2024-02-14 22:55:35
After a test in the States, they will have to be replaced with stronger ones
Large electric SUVs are under new “attack”. After Europe denounced electric crossovers as dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists due to their higher weight, and in Paris they officially voted to make the owners of these vehicles pay three times more for parking, in the USA they announced the results of tests in which proves that highway and road barriers cannot contain them.
In a study sponsored by the US Army Engineering Research and Development Center (ERDC), in the state of Nebraska recently
the first-ever crash test of an electric pickup was conducted,
to better understand whether the security fences and US military measures currently in use to protect against attack by enemy vehicles are prepared for the growing number of EVs.
A crash test performed on a fairly low barrier shows that the guardrails cannot stop large and heavy current crossovers. At 60 miles per hour (96 km/h), the 3,175-pound 2022 Rivian R1T SUV.
it breaks through the guardrail without any problems with very little reduction in speed
In a separate test conducted in September, a 2018 Tesla Model 3 sedan lifted the guardrail and drove under it, stopping behind the barrier.
The guardrail system tested consisted of a 12-gauge corrugated steel guardrail attached to 6-inch (15 cm) deep steel posts anchored to the rail with 8- to 12-inch (30 cm) thick blocks. The top of the beam is 31 inches (79 cm) above the road.
Designed as a low-cost, high-performance barrier, the tested guardrail system is made for small cars weighing up to 2,400 pounds (1,088 kg) and pickup trucks weighing 5,000 pounds (2,268 kg). Until now, little was known about it
how the system will perform in crashes with EVs, which typically weigh 20% to 50% more
from vehicles powered by internal combustion engines with lower centers of gravity.
Research by the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility suggests that EVs are involved in off-road crashes at about the same frequency and at about the same speeds as gasoline or diesel cars.
This would mean that an electric car crashing into a roadside barrier could have 20% to 50% more impact energy.
“It will be necessary to review the projects of the roadside guardrails”, is the categorical opinion of the specialists.
More tests are to be conducted, and they will be on the new Midwest Guardrail System, which will be used on roads in the US.
It is designed to stop vehicles weighing up to 2300 kg,
which, however, is less than that of many of the new EVs.
The tested Rivian R1T weighs 3,220 kg, and the Ford F-150 Lightning weighs 2,700 kg, falling behind the Hummer EV at 4,080 kg.
Even smaller electric cars – such as the Mercedes-Benz EQE sedan, for example – exceed the 2300 kg limit.