(NewsNation) — As a record 1.2 million electric vehicles were sold in the U.S. last year, regulators are warning the nation’s highway guardrail system may not be enough to save drivers during a crash.
Last fall, engineers at Nebraska’s Midwest Roadside Safety Facility watched as an electric-powered pickup truck hurtled toward a guardrail installed on the facility’s testing ground on the edge of the local municipal airport. The nearly 4-ton 2022 Rivian R1T tore through the metal guardrail and hardly slowed until hitting a concrete barrier yards away on the other side.
Electric vehicles typically weigh 20% to 50% more than gas-powered vehicles thanks to batteries that can weigh almost as much as a small gas-powered car. The cars also have lower centers of gravity. Because of these differences, guardrails can do little to stop electric vehicles from pushing through barriers typically made of steel.
“We knew it was going to be an extremely demanding test of the roadside safety system,” said Cody Stolle with the facility. “The system was not made to handle vehicles greater than 5,000 pounds.”
The concern over the weight of electric vehicles stretches beyond vehicle-to-vehicle crashes and compatibility with guardrails, said Michael Brooks, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety. The extra weight will affect everything from faster wear on residential streets and driveways to vehicle tires and infrastructure like parking garages.
Electric vehicles are facing multiple setbacks in the early weeks of 2024, including slowed demand and unreliable charging networks.
A record 1.2 million EVs were sold in the U.S. in 2023, according to Cox Automotive, bumping up their share of the total vehicle market to 7.6%. Still, sales growth last year was down from the growth the industry experienced in previous years.
“The EV market in the U.S. is still growing, but not growing as fast,” Cox, an automotive services and technology provider, said in a recent report.
NewsNation’s Tyler Wornell and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
