Surveys show that guard rails make very little difference. At least when it comes to electric cars. This worries the American authorities in particular.
Over the years, cars have become many things. But they generally have one thing in common. Namely the weight, and the fact that there has been more of it.
But it is especially the heavy electric cars that cause concern. A new study from the University of Nebraska shows that the type of guardrails that roam the highways in the United States are no match for the heavy electric cars.
Crash tests show that it is not only the electric cars, but also the guardrail that is crushed in the event of an accident.
The Associated Press writes that.
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In any case, the guardrail the university people used for the test couldn’t put up much against a Rivian R1T. A pickup that weighs almost 4 tons.
– We knew in advance that it would be an extreme challenge. The system is not designed to handle cars weighing more than 2.2 tons, says Midwest Roadside Safety Facility representative Cody Stolle.
And it is hardly intended that car guards should be pulverized in that way. In fact, they must be able to withstand the beating of several cars in the event of accidents.
On the other hand, the concern about the increasingly heavy cars is nothing new. When SUVs really became popular – also outside the US – in the mid-00s, the debate was the same.
Here at home, fortunately, we are a little further ahead. Already in 2017, a guardrail was set up at Pårup in Central Jutland that can withstand 10-tonne trucks at 100 km/h. The media Ingenioren wrote that at the time.
