No jolts! Safe electric cars thanks to ISO standard
Date : 7 February 2012
Just how safe are electric cars? Do you risk an electric shock?
To respond to these fears, ISO has updated a standard on safety features in electric and hybrid cars to prevent electricity-related injuries. ISO 6469-3:2011, Electrically propelled road vehicles – Safety specifications – Part 3: Protection of persons against electric shock, will assist the emerging worldwide market for electric cars.
“The future will run on cleaner cars – fuel-efficient, low or no emission vehicles,” says Egbert Fritzsche, Secretary of ISO technical committee ISO/TC 22/SC 21 that developed the standard. “We are working to support this future by developing ISO standards to make new automotive technologies ecological, efficient, safe and effective.”
“We want to make sure that carmakers have the best available standards and that electric shocks from electric cars are as unlikely as possible. ISO 6469-3 aims to do that.”
Let us face it: electric vehicles and their functioning remain largely unknown to the average car user of internal combustion engines. As the drive to electric cars continues to gain momentum, their safety will be crucial to assuring market penetration and customer confidence. To meet this challenge, a suite of standards is needed to support the growth and spread of electric cars, today and tomorrow.
SO 6469-3:2011 gives safety requirements for electric propulsion systems and conductively connected auxiliary electric systems, if any, of electrically propelled road vehicles. This third part is to be used in conjunction with ISO 6469 parts 1 and 2.
These two standards are already published under the following titles:
- ISO 6469-1:2009, Electric road vehicles – Safety specifications – Part 1: On-board rechargeable energy storage system (RESS)
- ISO 6469-2:2009, Electric road vehicles – Safety specifications – Part 2: Vehicle operational safety means and protection against failures
The suite of ISO 6469 standards are developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 22, Road vehicles, specifically in subcommittee SC 21, Electrically propelled road vehicles.
