Only when producers, sellers, and users perform their duties and fulfill their responsibilities can they jointly maintain public safety and prevent such accidents.
According to CCTV financial reports, many places, including Beijing, have formulated local technical standards for the safety of lithium-ion batteries for electric bicycles; In addition, China's mandatory national standards are about to be introduced.
According to the data released by the China Bicycle Association, by the end of 2022, the number of two-wheeled electric vehicles in China was about 3500 million vehicles, which is equivalent to 1 in 4 people owning an electric bicycle. The large number of electric bicycles has brought a lot of convenience to public life, but also added a lot of problems to public management. Among them, the fire caused by e-bikes is particularly heartbreaking.
On February 23, a fire broke out in a small area in Yuhuatai District, Nanjing, and as of 24 o'clock on the 23rd, the fire has killed 15 people and 44 people are in the hospital. After preliminary analysis, the fire was caused by the parking of electric bicycles on the overhead floor of Building 6. On February 25, the electric bicycle in the outdoor independent electric car shed in a small area of Fengtai District, Beijing, was not built, and the cause of the fire was preliminarily determined to be caused by battery failure.
In recent years, fires caused by e-bikes have occurred from time to time. According to the statistics of the National Fire and Rescue Administration, a total of 2 electric bicycle fires will be reported nationwide in 202310,000. Other data shows that 80% of EV fires occur while charging, more than half of which occur during night charging, and 90% of EV homicide cases occur in hallways, aisles and stairwells.
The Regulations on Fire Safety Management of High-rise Civil Buildings, which came into effect in August 2021, clearly require that it is forbidden to park or charge electric bicycles in the public foyers, evacuation walkways, stairwells, and safety exits of high-rise civil buildings. If the correction is refused, a fine of up to 10,000 yuan may be imposed. To this day, judging from the online feedback, there are still people who are greedy for temporary "convenience" and charge electric bicycles in public buildings at will. This kind of dangerous behavior of ignoring public safety not only brings great hidden dangers to the neighborhood, but also seems to amplify a voice - why are those wayward electric bicycle owners not punished as they should be?
It is also worth asking about the technical specifications of electric bicycles. As early as 2022, the Beijing Bicycle and Electric Vehicle Industry Association formulated the group standard "Technical Specifications for Lithium-ion Power Battery Packs for Electric Bicycles", which stipulates 33 safety technical indicators such as overcharge, overdischarge, battery pack temperature protection and overcharge protection of single batteries.
It was also reported that in January this year, there were 33 fires of electric bicycles and electric tricycles in Beijing, of which 30 were caused by battery failures, most of which were caused by illegal modification of batteries.
From the perspective of maintaining the healthy development of the industry, it is necessary to introduce mandatory national standards for lithium-ion batteries for electric bicycles as soon as possible, and on the basis of clarifying the entry threshold and quality standards, the unqualified batteries will be driven away from the market to reduce the probability of fire in electric bicycles from the source. From the perspective of safeguarding public safety and public interests, every mandatory technical standard and management regulation must be strictly implemented, so it is necessary not only to formulate management rules, but also to clarify the management subject. Only when producers, sellers, and users perform their duties and fulfill their responsibilities can they jointly maintain public safety and prevent such accidents.
Red Star News Special Commentator Zhao Zhijiang.
Edited by Zhao Yu.
Red Star Review Submission Email: hxpl2020@qqcom
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