CALIFORNIA (FOX26) — They haven’t taken over California’s highways yet, but we’re seeing more and more electric vehicles on the roads.

According to the Department of Energy, California has 1,200,000 electric vehicles.

What might surprise you is how much electric vehicles outperform standard cars with fuel engines.

That’s what a 7,000-pound electric vehicle can do to a guardrail traveling at 60 miles per hour.

The University of Nebraska at Lincoln crashes cars at its Midwest Highway Safety Center.

Remember, battery electric vehicles are very safe in the tests they were designed to perform. Both were rated according to federal standards, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety testing, said Professor Ron Faller of the University of Nebraska Lincoln.

In another test, it’s telling to see what happens once the truck hits the barrier.

it rolls back several meters but the truck has not jumped or pierced the concrete.

We were not surprised. If you have more energy, more momentum in a crash with a heavier vehicle, that particular barrier will experience higher displacement and higher levels of damage, which it also suffered, Faller said .

Although the accident did not surprise the research director, it concerns Fresno Assemblyman Jim Patterson.

When I watched the test video, I was absolutely amazed. Here’s a piece of equipment so heavy and so dangerous that it will tear down a K-rail, Patterson said.

Professor Faller believes it is too early in electric vehicle testing to draw conclusions.

what he noticed during the car accident was the g-force measured by an on-board sensor.

Generally, the weight of our vehicles with similar barriers decreases during accelerations ranging from 10 to 16 g. I’m just giving a number, but within that range, Faller said.

Professor Faller says the limit is 20.4.

In our battery-electric vehicle sedan test, we achieved 32 g lateral acceleration by the occupant, more than 50 percent above our allowable tolerance, Faller said.

Faller calls the number alarming, but says the sensor readings cannot determine whether those in the car will be seriously injured.

Patterson, vice chair of the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee, believes it’s time for the federal government to get involved.

And I really think that, given this evidence, I think that national transportation security officials need to do some serious crash testing on these very heavy, very dangerous electric vehicles, Patterson said.

Professor Faller says it’s unclear whether all electric vehicles will behave the same as the vehicles tested in Nebraska.

We have many years of investigation and study to complete before we can say anything. We’re just getting started.

It will be three to five years before Professor Faller says he has enough research to better address electric vehicle safety concerns.