3rd Annual SAE International and NFPA Electric Vehicle Safety Standards Summit Slated for Oct. 18

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Sep 20, 2012, 09:48 ET

WARRENDALE, Pa., Sept. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- While advances in electric vehicle and hybrid technologies help to create new opportunities in how we power our vehicles, they also can present new challenges. These include safety issues, including fire and electrical hazards.

SAE International and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) will co-host the 3^rd Annual Electric Vehicle Safety Standards Summit, which will be held Thursday, Oct. 18 at Cobo Center in Detroit. The summit will be held in conjunction with SAE Convergence 2012.

This yearly event will continue the dialogue and partnerships which have been successful in modifying codes, standards, and attitudes to enhance safety and support the ever-increasing fleet of electric and hybrid electric vehicles in North America. Leaders of industry, including vehicle manufacturers, governmental agencies, standards developing organizations, and first and second responders will meet to discuss the codes and standards necessary to effectively address safety as it relates to electrified vehicles and their infrastructure. Previous Summits (October 2010 and September 2011) have generated collaborative efforts that examined fire and electrical safety standards affecting electric vehicles, breaking down potential barriers to these vehicles' successful integration.

Claude Harris, Director, Office of Crash Avoidance Standards, U.S. Dept. of Transportation will deliver the keynote address. His presentation, "EV Safety Compliance Update" will discuss the NHTSA program to test new electric vehicles introduced for sale in the U.S. to ensure compliance with our existing safety standards, and to provide consumers information on crash performance for these vehicles. Also, the presentation will provide a summary of the issues highlighted in the EV safety symposium held by NHTSA in May 2012, a summary of EV field incidents investigated by NHTSA, and a brief summary of our EV research program in progress.

Session topics will include:

Standards & Safety
High Voltage Battery Systems & Safety
Passenger versus other Vehicles
The Future

Complete program information including agenda, registration deadlines and fees are available at http://www.sae.org/events/nevss/.

To request press credentials, call 1-724-772-8522 or email [email protected].

SAE International is a global association of more than 133,000 engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle industries. SAE International's core competencies are life-long learning and voluntary consensus standards development. SAE International's charitable arm is the SAE Foundation, which supports many programs, including A World In Motion® and the Collegiate Design Series™.

- www.sae.org -

Contact: Shawn Andreassi of SAE International, 1-724-772-8522 or [email protected]

SOURCE SAE International