Preliminary tests by a University of Nebraska road safety research facility and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers point to concerns that the nation’s roadside guardrails are no match for new heavy electric vehicles.
Electric vehicles that typically weigh more than gasoline-powered cars can easily crash through steel highway guardrails that are not designed to withstand the extra force, raising concerns about the nation’s roadside safety system.
Preliminary tests by a University of Nebraska road safety research facility and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers point to concerns that the nation’s roadside guardrails are no match for new heavy electric vehicles. At a news conference Wednesday, a university official said a first-of-its-kind test crash of a nearly 4-ton EV pickup truck last fall showed the guardrail did almost nothing to slow the truck. Cody Stolle with the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility says more extensive testing is planned. But he says tens of thousands of miles of guardrails along roads in the nation will likely need to be adapted as more electric vehicles populate the roads.
Preliminary tests by a University of Nebraska road safety research facility and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers point to concerns that the nation’s roadside guardrails are no match for new heavy electric vehicles. At a news conference Wednesday, a university official said a first-of-its-kind test crash of a nearly 4-ton EV pickup truck last fall showed the guardrail did almost nothing to slow the truck. Cody Stolle with the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility says more extensive testing is planned. But he says tens of thousands of miles of guardrails along roads in the nation will likely need to be adapted as more electric vehicles populate the roads.
Preliminary tests by a University of Nebraska road safety research facility and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers point to concerns that the nation’s roadside guardrails are no match for new heavy electric vehicles. At a news conference Wednesday, a university official said a first-of-its-kind test crash of a nearly 4-ton EV pickup truck last fall showed the guardrail did almost nothing to slow the truck. Cody Stolle with the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility says more extensive testing is planned. But he says tens of thousands of miles of guardrails along roads in the nation will likely need to be adapted as more electric vehicles populate the roads.