Our everyday lives are now filled with electric vehicles. A once predominantly oil run ecosystem, is now being struck down under regulation to preserve the environment and climate that is ever-so crumbling in front of our eyes. The car industry is now heavily shifting towards electric vehicles. This new trend is either outwardly accepted or denied by the customers within the market. Personally, I do not think I could ever pursue one of my own and let me tell you why.
While these vehicles are objectively helping to reduce pollutants and the cost of owning a gas vehicle, they are simultaneously causing high safety risks for the drivers and emergency responders when a crash occurs. Due to the electric batteries located in the front hood of the vehicle, when the car crashes into a tree, house, car, etc straight on - the battery has shown traits of causing fires as well as electric shock to those in pursuit of emergency response.
When fires occur, the drivers and passengers are most likely to die within the scene. Impact is a heavy influence on the safety of the passengers, however the fire which pursues after impact furthers the chances of the individuals dying. The Larson Law Firm P.C. published insight on the dangers of such car batteries exploding as they are not just any average fire, in fact they are explained to “burn extremely hot in comparison to gasoline vehicle fires and can cause a great amount of destruction in minutes” (Larson Par. 3). Therefore, if crashes take place, which is highly likely due to the chaos of the roads and the drivers around you, there is a high chance that you will not survive the crash due to such incidents explained above.
Furthermore, the emergency responders like those as EMTs, firefighters, and towing conductors, are at risk of being exposed to electric shock and re-ignition of a fire from the stranded energy left within the damaged battery (NTSB). If a crash occurs and the emergency teams are at high risk to help the scene, then the drivers are at even higher risk to drive these electric vehicles as they do not have the safety aid to help rescue the scene post crash. Such crashes are ultimately creating highly risky safety issues for all parties involved.
When the vehicles are on the road, they are also causing risks for pedestrians, cyclists, and other drivers sharing the road due to how quiet they are. Children in particular are at the highest risk of electric vehicles as they are the “most impulsive” while playing with bikes or balls in their front yards or at community parks (Par. 11). By contrast, the noise of a gas vehicle with a normal engine is in fact safer for those on foot around us due to the accountable sound the vehicle makes.
Overall, while the electric vehicle is safer for the environment, it is unfortunately unsafe for the community around us. It is a battle we hope innovation and technology will excel in a safer direction in the future, however today, it is up to every individual to either drive the vehicle to destroy the earth or to destroy the humans around us.
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Something to consider is the transportation of gas which causes much larger explosions than an ev could. gas Stations explode, gas lines explode, and boats and trucks transporting gasoline explode. If the burning of fossil fuels could be centralized and controlled to generate electricity, I think the overall safety of everyone would be better.
You bring up a really valuable point. Ultimately we will choose to save ourselves over the planet, and if that means waiting until electric cars are made safer, I feel like it would be the popular decision, except among serious environmentalists. However this is the first time I have heard this argument, and I am curious why there is less news about it. I feel like most of the arguments against electric vehicle laws are economic or even socially conservative, rather than about safety. It will definitely be interesting to see how this issue is covered as we get closer to 2035 and the California executive order.