According to a new report conducted by researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, electric vehicles are too heavy for the roadside guardrails that line much of the roads in case of accidents, as their batteries add a tremendous amount of weight. In fact, the researchers from the school’s Midwest Roadside Safety Facility warned that there needs to be “some urgency to address this issue.”
Describing the reasons for its recent study, the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility warned, “In research sponsored by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) and partnered with Auburn University’s Transportation Research Institute (led by Laurence Rilett, former Mid-America Transportation Center and Nebraska Transportation Center director), the Nebraska facility recently conducted a first-of-its-kind crash test of an EV pickup truck to better understand whether currently used guardrails and U.S. military protection measures against hostile vehicles are prepared for the growing number of EVs.”
Additionally, the facility noted that past EV tests have shown the heavy vehicles will plow through such guardrails, writing, “A crash test performed on a guardrail on October 12, 2023 highlighted the concern. At 60 mph, the 7,000-plus-pound, 2022 Rivian R1T truck tore through the barrier with little reduction in speed. In a separate test conducted in September 2023, a 2018 Tesla Model 3 sedan lifted the guardrail and passed below it, coming to rest behind the barrier.”
And, describing the weight problem of EVs and how that impacts the potential danger of an accident involving an EV, the foundation’s report said, “MwRSF research suggests that EVs are involved in run-off-road crashes at about the same rate and about the same speeds as gasoline vehicles. That would mean an EV crashing into a roadside barrier could have 20 percent to 50 percent more impact energy.”
Cody Stolle, the assistant director of the Midwest Roadside Safety Foundation, commented on the thousands of fatalities that already result annually from auto crashes involving the guardrails that heavy EVs can plow through, noted that given the likelihood of EVs making the issue worse, it must be urgently addressed.
He said, “There is some urgency to address this issue. As the percentage of EVs on the road increases, the proportion of run-off-road crashes involving EVs will increase as well.” Stolle added, “It is going to be necessary to re-examine the designs of roadside barriers even beyond the EVs. It’s a critical and timely need.”
Also commenting on the matter was Genevive Pezzola, a U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center research civil engineer. Pezzola said, “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mission is to deliver vital engineering solutions, in collaboration with our partners, to secure our nation, energize our economy, and reduce disaster risk.”
"*" indicates required fields
Pezzola continued, “It is critical to conduct these EV baseline comparison tests to understand any potential risks to our nation. This work is the first necessary step towards ensuring that our nation’s protection measures, such as roadside barrier systems and barriers to protect against hostile vehicles, are adapting to accommodate for the changing composition of the vehicle fleet.”
Watch the crash test involving the Rivian here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video