[Street] Electric bikes and scooters: New York is sounding the alarm because of too many battery fires – Paddock GP

The New York Times published a long article on e-bikes and e-scooters on March 6., highlighting the danger of fire in buildings. Last year, the batteries caused 216 fires in the region, killing six and injuring many more.

The American metropolis has legalized the circulation of electric bicycles and scooters since 2019, which have spread very quickly. But, in parallel, there has been a series of fires in New York buildings, caused, according to experts, by defective batteries, in particular those of electric bicycles.

This is the alarm that City Council sounded last week by creating a series of bills that “would include new safety and certification standards, education campaigns to prevent fires, and restrictions on the use and sale of used or recycled batteries. »

video ezoic-under_first_paragraph"/>

According to experts, this is the source of the problem: ready-to-use, refurbished, damaged or incorrectly charged batteries are available on the market. In this article, it is stated that “A chemical reaction within the self-powered battery can trigger thermal runaway when the Li-ion cell enters a volatile self-heating state. » Fires are also difficult to extinguish and spread to neighboring batteries.

Journalist Joyce Cohen writes in the New York Times that many people, especially among cyclists, store e-bikes inside their apartments. Since 2019, firefighters have been compiling statistics on fires in homes: lithium-ion batteries are also present in other devices, “but those of micromobility vehicles are larger and subject to wear, weather, damage. », according to the fire department spokesperson.

Battery fires have been recorded in very different buildings in the New York area, from public housing estates to luxury towers. Last year, 216 fires took place and caused 147 injuries and six victims. Since February 27 of this year alone, there have already been around thirty fires recorded, with around forty injured and two dead.

video ezoic-under_second_paragraph"/>

Banning e-bikes isn’t a solution: Many low-income New Yorkers ride bikes not for fun, but to survive. But faced with the slowness of the measures, there are those who would like to remove these vehicles. Also, in some residences, the storage of bicycles and electric scooters inside buildings, garages or apartments is now prohibited. Of course, many protests have arisen and certain compromises are being assessed: such as the registration of all electric bicycles, or the creation of a specific, fireproof room for the storage of fireproof bicycles. A famous architect designed one made of cinder blocks, with electrical outlets and appropriate fire extinguishing systems.

Many are asking at least to make local residents aware of the safe use of batteries, by recharging them only in the presence of a person nearby and never overnight, and by using the original cables and chargers. With the cost of bicycle batteries in New York exceeding $300, it seems that there are many batteries imported from China that do not meet minimum safety standards. Also, the Town Hall is asking for stricter standards, perhaps a compulsory certification of these batteries in the future, and in the event of an inspection, having the possibility of seizing vehicles and batteries which will not have them.