When you’ve been following the information on electrical bicycle fires within the US, you’ll already know that New York Metropolis is extensively seen because the epicenter, usually catching headlines for battery fires. The town hosts extra electrical scooters and e-bikes than ever earlier than, and but this 12 months is seeing a drastic drop in fatalities brought on by battery fires.
So if there are extra battery-powered mobility gadgets on NYC’s streets than ever earlier than, why are the hearth loss of life figures heading in the wrong way?
To begin with, as we’ve usually reported right here on Electrek, the phenomenon of an electrical bicycle fireplace, and particularly fatalities from electrical bicycle fires, are exceeding uncommon. They get loads of information protection due to the previous “if it bleeds (or burns), it leads” adage. However the reality of the matter is that there are hundreds of thousands of e-bikes and e-scooters at present rolling across the US and battery fires are extremely uncommon.
Even in New York Metropolis, which is house to extra of those gadgets than anyplace else within the US, town noticed simply 14 fatalities from dozens of e-bike fires in 2023. That isn’t to say the issue isn’t critical however fairly to place issues in perspective. New Yorkers are 3-5x extra more likely to die from choking or driving the subway than from a battery fireplace.
Regardless of that already low price, 2024 has seen a serious drop in e-bike fireplace fatalities. As of final month, simply 4 deaths have been recorded in battery fires, marking greater than a 60% drop in comparison with 2023, in keeping with the New York Occasions.
The largest contributing issue to e-bike battery fires is the prevalence of low-quality batteries produced by ultra-budget producers. These batteries could be engaging to customers as a result of their considerably decrease costs. Such low cost batteries are generally utilized by supply riders and different low-income staff who depend on their e-bikes for a residing, however they arrive with security issues as a result of unscrupulous manufacturing strategies.
New York Metropolis, for its half, has made a serious effort to maintain these batteries out, implementing a ban on mobility gadgets offered with batteries that aren’t UL-compliant. Because the ban started, metropolis inspectors have visited a whole bunch of e-bike shops and battery restore outlets, serving to to implement the ban on non-conforming batteries.
Whereas this hasn’t utterly stemmed the tide of poorly-made batteries, it has definitely helped scale back their availability and the variety of cheaply made e-bike batteries out on the road.
NYC has additionally undertaken main instructional packages which have inspired metropolis residents to cost their batteries safely, that means both outdoor or in fire-protected areas resembling specifically designed charging containers, as an alternative of in the lounge of their residences.
The town has partnered with a number of third-party battery cupboard corporations that provide safe locking storage for battery charging and swapping. This allows supply riders and others to securely and rapidly cost their batteries or swap them out for brand spanking new ones.
Such outside charging amenities have gotten considerably extra widespread, however are nonetheless uncommon in america. Corporations like Beam have debuted solar-powered charging stations for e-bikes, however the requirement to convey their very own wall charger has been a typical criticism of such designs.
Different corporations, resembling Mod Bikes, have debuted e-bike charging stations that present locking storage for the e-bike chargers.
The number of totally different safe charging places, the crackdown on poorly-made batteries, and the funding in schooling and public consciousness round e-bike fires have seemingly helped NYC make such a serious discount in e-bike fireplace fatalities in simply the previous 12 months.
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