EV are they worth it?

[bernardgreen]

So about 3% of cars on UK roads are EVs, but only 0.6% of vehicle fires are EVs...

What percentage of miles travelled are EV ?

How does the number of EV fires per million miles compare to the number of ICE fires per million miles ?

 

[Brigadier]

What percentage of miles travelled are EV ?

How does the number of EV fires per million miles compare to the number of ICE fires per million miles ?

• One Tesla was involved in a fire incident for every 210 million miles travelled from 2012 to 2021.
• One ICE vehicle catches fire in the US for every 19 million miles travelled in these vehicles.

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/the-latest-car-fire-statistics/#:~:text=4%20people%20died%2C%20and%208,fires%20annually%20in%20the%20UK.

 

[Avocet]

What percentage of miles travelled are EV ?

How does the number of EV fires per million miles compare to the number of ICE fires per million miles ?

Good question!

If this article is to be believed, not much different to ICEs. It's a bit less, but it's also a 10 year average, and 10 years ago, EVs had less range. I suspect that a 5 year average would show no appreciable difference at all.

EV mileage increase as petrol and diesel vehicles drive fewer miles

Average mileages for used electric vehicles are increasing, while petrol and diesel cars are travelling fewer miles, according to analysis by Cap HPI.

www.fleetnews.co.uk

I'm doing more than twice that in an EV each year - around 20,000 miles. Nutjob keeps prophesying a fiery demise...

...any day now...

...in fact, I'm so worried, I haven't written my letter to Santa this year yet - what with not even knowing if I'm going to be burned to a crisp by Christmas...

 

[carmanmemoranda]

What percentage of miles travelled are EV ?

How does the number of EV fires per million miles compare to the number of ICE fires per million miles ?

That doesn't take into account a vehicle doing next to no miles but self combusting. Whilst on charge for example.

Nutjob and others try to tell us this is more likely with ev's.

I prefer the direct comparison of ev v ice fires.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

What percentage of miles travelled are EV ?

How does the number of EV fires per million miles compare to the number of ICE fires per million miles ?

..and how severe are the fires?

 

[Avocet]

..and how severe are the fires?

Varies, really. Most just smoke a bit for a while before they get going. A lot of the tales of "explosions" are actually just the cells off-gassing, which happens much later in the process. Several hundred degrees hotter than a diesel fire, though. With a diesel fire, you just undo your top collar button, loosen your tie, and maybe wind the window down a bit. With an EV fire, it's best to get out though.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Varies, really. Most just smoke a bit for a while before they get going. A lot of the tales of "explosions" are actually just the cells off-gassing, which happens much later in the process. Several hundred degrees hotter than a diesel fire, though. With a diesel fire, you just undo your top collar button, loosen your tie, and maybe wind the window down a bit. With an EV fire, it's best to get out though.

So you admit, that EV fires are viscous, really nasty, and very dangerous ones - far, far worse than any diesel fire?

 

[Avocet]

So you admit, that EV fires are viscous, really nasty, and very dangerous ones - far, far worse than any diesel fire?

No. A few hundred degrees worse, but generally take longer to get going. Personally, I don't give a rat's whether it's an 800 degree fire or a 1000 degree fire. I'd probably be "a bit more dead" after a 1000 degree fire, but there comes a degree of "deadness" where you stop caring...

...and it's long before even 800 degrees, (I'm told)...

I'd certainly appreciate the extra time to get out of an EV that was on fire. Not to mention, of course, the significantly lower likelihood of it happening in the first place - that's the real "win", for me. Not having the fire at all...