Dangerous Roads newsletter: Are EVs safer than gas-powered cars?

When my 21-year-old gearhead nephew, Brenton, came up from Florida to stay with me for a week this summer, he had just one request: that I test drive an electric vehicle.

Brenton, who is on his second Tesla, had already convinced many a family member to go electric, and was trying to do the same with me. I reluctantly agreed to take a 2026 Tesla Model Y for a spin, and must admit I was pleasantly surprised with the smoothness and responsiveness of the ride. But as I’m perfectly satisfied with my 10-year-old Honda minivan, I wasn’t really in the market for a new vehicle, much less an electric one.

Then Brenton made an assertion I had never before heard.

"They’re safer than gas-powered cars, you know," Brenton said, arguing that because electric vehicles don’t have a combustible gas tank, drivers and passengers are more likely to survive crashes.

It sounded reasonable enough, but I thought I'd look into his claim.

"Your nephew is exactly on point," said Alexia Melendez Martineau, senior policy manager for Plug In America, a Los Angeles-based electric vehicle advocacy organization.

Because gas-powered vehicles have an internal combustion engine, Martineau explained, "there are literally tiny explosions going off all the time. So the risk there is relatively high." Conversely, electric vehicles have a battery that is not only less combustible than a gas tank, but also well-encased, heavy and typically located at the bottom of the car, making it less prone to tipping over, she said.

While Martineau acknowledged concerns over lithium ion battery fires that can be difficult to put out, she noted they are rare and typically spread more slowly than fires in a gas-powered vehicle, possibly giving occupants time to evacuate. She also said electric vehicles must meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and undergo the same rigorous safety testing.

Beyond Martineau’s assertions, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has declared that "electric vehicles are at least as safe as conventional ones" and "that the extra weight from their batteries can actually provide a safety boost." And the U.S. Department of Energy has concurred that EVs have "a lower center of gravity than conventional vehicles, making them more stable and less likely to roll over."

It's true that some of the very features that make electric vehicles appealing to drivers do pose some unique safety risks to non-occupants, as their extra weight can cause extra damage to lighter cars, and their quiet motors can make it so pedestrians don't hear them when they approach.

Still, Martineau believes the considerable safety benefits of EVs are yet another reason why government officials should be incentivizing drivers to make the switch away from gas-powered vehicles. And yet, she points out, many of those incentives are being taken away.

One perk that local drivers knew well was New York’s Clean Pass program, which allowed electric and hybrid vehicles to use the Long Island Expressway’s high occupancy vehicle lanes, even with just one occupant. Federal approval for the program expired earlier this month, and has not been renewed.

While Martineau said HOV access is a fairly uncontroversial, and inexpensive, measure that the government can provide to incentivize electric vehicle use, it’s also a very popular one, coming up regularly among the surveyed drivers’ reasons for picking an electric vehicle.

"It’s something that we believe just makes sense," said Martineau, who believes electric vehicles could contribute not only to cleaner air, but safer roads. "There is certainly more, I think, we can be doing on the messaging front to really reassure EV customers that these vehicles are safe. They might even be safer."

Readers speak up

This week’s email comes from another reader frustrated with what he sees as inaction from elected officials from both parties on Long Island’s dangerous road problem.

I have written to local representatives, Kathy Hochul, even Gov. Cuomo before her and even to President Donald Trump about the speeders, criminals who roam our roadways and put all of us decent human beings at risk. I will say that at least I did receive phone calls from the Nassau County and Suffolk County police departments and they said they are trying to get to these criminals, but it is difficult. I have suggested to the police departments to have a caravan of police vehicles on the highways just one night a month ... and catch these criminals who speed and put lives in danger.

Bob Damato, Floral Park

Have you reached out to any elected officials looking for their help in taming Long Island's roadways? Have you gotten a response? Let us know at roads@newsday.com.

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.