Quote:
Originally Posted by Boss330
Yes, you could say the same as long as "design" means a fire that continues until it's extinguished by the Fire department... 
My point is that a gasoline car would be FAR less likely to catch fire in a similar accident. Just check out Mythbusters firing bullets through a gasoline tank WITHOUT a fire occuring. And not least, according to the statistics that Tesla reffered to a fuel system related fire only accounts for 2% of all car fires.
So, yes, I'd much rather have a car that wouldn't catch fire in an accident than a car that has a fire. Regardless if it's "controlled" or not...
The interesting thing about the statistics referred to by Tesla is that only 2% of car fires starts in the fuel system.
That means that 98% of fires are started by other components than the fuel system. A EV and gasoline car shares similar components APART from the fuel system and engine. Meaning that for roughly 98% of fires, there would be no difference whether it's a EV or gasoline car, the risk would statistically be similar (since both a EV and gasoline car have similar mechanical components, similar 12V electrical systems etc.).
The difference being the "fuel system". Gasoline cars obviously has a gasoline tank and fuel lines etc. The EV cars has a battery pack, High Voltage electrical wiring system, High Voltage charging system and a High Voltage electrical engine.
This means that for a EV car to be safer as regards risk of fire, the "fuel system" needs to have less risk of fire than a gasoline powered car! I think it's fair to say that the Tesla incident and other EV fires/explosions indicates that the risk of fire might be a bit higher with this technology...
According to statistics only 2% of fires in traditional cars are fuel system related. So a fairly safe system as regards fires. My bet is that EV cars will show a far worse statistic on "fuel system" related fires. |
I obviously disagree.
A large metal object in the road ripping though the underside would cause a sparking as it was dragged along the road. This would be an ignition source for gas, unlike the bullet in Mythbusters.
We all know that flames shoot upwards by nature. Simply examining the picture with the large area covered by flames on the ground show that the batteries are venting downward, not upward through the hood.
