Electric vehicles were introduced as an alternative to fuel-based vehicles. It was supposed to be an economical alternative. However, they have become a mode of disaster. Another incident took place when a Chennai-Bangalore electric bus carrying more than 40 passengers caught fire!
Chennai-Bangalore Electric Bus Catches Fire
@MORTHIndia@RLR_BTM@tdkarnataka @ChristinMP_@tv9kannada@publictvnews @SUVARNANEWS24X7 @firstnews_tv Ev Bus Catches fire, proving unsafe to passengers, need action to stop Immidiately in all long routes. This is 2nd or 3rd incident in a year. pic.twitter.com/aU7sy94s7L
— Surya Nataraja Sharma (@saisharma4) September 22, 2023
Today, a bus rear-ended an electric bus transporting around 40 passengers from Chennai to Bengaluru in Chembarambakkam, close to Chennai. The electric bus then caught fire. Significant safety issues are brought up by the occurrence, particularly in relation to how electric buses operate and what safety precautions they take, as well as with regard to general road safety.
According to sources, in the morning, NueGo’s e-bus left Chennai’s Koyambedu bus terminal. On the Chennai-Bengaluru highway, near Chembarambakkam, a vigilant conductor advised passengers to disembark at around 5 am after spotting smoke coming from the bus’s rear. No one suffered any major injuries because all of the bus’s passengers and the bus staff were able to escape before it caught fire.
After an incident that lasted nearly an hour, fire crews were dispatched and extinguished the fire. Traffic police officers diverted traffic to a different route as vehicle movement in the stretch was hindered. Additional investigations are being conducted after a case was reported.
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Other Fire Incidents Concerning Electric Vehicles
Video of electric bus fire accident near EVP chembarabakkam pic.twitter.com/4OP23dDXh6
— Maheshbabu (@MaheshbabuD7) September 22, 2023
There have been a few reports of electric vehicle fires as the popularity of these vehicles has increased globally. In December, an electric scooter had caught fire in South West Delhi, close to Samalkha. There were no casualties since the car’s owner caught the fire in time to put it out.
In January 2023, at least three vehicles were completely destroyed after an electric vehicle that was parked at the Hyderabad Numaish Exhibition on Saturday caught fire. Three cars were completely destroyed and two others suffered partial damage when the fire that started in the electric car spread to five other vehicles in the parking lot.
Concerns about the safety of electric vehicles were raised in the wake of a series of fires. Whether Indian e-scooter manufacturers rushed their products to market with parts imported from China without sufficient quality and safety checks to test whether the batteries could withstand the harsh local conditions, including soaring summer temperatures and potholed roads.
The Central government had earlier issued a show-cause notice to all Indian electric vehicle manufacturers whose cars caught fire in order to remedy the problem.
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The ministry had requested in writing that the results and the corrective actions for enhancing and averting similar situations in the future be shared.
Cover Image Courtesy: @saisharma4/ Twitter