In uk.transport.london message , Sun, 4
Dec 2016 17:37:52, Graham Murray posted:

Neil Williams writes:

On 2016-12-03 10:02:36 +0000, Roland Perry said:

This truck I really did see bursting into flames - I was driving on the
opposite carriageway at the moment the black smoke turned to flames:

I wonder what effect electric vehicles will have on the numbers
killed/injured or road disruption caused by vehicle fires, given that
fires in EMUs are very rare (notwithstanding that one, the only one I
ever heard of, occurred very recently). If you don't have a tank of
highly volatile fuel there to burn, the chance of fire is much lower.

What about hydrogen buses, such as the RV1? Hopefully there are very
strong precautions against the fuel catching fire or exploding even in
the case of a serious collision etc.

Hydrogen can only explode chemically if it is mixed with oxidiser before
ignition. Gaseous hydrogen is very much less dense than air, so will
rapidly depart the scene upwards - in which respect it is better than
ordinary liquid fuels. But, unlike the case for hydrocarbons, a
hydrogen flame is not easily visible.

--
(c) John Stockton, Surrey, UK. Turnpike v6.05 MIME.
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