All of the information stated in this article is based on reliable sources of information and is detailed at the end of the article
Edited by Hanshi
On April 26, on the highway in Xia County, Shanxi, a Wenjie M7 new energy vehicle rear-ended a watering truck that was undergoing maintenance operations, and it is reported that the car was traveling at a speed of 115 kilometers per hour at the time of the accident.
The M7 uses ternary lithium batteries for power supply, which has high energy density and can provide a long battery life, but once it catches fire and burns, the battery pack enters a state of thermal runaway, which will cause internal chemical reactions and continuously release heat and combustible gases.
Judging from the video uploaded by netizens, the accident car began to catch fire after the impact, and the burning speed was very fast, and it was difficult to extinguish, and finally the whole car fell into a raging state, and none of the three people in the car survived.
The family of the deceased also spoke out on the Internet, saying that the sudden death of their son, husband, and younger brother is unbearable for anyone, although the deceased cannot be resurrected, but as a family, they want to ask for an explanation for this tragedy anyway.
After all, the rapid development of the new energy vehicle market in recent years, many people have an electric car at home, and this time there is such a big accident, everyone will naturally have doubts about the safety performance of the car.
Regarding the responsibility for the accident itself, the main question is: whether the maintenance vehicle driving in the fast lane has carried out early warning measures, and whether the fire extinguishing work can be carried out after the accident?
In response to these questions, the relevant departments have replied, replying that an investigation is underway and I believe that there will be results soon.
However, netizens are more concerned about the safety performance of the vehicle itself, and some netizens pointed out that when the accident occurred, the door of the car did not show serious deformation, but it could not be opened during the rescue.
This may be due to the fact that the M7 uses a "hidden door handle" design, which is usually hidden inside the door, but after the accident, the door handle does not pop out, so it is difficult to open the door directly from the outside.
Although the rescuers tried their best to rescue her, the ternary lithium battery caught fire too quickly, and the rescue window was very limited, and the family of the deceased said that her brother and son were charred, and her husband was left on the side of the road.
According to the promotional page of the M7 displayed on the official website of the company, you can clearly see that the M7 claims to use a variety of battery safety technologies, but none of these technologies can effectively prevent the battery from catching fire and deflagration.
As for why the vehicle's AEB (Automatic Emergency Braking System) was not triggered, Q Jie said that the AEB system equipped with the accident vehicle was a non-high-end version, and it could not work at a speed of more than 85 kilometers per hour, while the vehicle was traveling at a speed of 115 kilometers per hour at the time of the accident.
The relevant car company also issued a response two days after the accident, claiming that the airbag was working normally after the accident and there was no problem with the battery pack, but the family of the deceased said that the airbag did not pop out normally.
What makes people feel a little chilling is that the younger brother of the family who spoke out has great trust in Wenjie New Energy Vehicle, and posted on the WeChat platform shortly before the accident, standing in line with Wenjie Automobile, which is really a trick.
Wenjie is already a high-end tram brand in China, and after such a serious accident, many buyers who are ready to buy cars have to start reconsidering their choices, and more netizens think that tram technology started late and is not yet fully mature.
It is not difficult to see that the focus of the debate among netizens is "Why didn't the car door unlock after the accident?"
Some experts said that an impact that is too strong may cause the failure of the electric door control system, and the mechanical door opening scheme may also be affected, in this case, there is no way to open the door.
Of course, traffic accidents are always a variety of special circumstances, even if the safety design is good, it is difficult to resist the accident that occurs in extreme situations, if it really comes to an end, if you want to save your life, you can only hope for good luck.
Since the rise of new energy vehicles, the controversy over the safety of this type of car has never been broken, and major car manufacturers have also made great efforts in safety performance, but traffic accidents still occur from time to time.
Of course, now that transportation is so developed, it is impossible to completely eliminate accidents, but objectively speaking, the battery pack of electric vehicles is indeed a major source of risk, even if you do how to take protective measures, the risk of fire and explosion is still inevitable.
Therefore, rather than relying on the performance of the car to resist the risk of accidents, it is more important for the majority of car owners to enhance their safety awareness and try to avoid similar accidents.
Information sources:
Hubei Fire Protection, April 25, 2024 "New Energy Vehicles Only Take 5 Seconds from Collision to Smoke"
China Business News, April 28, 2024 "Wenjie M7 Serious Accident Responded: The collision speed of 115km/h far exceeded the AEB trigger range"
Red Star News, April 28, 2024 "The door can't be opened after the collision and fire of the M7? Expert: Door control system may fail due to violent impacts"
Red Star News, April 28, 2024 "Car companies respond to "3 people killed in a rear-end collision with M7 in Wenjie": the airbag is opened normally, and the traffic police say that the accident is still under investigation"