are they safe as heat?

The field of electric cars is full of preconceived notions, often completely false. One of them would have us believe that they are less safe than a hot car. Is it true? How does an electric car handle an accident? How do you avoid it in the first place? We went to Volvo in Sweden to get a better look – and witness a real crash test.

Is there a social subject that attracts more preconceived notions, even outright lies, than the electric car? If our mission in It’s super charged is to set the record straight, sometimes we need outside help. Regarding safety, for example, where Chinese models still have an image of dangerous cars (which is false, as a reminder).

We wanted to determine how manufacturers, in general, were managing to improve the safety of their electrical structures by 100%. To do this, go to a Volvo safety center in Sweden to talk to experts and attend a real crash test.

Let’s be clear: although we’re reporting here on Volvo’s way of doing things, many of these processes and research are shared with car manufacturers – to varying degrees, of course, but the gist is there. Now that this definition is closed, let’s get to the heart of the matter.

Step 1: avoid accidents

Let’s start with the basic principle: the best way to make the car as safe as possible in the event of an accident … is to avoid accidents. A simple article, but one that involves different sets of solutions.

The first thing that comes to mind is of course the driving equipment. In the case of Volvo, let’s take the case of the EX90, the flagship of the brand, which carries a whole armada of sensors.

Thus, five radars, eight cameras and even LiDAR are connected to the HD mapping system provided by Google. All this small world allows the EX90 to understand the environment around it and interact with it, mainly thanks to its level 2 driving system (where the car is able to accelerate, brake, steer and pass freely, but always under the control of the driver ).

But it goes further, and Volvo, for example, is hiring cognitive science researchers to better understand how drivers interact with their cars and the environment.

“The most difficult thing is to understand the driver’s intentions”Mikael Ljung Aust, senior technical leader for safety at Volvo, explained to me. “The car may perceive the situation as dangerous, although it is ultimately fully managed”he explains to me.

Before proceeding: “if the car takes control in this situation, the driver will not understand or appreciate the situation, and will have less confidence in the systems, which can be useful in situations where the risk is confirmed.”.

A real headache, therefore, but which also includes another main lesson: how to remove obstacles while driving as much as possible.

When asked about the EX30, almost all functions and controls are included on the main touch screen, Mikael told me that. “the interface is governed by strict rules: each task must be within seven steps of each other, and three clicks must be completed in less than 1.30 seconds”. A challenge that still does not seem to be fully implemented, if we refer to our essay.

Step 2: Deal with the accident

However, despite all possible and possible precautions, accidents sometimes happen. If, from an outside perspective, everything happens in the blink of an eye (quite literally), the whole strategy is put in place to protect the residents.

To understand the key to a successful crash, you have to go back to your physics classes. When an object moves, it creates kinetic energy (equal to its weight), which is lost when it comes to rest.

In the case of a car in normal condition, this energy loss occurs through braking, both mechanical (through brake calipers) and regenerative in hybrid and electric engines.

In the event of an accident, this energy must be distributed in another way. The design of the car must obey a simple rule: deform so that the bodies of the passengers do not.

Obviously, nothing is left to chance. Everything is planned and calculated from the beginning of the design of the car, with a body made of different types of steel, each with its own well-defined properties – the car must be as flexible as possible, of course, but while maintaining a “living cell” capable to protect the inhabitants from invasion.

Lotta Jakobsson, Senior Technical Injury Prevention Specialist at Volvo (total plan), explains to me that it is important at all costs. “Reduce the movement speed of hard parts for the occupant”. For this, the strongest steels will be placed in the right places, but the airbags also play an important role.

Exercise, an important element

For crash testing, and almost all modern operations, IT plays a defining role… but physical crash testing has some importance – at least at Volvo, a brand historically associated with safety.

The brand estimates that, for a typical crash test, more than 140 online iterations are performed, making it possible to test different models in record time. A “real” accident, however, remains necessary to prove the choice.

So here we are at Security Center Crash Lab, located in the brand’s historic factory in Torslanda, a suburb of Gothenburg. The station was launched in 2000 and is still state-of-the-art to this day, with two tracks, including a moving one, allowing two vehicles (cars, but also heavy goods vehicles) to fall at different levels, all up to 120 km/h .

At the same time, the block of 850 tons can move on air cushions to deal with every situation: front or side impact, anything can happen. The surprising thing is that the center can also send observation vehicles… outside, since it has “natural” obstacles (brick walls, stones, ditches, etc.) to simulate many “daily life” situations in the laboratory.

Let’s move on to the specifics: the station has a reindeer mannequin. Because yes, reindeer (or other moose) is a dangerous animal in the event of an accident, due to its high weight (up to 180 kg) and its very high center of gravity. According to Volvo, 80 people are seriously injured by these animals a year in Scandinavia!

Volvo also established, in 1970, a team specifically dedicated to the investigation of real accidents. To do this, it can go to the scene of accidents involving Volvo within a one-hour driving distance of the Safety Center, to gather important information on the actual situation.

This is what you get in the PDF file. Let’s now continue to practice: it’s time for a crash test!

A very real example

So we will witness a crash test between two of Volvo’s latest electric cars. The EX90, the largest of 2.9 tons launched at a speed of 50 kilometers per hour, will collide side by side with the EX30, the smallest Volvo SUV (2.04 tons equivalent), traveling at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour – “A very common situation in an accident at an intersection”explains Lotta Jakobsson.

Here are the results on video:

In the EX30, two dummies are placed beside the crash – one behind the wheel and one in the back. Interestingly enough: these mannequins represent small women, showing Volvo’s desire to provide safe cars for everyone.

In the EX90, three occupants: two in front (a small female model at the wheel, another medium-sized male on the passenger side) and a three-year-old child in the back, placed in a rear-facing child seat. . road.

The accident itself is mysterious: everything happens in a few milliseconds. The state of the cars is interesting: if the EX90 almost seems to be able to start again, the poor side EX30 is in a bad state. Volvo is encouraging: five dummies are in good condition, and “tests show that there probably wouldn’t have been any serious injuries”.

What are the characteristics of an electric car in the event of an accident?

Following this demonstration, I went to see Lotta Jakobsson again, to understand how an electric car performs in an accident compared to a hot car.

“Not much difference”he explains to me, before continuing: “the principle remains the same: to transmit and absorb power perfectly in the vehicle, and to interact as well as possible with other impact components”.

The fact remains that the electric car differs from the thermal model on certain and very specific points. The first: weight, equal to additional kinetic energy – and therefore obstacles.

For this, Mrs. Jakobsson explains to me that several strategies have been put in place, especially the area of ​​deformation in the past. “in three levels, connected”to allow “change contact points”and even “push the vehicle or object you are entering to remove excess energy”.

Source: Volvo

Source: Volvo

Regarding the battery, there is only one word to look for: high security. Ten milliseconds after the start of the impact, the high voltage system is switched off, to prevent any case of short circuit. As for the battery itself, it is surrounded by a very hard frame, which guarantees its good performance in all conditions.

A frame that makes the car more rigid, especially if there is a side impact. For that, “the engineering had to change, and the distribution of different metals on the doors, pillars and roof was changed compared to a hot car”Lotta Jakobsson always explains to me.

Safer cars

You will have understood: electric car or not, safety remains a decisive role in the development of a new model – at Volvo as at other manufacturers.

100% electric motors have, as we have seen, very specific characteristics, in terms of weight and design; restrictions that have all been studied to ensure a high level of safety for the occupants of the car, of course, but also for other road users.

Let’s remember the most important thing: the best accident is the one that doesn’t happen. Be careful, then!