Are Electric Cars Fire Hazards?

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The security of electric car batteries has started to become a major concern for authorities. Recently, an Electric Chevrolet Car was tested by a crash test and got its battery scorched in the process and was under Government investigation.

However, authorities have said that the fire from a gasoline engine is more harmful than that of a fire from the electric car battery, which is good news for electric car manufacturers. “Still, a risk is a risk and it cannot be overlooked,” said a DHA official, who requested his name not be mentioned  for sharing his observation of electric cars.

This car that caught fire was tested by the contractor of an organization in the Wisconsin Facility on May 12^th. The crash test consisted of a new system that has the same effect as a regular crash on a tree or a pole.

Three weeks after the crash test the car suddenly burst into flames in the parking lot that it was kept in, burning several other cars along with it. At first, the reason for the flames was unknown, but after several investigations, they finally found a possible cause to the problem. After searching through the studies of the crash test three weeks prior to the fire, they found some documents stating that the cars battery had been damaged during the crash test. The officials concluded that this was the cause of the unexpected fire.

The lithium-ion batteries are used in many world-wide products that are ran by electricity. Even though, these batteries are used by regular citizens world-wide and are considered safe for household use they have been reported to catch fire. If you ever see a lithium-ion battery you will find instructions to use and precautions. The safety measures clearly affirm that the battery may catch fire if exposed to heat.

On the other side of the story, a spokesperson for General Motors stated that the individuals who tested the vehicle were given instructions on how to test it. The spokesperson inquires that they didn’t follow the instructions that were given to them and that this is the reason for the fire.

In fact, according to this man , they have tested the batteries for over 300,000 hours before GM transferred it to the market. This testing process includes discharging and disposing of the batteries.

“If all protocols established by engineers of GM were kept in mind then this incident would have never happened,” added  the GM spokesperson. Another General Motors spokesman stated that the corporation from Wisconsin had not informed the Government about the protocols that the GM engineers had created.

After the Government had produced another crash test, GM and  NHTSA ran their own crash test, which was the same test as before, and left it for three weeks. This test, however, had quite different results as the car did not catch flame as the other one did before. Although in this test, the battery in this car sustained no damage.

I would venture to say the danger of the gasoline powered car far surpasses the danger of the electric vehicle.