There’s a lot of buzz around electric vehicles. Some climate activists claim they’re an environmental cure-all, while others note their hidden environmental costs. Some believe the demand for EVs will create a lucrative new American industry, while others think it’ll only enrich China. Whatever your opinion, any new technology comes with unexpected complications. And buried under all the EV headlines is one major problem: public safety.
Our public infrastructure and emergency response systems simply weren’t designed to handle this new technology. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is at the helm of mitigating safety problems created by EVs. And in 2020, the agency researched the risks of electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries. What they found was literally shocking.
The high-voltage batteries in EVs can cause electric shock not just to drivers, but also to the officers who respond on the scene of crashes. And any contact with fire, however small, can cause the batteries to explode. The study highlighted the need for training and clear guidance for first and second responders.
I questioned NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy in two committee hearings this year about the battery problems and other safety issues her organization has uncovered. Each time, she was receptive to my concerns and committed to public safety. That’s why, this past week, I invited her back to Nebraska to visit a leading research center on electric vehicle safety: the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Midwest Roadside Safety Facility.
Earlier this year, researchers at the facility conducted a crash test to see how our current safety infrastructure stands up to EVs. The results were alarming.
Electric vehicle batteries can weigh thousands of pounds, which makes electric cars 30 percent heavier on average than gas-powered cars. UNL’s recent tests found that the extra weight increases crash damage significantly—up to 50 percent more, in fact. Cars used in the test simply smashed through the protective barriers that line America’s highways and interstates.
If our current safety infrastructure can’t stop an electric car, that’s a major problem—especially for the safety of other drivers.
The safety risks identified by both the NTSB and UNL will only increase if more drivers opt for EVs. Some project that at least 50 percent of all cars sold in the U.S. by 2032 will be electric, a trend unnaturally heightened by the Biden administration’s EV mandates. If we don’t upgrade our infrastructure to meet that rising challenge, it’s a simple fact that America’s roads will be deadlier.
At the Roadside Infrastructure Roundtable hosted by UNL on Monday, researchers discussed these public safety risks with Chair Homendy. We shared plans and ideas to improve both infrastructure and electric vehicles so that EVs are less dangerous to passengers on the road. After our discussion, we saw a crash test in action—the results of that test are forthcoming, but I have no doubt they will be of enormous value to policymakers and public safety officials.
Too often, politicians and bureaucrats stay in the Washington bubble, crafting policy based on the calls of the loudest activists. Without hearing from both experts and Americans across the country, they can’t deliver on the policies America actually needs. But thanks to UNL’s groundbreaking research, and Chair Homendy’s willingness to act on that research, I’m confident that we can keep the driving public safe, no matter how many EVs hit our roads in the coming years.
(July 5, 2024)