Light weight electric vehicles crash worthiness

With increasingly more attention to global emissions and local pollution, electric vehicles are getting more popular. There are a few way of making electric vehicles. One way is to make a electric car like a gasoline car in size and weight. The other way is to make a lighter type of vehicle. This increasingly is causing concern in crashes between light weight vehicles and regular vehicles.

The IIHS already published there finding on low speed vehicles (or mini trucks) in 2010

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/desktopnews/low-speed-vehicles-and-minitrucks-shouldnt-share-busy-public-roads-with-regular-traffic

Euroncap made a test for what is referred to as  ‘quadricycles’. US and European vehicle classes are not the same so it’s hard to compare them directly, but these vehicles are also light weight and do not have to meet the same regulation as ‘normal’ vehicles on the road.

http://www.euroncap.com/results/quadricycles.aspx

Light weight vehicles generally do not perform well against regular traffic. Something to keep in mind when buying and driving such vehicles.