Should Battery Fires Drive Electric Cars Off the Road?

It's been reported that gasoline powered cars catch fire at the average rate of 17 per hour just in the US....that's over 150k per year.....resulting in 200+ deaths.....

http://www.businessinsider.com/17-cars-catch-on-fire-every-hour-in-the-us-2013-11

The data for that report actually covers 2006 - 2010 (estimates) with the actual numbers being a record low in 2008 (and probably falling since then). The majority of those were due to older cars, not nearly-new cars like the Tesla, and of those fires only a small percentage were due to simply running over a road hazard.

Considering that within the past 7 weeks 3 of the 1800 Tesla Roadsters built and being operated in the US have caught fire, a more-careful look at the statistics is needed than the simplistic report cited (which covered all vehicles including buses, trucks and motorcycles, not just passenger cars).

I didn't say that Tesla's, or other electric vehicles, were without flaws....It's clear that more robust design is called for....but let's not throw the baby out with the batteries....

http://www.nfpa.org/research/fire-statistics/the-us-fire-problem/highway-vehicle-fires

"Should Battery Fires Drive Electric Cars Off the Road?"

Yes, until the fire's out.

Given the choice between a gas tank fire and a battery fire, I'll take the battery fire every time.

My DIY EV hasn't caught fire yet. Perhaps I'm lighting the wrong end?

What a stupid article.

A tank of gasoline and a charged EV battery pack both contain a whole lot of energy. A tank of gasoline is pretty simple and only in Hollywood is it likely to explode in an accident. The question is can we make a Li Ion battery pack as safe.