Electric vehicles have proven their superiority in terms of performance and zero tailpipe emissions.
The world is fully cognizant of the fact that the benefits of such vehicles are much higher than those of internal combustion engine vehicles.
EVs Catching Fire
The latest discussion that is stirring the internet is regarding the frequency at which electric vehicles catch fires.
However, the CEO of Tesla Elon Musk has declared many times that the recurring reports of EVs catching fires are biased.
Upon getting into the specifics, it feels that Musk is really up to something that might change the perception of how safe electric vehicles are.
Common Beliefs vs Reality
According to a common belief, EVs are more susceptible to fires than internal combustion engine vehicles because of their huge Li-ion batteries.
Data From Trusted Sources
According to data from the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) as well as the US Department of transportation, a total of 190,000 vehicles in the US had the sad fate of being burnt due to one reason or the other during the year 2019.
EVs vs Conventional Vehicles In Catching Fire
After every 30,5 million km distance covered, 1x gasoline vehicle caught fire. However, the same happened to a Tesla vehicle after a total of 329 million kilometers.
This result shows that EVs might be ten times safer than their counterparts when it comes to catching fires.
Dare To Disagree?
There is a significant factor that completely changes the situation and that’s why it is vital to consider it.
When Do These Vehicles Catch Fire?
While most gasoline vehicles catch fire only when they are in an operational state, the EVs have had instances in which they’ve caught fires even when they were not under operation.
Similarly, EVs have also been reported as catching fires during or after the charging process.
EV Fires Last Longer
What is even more concerning is that while a gasoline car’s fire only lasts for a short duration and can be relatively easily put out by firefighters, the same is not true about EVs.
This is because EV fires take several hours to extinguish since their batteries are highly flammable. As a result, the jobs of firefighters are extremely difficult.
Battery Fumes Are Extremely Dangerous
Furthermore, the fumes of such batteries are much more hazardous than the fires of internal combustion engine vehicles and this is why firefighter lives are at a greater risk while putting out EV fires.
Non-Crash Fire Claims
While most luxury and sports cars have a non-crash fire claim of around 0.8 per 10,000 insured vehicles, the figure is much higher for the Model S single motor and dual motor at 1.7 and 2.0 respectively.
The Model X has a figure of 2.2 however the Model 3 does relatively better and has a figure of 0.4.
Final Verdict
Serious steps & research needs to be put into the field to make sure that precious human lives can be saved.
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