Fires involving electric cars often make the news, but let's take a look at how frequent they actually occur—and whether you should fret over their possibility.
Most people understand that electric cars are far different than the gas-guzzling vehicles of the last century, but there are still plenty of misconceptions about battery-powered automobiles. Many people believe that electric cars catch fire at a much higher rate than gas vehicles and that the battery pack under the floor of an EV is a ticking time bomb. Though fire is something everyone should be alert for, it's not an imminent danger for EV owners.
The reason why it's easy to think that electric car fires are so common is because EVs are still novel and still unknown to a large portion of the public. News and media outlets report on electric car fires more often because of its, which can make it seem like they are a common occurrence. What's more, when there are highway vehicle fires, they can require a tremendous amount of effort from emergency personnel to extinguish the blaze.
The National Transportation Safety Board has found that many automakers have incomplete or inadequate emergency response guide notes on EVs, but change will come in time. As electric cars become a larger part of the overall vehicle market, manufacturers, law enforcement powers, and product safety advocates will likely develop updated industry safety standards and response methods to cope with the vehicle fire issues.
Other fires occur during charging, which is the case with recent vehicle fires that have made the news recently and resulted in safety recalls, to the cost of billions of dollars. Investigation shows that the affected vehicles' battery cells had an identified manufacturing defect that increased fire risks when charging.Getty Images
Worries over EV fires aside, it's true that gas vehicles are usually less expensive and easier to refuel, but there are several benefits to owning an EV that have nothing to do with costs. One of the biggest pros is the reduced need for regular maintenance. There are no oil changes, no mechanical components to break underhood, no exhaust system, and the life of other components such as brakes can be extended.
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