Trade-offs Are There, But Safety Is a Growing Focus
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Many people wonder whether choosing an electric car for their next vehicle is going to be safer than selecting a conventional car. In some cases, this is a good idea. There are far more charging points for electric cars now, you don’t need to purchase fossil fuel, and you will be doing your bit for the environment. Of course, there are other things to think about. For example, if you need to take long trips in your car regularly, then you will need to ensure you plan enough stops to suitably power your car.
Electric will eventually be the only cars in the world–although we have a little time before that happens. So that you’re ready for the future of cars, read on to find out if electric cars are safer than conventional cars.
Electric Cars Don’t Carry Gasoline
Electric cars are safer than conventional cars due to the fact they don’t carry highly combustible gasoline. However, electric cars do use large arrays of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. These batteries have their own issues.
While cars with internal combustion engines can be dangerous during accidents, there’s no real guarantee that an electric car won’t have an issue with the Li-ion battery. Just how safe are Li-ion batteries, anyway? These batteries are used in laptops and phones, and there are stories online of them catching fire. Are we moving away from something that is actually safer than a gas-powered car?
The battery pack in a Tesla Roadster consists of 6,381 battery cells under the hood of a single car. This might worry you if you were considering an electric car for your next vehicle.
There are precautions being put into place to stop this from happening, however. Tesla and other electric car makers are installing many precautionary devices. Fuses and circuit breakers are utilized to disconnect the batteries when the collision detectors become aware that the pack is about to sustain some damage. Nothing that electric car makers can do will stop you from needing to contact reputable car accident lawyers who offer high-quality legal advice after an accident, but at least you can have peace of mind knowing that precautions have been taken to stop the battery from catching fire.
Another precaution being taken is circulating radiator-chilled coolant throughout the battery pack, as keeping the batteries cool is a must. If the batteries get hot, then they are more likely to catch fire. Volvo has always been a car maker advanced in safety systems, and they are one of the current leaders in making electric car batteries safer. In its electric vehicles, the battery pack is actually located as far away as possible from the car’s ‘crumple zones’ to ensure that minimal damage comes to it during a collision.
With all of this in mind, it’s likely that cars powered solely by electricity will be even safer than cars with combustion engines. At the minute, though, doing your research to ensure the car is safe is still crucial!
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