EVs have some of the highest ratings, with all EVs on sale in Australia scoring five-star ratings from ANCAP.
The car
The high ANCAP ratings are due to most electric cars, on sale in Australia today, being equipped with the latest active driving aids, cutting-edge safety features, weight distribution enhancements and, of course, not running on flammable liquids.
The battery
Battery fires may make the news but they are rare (0.3% of EVs reported a fire compared to 1.05% of ICE vehicles).
Batteries can catch fire in extreme use situations, however, Australian EVs are fitted with fail-safe measures that drastically reduce the risk of this happening. In the case of an accident, the chemical reaction that causes thermal runaway (a battery fire) is a slower process than fossil fuel fires and fire crews are well trained in attending to EVs.
Charging
Charging can be done safely in all weather conditions. Public chargers have circuit interrupters to protect against surges and good home chargers come with voltage and circuit protection.