The growing problem of EVs
WestlinnDuck
Member Posts: 15,359 
Looks like insurers may end up get EVs banned from parking structures.
https://ace.mu.nu/
THE MORNING RANT: The Explosive Hazard of EVs in Parking Garages; and Other EV Follies
—Buck Throckmorton
While electric vehicle sales may not amount to more than a single-digit market share, the numbers on the road are now significant enough that there is a growing conversation over whether EVs should be allowed in parking structures. Part of that discussion is about how the owners of buildings that contain parking structures can protect and insure against an unknown number of potential bombs that may be parked there at any given time.
This awful story from South Korea is likely to be repeated with growing frequency, and it is fueling the discussions I just referenced.
“South Korea holds emergency meeting as EV fires stir consumer fear” [Reuters – 8/12/2024]
South Korean officials met on Monday to discuss electric vehicle safety and whether to require car firms to disclose battery brands amid growing consumer concern after an EV blaze in an underground garage extensively damaged an apartment block.
It doesn’t matter what brand of battery is in the EV, what matters is that it’s a lithium ion EV battery, which by nature is prone to runaway thermal fires.
The fire on Aug. 1, which appeared to start spontaneously in a Mercedes-Benz EV parked below a residential building, took eight hours to put out, destroying or damaging about 140 cars and forcing some residents to move to shelters.
I have previously joked about requiring a prominent warning label on the hood of EVs, cautioning about the fire hazard EVs pose to their drivers and to those nearby. Maybe it’s time to stop joking.
Images published in media of dozens of charred cars with only their metal frames remaining in the parking lot fire have fuelled consumer fears about EVs, likely exacerbated because so many people in South Korea live in apartments, often with parking lots below.
An Automotive News piece a few days ago titled “Lithium ion battery fire regulation could help heal industrywide black eye” acknowledges that consumers are becoming scared of lithium batteries, therefore help is needed from the federal bureaucracy to issue regulatory decrees that will somehow make lithium batteries safe. The piece also notes that in 2023, in New York City alone, there were 268 fires started by lithium ion batteries on various transportation devices, resulting in 18 deaths and 150 injuries. Of course, the federal government can no more mandate that lithium ion batteries stop combusting than it can mandate that straw be spun into gold.
Instead, I’d recommend that the government simply ban EVs from being allowed in any parking garages or covered structures. (And yes, that is somewhat counter to my anti-regulation ethos, but remember, Team EV tried to use the power of government to take away my gasoline-powered car, so I have every right to retaliate with the same powerful weapon.)
Here is a short video of the electric Mercedes exploding. Please note that it goes from barely smoking to a fiery explosion in just 21 seconds.
Comments
Clean and um safe. I'll never own one and if I did I sure as hell wouldn't park it in the garage or under any cover. A PD down in L.A. area just bought a fleet of them for patrol cars. Can't wait for PD's and city halls going up in smoke.
That sounds convenient.
Cue the retards who will point out that ICE vehicles are more likely to catch fire. They ignore the part about ICE vehicle fires being able to be put out in seconds rather than hours.
Yeah, and they rarely catch on fire when filling up which takes like less than four minutes.
Everett's ~2004 Prius is going strong.
Strong like bull. You shoulda seen it fly off the line. It's no wonder PDs are buying this shit.
They burn a long time!