Researching Electric Vehicles and Guardrail Safety - How Safe Are EVs?

With the number of electric vehicles increasing on highways around the world, the safety aspect of these vehicles is of concern to drivers.  Recent research sponsored by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Midwest Road Safety Facility should raise questions about the drive of governments to get us all into "environmentally friendly" electric vehicles.  

  

Let's start with some numbers first.  I'm just going to select a couple of example vehicles so that you can compare the curb weight of those equipped with internal combustion engines to those with electric motors and lithium batteries:

 

1.) 2024 Hyundai Kona ICE FWD - 2999 to 3146 pounds

  

2.) 2024 Hyundai Kona EV - 3751 to 3883 pounds

 

That's a difference of between 752 and 737 pounds or roughly 25 percent.

 

3.) 2023 Ford F-150 XLT ICE 4WD - 4705 pounds

 

4.) 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning EV - 6015 pounds

 

That's a difference of 1310 pounds or 28 percent.

  

5.) Rivian R1T - 7148 pounds

The Rivian is 2443 pounds or 52 percent heavier than the Ford F-150.

 

In all of these cases, the internal combustion engine vehicles weigh substantially less than their EV counterparts.  This is similar throughout the EV world as the lithium batteries used to power electric vehicles are extremely heavy and result in a lower centre of gravity than is found in ICE vehicles.

 

Now, back to the subject of this posting.  For the first time, an EV truck has been crash tested into guardrails to better understand whether the current standard for guardrails is sufficient to protect occupants .  This is critical given that thousands of fatalities result from more than 100,000 run-off-road accidents every year.  The test was conducted on October 12, 2023 using a Rivian R1T pickup truck with a curb weight of 7148 pounds, well above the normal curb weight for a traditional pickup truck powered by an internal combustion engine.  The guardrail system used in the test was constructed 31 inches above the roadway using 12-gauge corrugated steel which was attached to 6 inch deep steel posts and mounted on blockouts that were 8 to 12 inches thick.

 

Here is a video showing the result of the test:

 

The 7100 pound plus Rivian R1T went through the standard guardrail as though it didn't even exist and one went through one section of concrete barriers that are typically found along roadways to separate lanes.  Can you imagine the result of this crash had there been a cliff on the other side of the guardrail rather than a secondary set of concrete barriers?

 

Here is a quote from the press release from UNL's Midwest Roadside Safety Facility:

 

"Midwest Roadside Safety Facility research suggests that EVs are involved in run-off-road crashes at about the same rate and about the same speeds as gasoline vehicles. That would mean an EV crashing into a roadside barrier could have 20% to 50% more impact energy.

 

“It is going to be necessary to re-examine the designs of roadside barriers even beyond the EVs,” he said. “It’s a critical and timely need....

 

Today’s challenge is to again adapt roadside barriers to match the mix of heavier electric vehicles, lighter gasoline vehicles, taller SUVs and pickups, and smaller cars. Fulfilling the challenge requires collaboration with diverse backgrounds in defense, transportation, design and crash safety.”

 

Should you happen to think that this is a one-off result, a September 2023 test of a 2018 Tesla Model 3 "lifted the guardrail and passed beneath it", likely because of the lower centre of gravity of EV vehicles.

 

UNL is currently creating next-generation roadside barriers, a laudable task given the increasing average curb weight of vehicles on our streets and highways thanks to EV adoption, however, it is unimaginable how much it will cost to replace the current barriers to ensure that all drivers are safe in run-off accidents.  We would be smart to wonder what took so long to get this testing done, wouldn't we?  In the haste to electrification of transportation, elected officials seem to forget the real world consequences of their policies.