Design News - Why Electric Cars Are Safer

[Doug_G]

Wow, these articles are gradually getting more and more positive...

Tesla Motors’s recent five-star sweep in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) safety ratings shed light on an important aspect of electric cars: They’re inherently safer than vehicles powered by internal combustion engines.


Tesla’s Model S served as a prime example of those safety advantages, recording the highest (five-star) ratings in frontal, side, rollover, and overall crash categories. The Model S joined the 2013 and 2014 models of the Ford Focus EV, which also captured five-star NHTSA safety ratings across the board.


Experts said that the performance by both vehicles was not surprising. “There are some very inherent safety dimensions to the design of an electric vehicle,” David Cole, chairman emeritus of The Center for Automotive Research, told Design News. “The design may have had more to do with energy storage and powertrain issues, but the safety advantage is a gift that comes along with it, and it’s very real.”

Design News - Why Electric Cars Are Safer

 

[ToddRLockwood]

I think the Model S superior safety rating may be due to both its electric drive train and Tesla's unrelenting push to make the "best" car. There's a lot of reinforcement in that chassis—at least some of which is above and beyond what's required to meet federal safety standards.

I agree, though, the tenor of the articles about Tesla seems to be improving. The comments seem to be getting more positive as well—with the exception of the usual lithium naysayers.

 

[brianman]

I think the Model S superior safety rating may be due to both its electric drive train and Tesla's unrelenting push to make the "best" car. There's a lot of reinforcement in that chassis—at least some of which is above and beyond what's required to meet federal safety standards.

I think this is one of those examples where there are two Tesla reactions to this:
(1) Yes, we busted our tail with relentless focus on safety and you're quite right that our vehicle should be a shining example of how good an EV can be in this regard.
(2) While we've invested heavily in making Tesla a best-in-class EV for safety, even the worst-in-class EV should be able to easily beat the best-in-class ICE for safety due to fundamental design and structure differences between the two vehicle classes.

 

[mknox]

I think the Model S superior safety rating may be due to both its electric drive train and Tesla's unrelenting push to make the "best" car. There's a lot of reinforcement in that chassis—at least some of which is above and beyond what's required to meet federal safety standards.

Indeed. At TESLIVE, Elon was quite passionate about how much effort went into the car's safety, and even said something about how he thought they hadn't emphasized that enough.

 

[ToddRLockwood]

By the way, Tesla is replacing the rolling chassis in the stores with a newer version that has more of the frame included. Apparently, some customers were a little concerned when they saw so little protective structure on the first version.