image: IIHS
Electric vehicles can get heavy. For example, the Rivian R1T pickup truck weighs over 7,100 pounds and the Hummer EV weighs over 9,000 pounds.
Due to such hefty curb weights, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) had to run tests to make sure its crash test rig could handle some of the heavier electric cars coming to market. To do so, they loaded pickup trucks with metal and concrete and rammed them into a wall.
Why is this important? If the IIHS can’t properly test a vehicle’s crash rating on its own rig, then it wouldn’t be able to accurately judge its safety. The fact that it can handle such heavy vehicles is reassuring. The crash machine held up just fine. It’ll hurl a Hummer.
