The guardrails typically used on highways to guide drivers around dangerous areas are unable to stop an electric vehicle upon collision, AP reports citing the results of a study conducted by a research team from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
According to the researchers, modern EVs are simply too heavy to be contained by normal barriers. In the video provided, a Rivian R1T can be seen running into a stainless-steel guardrail at roughly 100 km/h (62 mph). In all cases, it fails to lose momentum until smashing into a concrete slab behind the rail.
Weighing in at roughly 4 metric tons (8,800 lbs) due to a massive battery pack, the electric truck really has no safeguards on such a road. Should a collision happen near a cliff edge, on a bridge or a rocky trail, it is likely to plummet, injuring the occupants or worse.
Having said that, the research team highlights that in the tests conducted, the R1T actually fared very well in the collision, with its cabin virtually intact even after forceful impacts. Still, it is already obvious that the traditional barriers need to be redesigned as soon as possible if EVs are to become our main means of transportation.