EVs that catch fire are impossible to extinguish. EVs that are involved in accidents are recommended to be stored 50 feet apart and monitored by thermal cameras due to the tremendous risk of battery fires. It is not economical to fix EVs at this time. Someone was just quoted $60k to fix a Hyundai Ioniq because of dents on the bottom panel. Insurance companies, parking garages, and ferries are beginning to wise up and want nothing to do with EVs.
Nevermind that half of the EVs out there don't have conventional mechanical door latches to let people out of the car should the power fail. EVs are far heavier than standard cars. I heard that they don't crumple as much either, to protect the battery from causing a bigger disaster. Rigid vehicles cause much more harsh deceleration in a crash, which is likely much worse for the people in the car. Look up the Youtube channels MGUY Australia or Geoff Buys Cars if you want some real dirt on EVs.
Passenger EVs are barely practical, risky, and not nearly as environmentally sustainable as the marketing says. EV trucks (consumer and commercial) are a sick joke.
There are little kernels of truth sprinkled throughout your comment, but much of it is FUD. EVs aren't chinese scooters primed to burst into flame at a moment's notice. They're as safe as gas cars (though i would like to see data on injuries per 100,000 mi instead of safety ratings as those can be gamed)
FUD is a bit dismissive of the risks. Yes, I am afraid of unextinguishable fires spewing toxic gasses, battery explosions, being trapped in a wreck, huge repair bills, and getting stuck somewhere on the road. I am uncertain because the media largely buries the issues with EVs. I have a lot of doubt surrounding EV adoption and especially mandates. So? Sometimes FUD is the smart position.
I never said EVs in good condition are ready to spontaneously combust. That has happened of course, but it is rare. The trouble is with crashes. The fire risk is by far the worst. An EV catching fire can ignite any vehicles near it, causing a chain of unextinguishable toxic fires. No wonder many repair shops want nothing to do with damaged EVs. I've seen several firefighters talk about how horrible these fires are. Of course, a chain of fires in a city parking garage is the worst case.
Safety stats for EVs are hard to come by, at least ones that could effectively answer my questions. There are confounding factors, such as the high prices of EVs, that would make EVs look safer.
You are right about safety ratings being gamed. EVs have a separate set of regulations they have to conform to. That's what I was alluding to. I've only heard about how EV safety ratings favor structural integrity of the battery over the occupants indirectly though. If you want to know more, the Youtube channels I mentioned discuss news articles about it. I don't have a bibliography, and search engines bury most anti-EV stuff.
> I am uncertain because the media largely buries the issues with EVs
I've read enough media to see the opposite. Tiny numbers of car fires are constantly getting exaggerated, meanwhile the steady stream of gas car fires get no discussion.
Even after the recall work was done, we had local surface lots that banned the Chevy Bolt. They didn't ban gas or diesel trucks with active recalls for car fires while parked. The differences in risk for a parking lot like that are negligible, but the constant barrage of media scare stories got to them.
As to fires, the data is interesting. They are less likely to catch fire overall. On average they are slightly more likely to catch fire while parked, but somewhat less likely to catch fire post collision.
Interestingly, the current data seems to imply lower overall risk of fires causing personal injury in an EV vs an ICE. Thankfully the odds of both are so low as to make the difference a rounding error.
Yeah, it is shockingly common to see stories about AP failure that turn out to be purely human driving. The press elevates some weird anti-Tesla narratives.
Of course, they are just quoting so it isn't lying, but sometimes it seems like they intentionally do the bare minimum research to keep from finding out the truth of a story.
Nevermind that half of the EVs out there don't have conventional mechanical door latches to let people out of the car should the power fail. EVs are far heavier than standard cars. I heard that they don't crumple as much either, to protect the battery from causing a bigger disaster. Rigid vehicles cause much more harsh deceleration in a crash, which is likely much worse for the people in the car. Look up the Youtube channels MGUY Australia or Geoff Buys Cars if you want some real dirt on EVs.
Passenger EVs are barely practical, risky, and not nearly as environmentally sustainable as the marketing says. EV trucks (consumer and commercial) are a sick joke.