Automotive Safety considerations for EVs is the Electric Elephant in the Garage.
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In order to work in Transportation Planning, creating new forms of transport, not moving product, I had to make a deal with Andy Masset, Director Automotive Safety & Transportation Planning, Ford of Europe in my first week at Ford as a Graduate Trainee. Personnel said, the area was too niche. I must do as I was told -"Go where they thought I should." Instead, Mr Masset made me a deal. Work in Automotive Safety with Ken Teesdale, who was advised by F1's Jackie Stewart, crash testing cars at MIRA with anthropometric dummies for 18 months, then I could move under Phil Oxley's wing to Transportation Planning. Plus, if I kept my nose clean, he would send me to London Uni to do a postgraduate in Scientific Method Applied to Transport. This I sorted in my first five days at FoMoCo HQ in Warley. Those next 18 months in the Automotive Safety department
endowed me with a deep sense of how fragile survival of life inside a metal shell, travelling fast on wheels can be. The risk of explosion & fire from a rear, side or roll-over impact was great. Most of the time my job was to work with Engineering at Dunton R&D Centre to ensure our vehicles complied with US FMVSS & European Safety Legislation. Move on 18 months and I was becoming an early EV evangelist, this was early '70s!
Today, EVs use Li-oN batteries, which can become unstable. I fret about fire, overall weight plus the potential impact of fire + cumulative weight in multi storey car parks. So, I welcome this news from Quantix? ULTRA material class from Freudenberg Sealing Technologies significantly improves fire protection in electric vehicle drives. It is timely and gives me, as a former car product planner, some comfort. I have been rammed up the back by a drunk driver at 05.30 in Dusseldorf when driving an Escort and all I suffered was whiplash, so my rear-chassis protection and fuel-tank integrity work was not in vain. I hope we can see less EV fires in future with these smart material innovations. With thanks to elctrive.com
https://lnkd.in/eBb4_hqS
#bevs #automotivesafety #Freudenbergsealingtechnologies #netzero #guptasmartenergy #fordmotorcompany #theguptapartnership
Automotive Technician
1 个月Any availability in Greenville South Carolina