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Technology Stocks : Energy Conversion Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Don Devlin who wrote (2475)	10/14/1998 1:56:00 PM
From: WALT REISCH	Respond to of 8393

Feds plan rules for electric vehicles United Press International - October 14, 1998 13:21 DETROIT, Oct. 14 (UPI) - A predicted surge in electric cars, trucks and vans on U.S. roads has prompted federal regulators to propose new crash tests and safety criteria to protect people from battery shocks and acid spills. Although only about 3,000 highway-capable EVs now operate in the United States, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is drafting the rules to prepare for increased EV sales, especially in California and the Northeast. New clean-air rules are fueling the demand. Officials estimate that by 2003 Californians alone will buy 40,000 EVs a year. And EV sales to state and federal agencies are rising. More EVs on the road will increase the number of rollovers, collisions and injuries involving electric shock, burns and spills of caustic battery acid. NHTSA has been looking at EV battery-safety rules and conducting limited crash tests since 1991. But until now the agency concluded the industry's self-enforced standards were adequate. NHTSA's proposed rules are based on industry standards set by the Society of Automotive Engineers. The agency says the new rules ''should help ensure the safe introduction of new EVs into the marketplace.'' Among other things the rules require automakers to install crash- tested barriers between battery compartments and people. The goal is to prevent battery liquid from leaking into the cabin. The rules also are designed to limit leakage outside the vehicle into the environment. The NHTSA rule would apply to all cars, vans, trucks and buses that meet certain weight and power criteria. Small EVs such as golf carts are not included. The rules could take effect by the end of 1999. Most major automakers now produce electric vehicles. They include EV versions of the Toyota RAV4, Chevrolet S-10 pickup and Ford Ranger pickup, as well as the specialized Chrysler EPIC, Nissan Altra EV, Honda EV Plus and the first modern EV, the General Motors' EV1, which hit the market two years ago. -- Copyright 1998 by United Press International.