Research Suggests Highway Infrastructure Not Ready for Electric Vehicles
Recent tests conducted by the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility have suggested that current road infrastructure may not be able to accommodate the increased weight of electric vehicles–something that could present risks to those around an EV that crashes.
A news release from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility has been conducting tests since Sep. 2023, detailed the most recent results gained from a July 1 crash test.
Besides the use of a 7,000 pound 2022 Rivian R1T electric pickup truck, all aspects of the test were compliant with the American Association of Highway and Transportation’s guidelines for conducting crash tests on highway safety features.
Traveling at 62 mph, the Rivian collided with a 16-segment portable concrete barrier at a 25-degree angle. The barrier is something typically used as freeway median barrier, or to protect highway construction workers.
Though the crash test dummies inside the vehicle were deemed uninjured, the barrier was decimated by the truck. It sent concrete debris flying after destroying several steel reinforcement bars, with several 5,000 pound segments of the barrier being moved by over 10 feet: 50% higher than what would be typically seen from an internal combustion engine vehicle.
Cody Stolle, lead investigator for electric vehicle crash tests for the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility, said the test’s results highlight another obstacle in the EV transition that many in the auto industry haven’t yet considered.
Engineers on the studies are currently working closely with Nebraska’s Department of Transportation, highway safety research organizations, and manufacturers of highway safety equipment to raise more awareness of the potential safety risks.
“Anybody on the back side of that barrier could have been pushed off the side of a bridge,” Stolle said. “It’s not safe for workers and work zones and not very practical for departments of transportation.”
