d heavier EVs\u200c during a collision. Additionally, safety officials and\u200d infrastructure planners should consider the implications of EV weight\u200c when\u200b designing and placing guardrails in critical\u2062 areas.<\/p>\n<p>The \u2064importance of addressing this issue cannot be \u200boverstated. As electric vehicles continue \u2064to gain traction and become a larger part \u200bof America&#8217;s transportation landscape, it is crucial to ensure the\u200b safety of all road users. Existing infrastructure needs to be evaluated\u2064 and, \u200dif \u200bnecessary, upgraded to match the demands of this evolving technology.<\/p>\n<p>In \u200dconclusion, the\u200b preliminary crash test results \u2064of the University \u200cof Nebraska study highlight the potential\u200b shortcomings\u2064 of America&#8217;s roadside guardrails when\u200d faced with\u2063 heavy electric vehicles. The\u2064 weight disparity between \u2063electric and traditional vehicles poses a safety concern that needs\u2063 to be addressed. It is necessary \u200bto invest in research, development, and implementation of updated infrastructure to accommodate the \u2063growing number of electric vehicles on the road. By doing \u200bso,\u200b we can ensure the \u200bsafety \u2064of all road users and the successful integration of electric vehicles\u200b into the transportation system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Preliminary crash test findings suggest that America&#8217;s roadside guardrails may not withstand the weight of heavy electric vehicles. The University of Nebraska researchers conducted a study where a 2022 Rivian R1T, weighing over 7,000 pounds, was crashed into a guardrail at 60 mph<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2112,"featured_media":2164267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/electric-truck-maker-rivian-reports-quarterly-earnings-scaled-e1706736592894.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2164266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/electric-truck-maker-rivian-reports-quarterly-earnings-scaled-e1706736592894.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2164266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2112"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2164266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2164266\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2164267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2164266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2164266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2164266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}