BURLINGTON — Battery packs that had been removed from hybrid vehicles are being monitored in a dumpster full of water for seven days because they caused a fire in Burlington last week, the city said Tuesday.
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For Delores Solomon losing her electric mobility scooter means losing her livelihood as a delivery driver."It adds a little more to my social security because its hard living on a fixed income. You see today, everything is going up," Solomon said. But she says it isnt worth risking her life. "I'm scared because you never know like New York City has mad potholes, bad streets, so you never know when a battery might dislodge," Solomon said. Last year, she was almost killed when she was delivering food on her scooter and hit a pothole causing the battery to fly out. "It ejected from the bike, and it exploded, but by Gods grace and mercy I didnt get a scratch," Solomon said. The New York City Fire Department says at least 200 fires and six deaths were caused by lithium batteries on electric bikes in 2022, often used by food delivery workers.At least 38 people were injured, some of them critically, in Manhattan in early November.Baruch Herzfeld an advocate and unofficial bike expert says the batteries on e-bikes are extremely flammable and dangerous."Inside this case, its many many small battery cells. Theyre called cells. It looks like a double a battery slightly bigger. Theyre all wired up together. If any one of those connections goes bad, you can have a short circuit. Also, a short circuit can trigger an explosion. Each cell has flammable material inside and if it reaches a certain temperature the liquid thats inside thats flammable will turn into a gas that gas can expand and that expansion can blow up," Herzfeld said.
The 10 states with the highest percentage of hybrid or electric vehicles
Intro
Alternative fuel vehicles were once considered a toy for the rich, but today they’ve become more commonplace, with over half a million hybrid and electric vehicles sold in 2017. Though electric cars provide full freedom from the gas pump, hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) are by far the most popular type of alternative fuel vehicle. These vehicles use either their electric motor, internal combustion engine, or both, depending on the circumstances—and during the times when the internal combustion engine powers the vehicle, it simultaneously charges the batteries that power the electric motor. As a result, drivers get the convenience of being able to fuel up as they would with a regular vehicle while still significantly improving gas mileage.
10. New York
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9. Illinois
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8. District of Columbia
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Vehicles that are hybrid or electric: 2.97%
7. New Jersey
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Vehicles that are hybrid or electric: 3.11%
6. Washington State
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5. Maryland
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4. New Hampshire
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3. Massachusetts
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2. Hawaii
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1. California
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