Electric cars are so heavy that they can burst through safety guardrails designed to keep regular gas cars safe on the road, new research has revealed.
Researchers at the University of Nebraska have been probing what the extra weight of EVs means when applied to a collision.
They drove the vehicles – which typically weigh between 20 to 50 percent more than a regular car – into barriers and guardrails as part of the testing.
In one test, they crashed a 7,000-pound Rivian pickup truck, which weighed over 2,000 pounds more than a typical combustion engine pickup, into metal and concrete barriers.
Footage shows the electric truck striking the slimmer metal guardrail, which immediately gives way, before colliding with the concrete barrier and launching upward.
Researchers have driven electric vehicles – which typically weigh between 20 to 50 percent more than a regular car – into barriers and guardrails as part of testing
Footage shows the electric truck striking the slimmer metal guardrail before colliding with a concrete barrier and launching upward.
The barrier managed to contain the impact, but large chunks of concrete went flying and several of the 5,000-pound barriers were pushed back as much as 10feet.
The testing highlights the fact that typical guardrails, which line highways and bridges across the country, are much less effective against the extra weight of EVs.
Cody Stolle, an associate professor at the university, told CBS News: ‘Unfortunately, these guardrail systems, which have performed very well with gasoline vehicles historically, do not appear to be containing electric vehicles when impacting the similar types of conditions.’
A guardrail is supposed to contain a vehicle and redirect it back towards the road.
In a crash test conducted on a Tesla, researchers found that the design of the vehicle allowed the car to seemingly slip underneath the rail and then hit a barrier behind it.
Researchers thought the popular electric vehicle performed well in the test, but sensors showed that the jolt inside the car was out of the normal safety range.
A 7,000-pound Rivian pickup truck weighs over 2,000 pounds more than a typical combustion engine pickup
In a crash test conducted on a Tesla, researchers found that the design of the vehicle allowed the car to seemingly slip underneath the rail and then hit a barrier behind it
The testing highlights the fact that typical guardrails, which line highways and bridges across the country, are much less effective against the extra weight of EVs
Other tests by the university include one conducted in October 2023, when they say a Rivian truck tore through a 31-inch-high guardrail made of 12-gauge corrugated steel.
In a September 2023 test, a Tesla Model 3 managed to lift a similar barrier and pass underneath it, according to the university.
Another test involving a Tesla saw it collide with a barrier, with the rear of the car swinging round to strike hit. The collision was over 50 percent harder than a crash involving a gasoline vehicle.
According to the university, Tesla engineers determined that side curtain airbags that had been disabled during the test would have significantly reduced the risk of injury to occupants.
The Texas Transportation Institute also found that typical guardrails fail when electric sedans hit them.
In a September 2023 test, a Tesla Model 3 managed to lift a similar barrier and pass underneath it, according to the university
The chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, Jennifer Homendy, has said that the additional weight of EVs raises concerns of more severe crashes on roads.
‘Our guardrails and crash attenuators, they are rated up to 5,000 pounds,’ she told a Senate hearing in March.
‘Many of these (electric) vehicles go up to 10,000 pounds, so that has an impact on safety.’
In March of this year, the Biden administration said it would ensure that the majority of new vehicles sold in the US are all-electric or hybrid by 2032.
It represents one of the most significant parts of the administration’s ambitious climate agenda as it imposes tight rules on tailpipes that it says will halve greenhouse gas emissions from cars.
Oil industry representatives quickly called on Congress to block the standards, and Republicans condemned the changes as removing choice from consumers.
In a statement, Rivian said: ‘The Rivian R1T has again been given a 2024 Top Safety Pick+ rating by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
‘This makes the R1T one of the safest vehicles on the road today. Rivian’s Advanced Driver Assistance System helps to make the roads safer, not just for Rivian owners, but for pedestrians and all road users.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to Tesla for comment.
