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 attributable to battery fires.
So if there are extra battery-powered mobility gadgets on NYC’s streets than ever earlier than, why are the fireplace dying figures heading in the other way?
To begin with, as we’ve usually reported right here on Electrek, the phenomenon of an electrical bicycle hearth, 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 truth of the matter is that there are tens of millions 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, the town noticed simply 14 fatalities from dozens of e-bike fires in 2023. That isn’t to say the issue isn’t severe however quite to place issues in perspective. New Yorkers are 3-5x extra more likely to die from choking or using the subway than from a battery hearth.
Regardless of that already low fee, 2024 has seen a serious drop in e-bike hearth fatalities. As of final month, simply 4 deaths had been recorded in battery fires, marking greater than a 60% drop in comparison with 2023, in response to the New York Instances.
The largest contributing issue to e-bike battery fires is the prevalence of low-quality batteries produced by ultra-budget producers. These batteries will be engaging to shoppers as a result of their considerably decrease costs. Such low-cost batteries are generally utilized by supply riders and different low-income employees who depend on their e-bikes for a residing, however they arrive with security considerations 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. For the reason that ban started, metropolis inspectors have visited tons of of e-bike shops and battery restore outlets, serving to to implement the ban on non-conforming batteries.
Whereas this hasn’t fully 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, which means both outside or in fire-protected areas comparable to specifically designed charging packing containers, as an alternative of in the lounge of their flats.
The town has partnered with a number of third-party battery cupboard firms that supply safe locking storage for battery charging and swapping. This permits supply riders and others to soundly and rapidly cost their batteries or swap them out for brand new ones.
Such out of doors charging services have gotten considerably extra frequent, however are nonetheless uncommon in the US. Firms 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 firms, comparable to Mod Bikes, have debuted e-bike charging stations that present locking storage for the e-bike chargers.
The number of totally different safe charging areas, the crackdown on poorly-made batteries, and the funding in training and public consciousness round e-bike fires have probably helped NYC make such a serious discount in e-bike hearth fatalities in simply the previous 12 months.
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