Electric bikes, electric scooters, electric cars, and hybrid cars are rapidly gaining popularity due to their environmental benefits and operational efficiency. However, as these vehicles become more prevalent in workplaces, it is crucial to address the associated health and safety considerations.

 

The London Fire Brigade attended over 116 e-bike or e-scooter related fires in London last year. While we eagerly await further news and guidance from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on this evolving topic we are actively monitoring this issue and preparing to provide comprehensive guidance.

 

In the meantime, we’ve applied our wealth of Health & Safety expertise to consider potential hazards related to electric vehicles in the workplace. These hazards may include:

 

• speed and control risks associated with electric bikes
• rider behaviour
• infrastructure concerns with electric scooters, high-voltage systems, and battery-related hazards in electric and hybrid cars
• storage

 

In the link above LFB encourages people who use electronic vehicles to be aware of the risks and highlights the danger of storing them in escape routes in the home or in communal areas such as hallways in blocks of flats.

 

Using stairwells and halls as additional storage is a commonly seen hazard when we’re out inspecting and storage of electric mobility scooters in these areas is something we have assisted clients with in the past. In one case the solution was to build small external storage areas to ensure the vehicles were stored securely and the fire escape routes stayed clear. Our experience is that storage of any electric vehicle should be noted as a hazard and considered in your fire risk assessments, as this is often something picked up during Fire Service inspections.

 

As the transition to electric vehicles continues to gather momentum we are closely following industry updates, collaborating with experts, and analysing best practices to provide relevant and up-to-date guidance.