Can a traditional crash barrier stop an electric vehicle?

The UK is one of the global leaders in the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). However, it was decided earlier this year to push the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles back to 2035. That gives extra time for the technology to improve and become more accessible. It also means a few more years for infrastructure to improve. An interesting aspect of this is there may be a need to update the crash barrier systems. We want to have a closer look at it today.

What is the issue?

The main problem is the current crash barriers in the UK are tested with the weights of petrol and diesel vehicles in mind. However, EVs are naturally heavier. So, there are fears that they may not be sufficient.

What you need to keep in mind here is the big difference in weights. A petrol or diesel vehicle can be lighter because it only takes a small amount of fuel to generate enough energy to make it move. However, EVs need to have more heavy battery cells to provide the power. To put this into perspective, 60kg of fuel can be enough for most cars to cover hundreds of miles. EVs may need upwards of 500kg of batteries.

Crash barrier testing

Barriers in the UK must comply with the EN 1317 standard. It ensures they have the right level of containment to maximise safety. However, testing for various levels (including N1 and N2 as well as L1-L4) is done with a vehicle weight of just 1,500kg. That is fine for petrol and diesel cars, but EVs can be much heavier. For example, a Model 3 Tesla could be as heavy as 2,184kg when fully laden.

So, you should be able to see the issue here. EVs could be significantly heavier than what current barriers are able to contain. To make matters worse, the vehicles are not even among the list of vehicles for use in testing. National Highways confirmed this by saying in February that to their knowledge there had been no tests with electric vehicles and crash barriers.

Earlier this year National Highways acknowledged the problem. They began doing initial research with TRL to get data on how barriers behave when it comes to heavier EVs. The estimate is the results will be available in 2024. Once they review them, the government agency will be able to see if they need to update the standards to account for them.

Do you want to order products?

At Barrier Mart we specialise in vehicular safety. Our broad range of products includes barriers, bollards, speed bumps, and more. They can work to prevent collisions, limit access, and force vehicles to slow down. This is vital in many different locations and settings.

If you are looking to make a site or area safer, we would love to help. Simply get in touch or browse our website to see the types of crash barrier and other products we offer. You can also get recommendations from us if you need to consider specific types of vehicles.