LETTER: EV fire fear overrated

Jonathan Quint Goffstown, NH

3 months ago

A 30-foot container, which was carrying lithium ion batteries, sits on the side of the road on ... — A 30-foot container, which was carrying lithium ion batteries, sits on the side of the road on Interstate 15 near Baker, California. The truck carrying this container overturned Friday, July 26, 2024. (San Bernardino County Fire Department via X)

I couldn’t help but respond to the absurd suggestion regarding electric vehicle batteries in Mr. James McDonald’s recent letter (“Federal meddling,” Wednesday). Just to be safe, he suggests, EV batteries should be charged no higher than 30%. He is paraphrasing a section of a proposed regulation authored by U.S. Rep. Dina Titus of Nevada.

Let’s look at real data on EV fires versus internal combustion engine fires. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics report that gasoline-powered, internal-combustion engine cars were involved in 1,530 fires per every 100,000 sold, compared to 25 for EVs. That means that internal-combustion engine cars are more than 60 times more likely to catch fire than an EV. So just to be safe, we should only allow internal-combustion engine vehicles to fill their tanks to 30 percent?

Sarcasm aside, instead of amplifying fear towards clean energy, we should focus on fostering innovation to improve battery technology and ensure safety.