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There were 268 e-bike battery fires in NYC alone in 2023. 18 were killed and 150 injured. In a single year. People die from lithium ion battery fires. Sure, th

by op00to 2y ago

There were 268 e-bike battery fires in NYC alone in 2023. 18 were killed and 150 injured. In a single year. People die from lithium ion battery fires. Sure, the little ones may not be as big as what’s in e-bikes, but they are in far more intimate areas and under far less scrutiny. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/29/nyregion/ebike-charging-station-nyc.html https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/29/nyregion/ebike-charging-s...

enlightens 2y ago
I think it's important to note that, as your article says, the laws being passed in New York in response to the fires are all in regards to battery certifications. Not all lithium ion batteries are the same and it's important to understand why some (the 268) catch on fire and others (all the other ebikes in NYC) don't.
KennyBlanken 2y ago
First off: every single one of those fires was an electric scooter, not an "ebike." https://www.bicycleretailer.com/industry-news/2022/04/26/approximately-none-recent-e-bike-fires-new-york-involved-e-bike https://www.bicycleretailer.com/industry-news/2022/04/26/app... Second: NYFD is one of if not the busiest fire department in the world because it's a city of nearly 9 million people. They respond to 36,500 fires a year. That means that the e-scooter fires represent 0.7% of the total number of fires they respond to. To further put things in perspective: roughly 160 people die per day in NYC.
- hiatus 2y ago
  Your article is from 2022, and the parent comment mentions fires in 2023.
- op00to 2y ago
  The distinction between e-bike and scooter is unimportant. The battery technology is the same, contains the same potential energy which gets released and causes fires.