"Burn the body" car damages people, "killer" battery is still hot online
Illegal modification and sale of batteries has formed a gray industrial chain. What are the difficulties in supervision?
Our reporter You Zhixin, Cheng Siqi, Wang Chenyang, Xu Dongyuan
Recently, Xinhua News Agency’s client-side “National Photography” column received feedback from the public that Mr. Liu, who lives in Yangpu District, Shanghai, suddenly caught fire and exploded while riding an electric bicycle.
Mr. Liu suffered burns to his face, and the fire ignited a car parked by a neighbor next to him.
The culprit of the accident turned out to be the battery of the electric bicycle-the 60V illegal battery purchased by Mr. Liu on the Pinduoduo online shopping platform.
For many people, electric bicycles are an important daily travel tool, and the safety hazards that follow cannot be ignored.
In the past two years, electric bicycle fires have occurred frequently, among which poor battery quality is the main cause of fire accidents.
However, the reporter found that a number of non-compliant batteries are on sale on multiple e-commerce platforms, and some products are also on the hot list of the electric vehicle retail accessories zone.
Facing the lessons of fire caused by electric bicycle batteries, these illegal products are still sold on major online shopping platforms.
Where is the problem?
Repeated violations of the battery are repeatedly banned
In recent years, as the number of electric bicycles continues to rise, electric bicycle fire accidents have become one of the major fire risks in cities due to multiple factors such as poor quality of the vehicles themselves, illegal modification and transformation, and lack of safety awareness of drivers.
In May 2018, the State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration issued the national standard "E-Bike Safety Technical Specifications", which stipulated that the nominal voltage of electric bicycle batteries should not exceed 48V. Products that do not comply with the "Technical Specifications" shall not be produced, sold or imported.
The Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on the Administration of Non-motorized Vehicles promulgated in 2019 stipulate that replacing a battery larger than 48V is an act of installation or modification, and driving an electric bicycle installed or modified on the road is a road traffic violation and will be punished by the public security organs in accordance with regulations.
Purchasing illegal batteries for speed and cruising range not only “set fire”, but also “destroy pond fish”. Mr. Liu regretted it.
At present, the fire department has transferred materials related to the case to the market supervision department.
As of the press time, Pinduoduo platform has removed the battery purchased by Mr. Liu, but similar non-compliant batteries are still everywhere on the platform.
The sale of illegal batteries in offline channels has also been repeatedly prohibited.
On September 16, 2020, a fire broke out in a bicycle shed in a residential area in Jiading District, Shanghai. More than 30 bicycles and electric bicycles were burned.
The staff of the Fire Rescue Detachment of Jiading District, Shanghai told reporters that the battery traces left on the scene showed that some electric bicycle batteries in the carport were modified illegally, which was also the main cause of the fire.
After investigation, these batteries were all sourced from a local electric bicycle business, and they were three-no products, and some of the batteries had a voltage as high as 84V.
The firm was subsequently sealed up in accordance with the law, and relevant personnel were also punished by law.
An industry insider bluntly said that in order to meet the needs of car owners to increase the range and speed, some illegal car dealers illegally install and sell excessive batteries, which can easily cause fire accidents.
Currently, illegal refitting and selling of batteries has formed a gray industrial chain. Most of these over-standard batteries are assembled from defective and waste batteries, which poses a high fire hazard.
"Killer" battery "Horizontal" major e-commerce platforms
At present, there are about 10 million electric bicycles in Shanghai, which are mainly used for citizens' daily transportation and takeaway express riders.
According to statistics from the Shanghai Fire and Rescue Corps, in 2020, the number of fires caused by electric bicycles in Shanghai has exceeded the total from 2017 to 2019, and the number of deaths has also exceeded the total of the previous three years.
In electric bicycle fire accidents, fire accidents caused by battery cell failure accounted for about 35% of the total, and battery overcharge accounted for about 22%. The poor quality of electric bicycle batteries was the main reason.
Nevertheless, on several major e-commerce platforms, there are a number of non-compliant batteries on sale, with prices ranging from a few hundred to thousands of yuan. Some of these products have also been on the hot list of electric vehicle retail accessories.
"Battery is easy to install and do it yourself" "Battery life is strong" "No need to charge several times a day" "Battery is good for running takeaway"... In the buyer's comment area, users who buy 60V, 72V and other electric bicycle batteries We have received rave reviews for these illegal batteries.
On the one hand, there are bloody lessons from the fire caused by electric bicycle battery failure, and on the other hand, these "killer" batteries are openly sold on major online shopping platforms regardless of regulations.
Where are the pain points and difficulties of supervision?
According to my country's "Interim Measures for the Handling of Market Supervision and Administration Complaints and Reports", the goods sold or the services provided by e-commerce operators shall meet the requirements of protecting personal and property safety and environmental protection, and shall not sell or provide goods that are prohibited by laws and administrative regulations. Or service.
If an e-commerce platform operator discovers that the goods or service information on the platform violates the above regulations, it shall take necessary measures in accordance with the law.
Ge Jiangqiu, a lecturer at Fudan University Law School, believes that the explosion of illegal battery sales shows that e-commerce platforms have neglected the management of operators on the platform and are not highly responsible for consumers.
If the illegal product has been complained by consumers, or the industrial and commercial law enforcement department has been involved in the investigation, and the platform is still indifferent, the platform needs to bear joint and several liability.
Regarding the situation that the e-commerce platform is still selling other types of illegal batteries, Chen Yinjiang, deputy secretary general of the China Consumer Rights Protection Law Research Association, said that the platform should also remove other related products.
"According to Article 38 of the E-Commerce Law of the People’s Republic of China, for goods or services related to consumers’ lives and health, e-commerce platform operators have not fulfilled their obligation to review the qualifications of the operators on the platform or have Those who fail to fulfill their safety guarantee obligations and cause harm to consumers shall bear corresponding responsibilities in accordance with the law.” Chen Yinjiang said, “Relevant departments clearly stipulate that this type of battery is not allowed to be sold, so the platform should be responsible for selling such batteries in violation of regulations. Within the scope of knowing and knowing, then after receiving consumer complaints, the platform shall also remove other related products on the platform at the same time, otherwise it shall bear joint liability."
However, industry insiders told reporters that if there were no complaints from others, e-commerce platform operators would in most cases acquiesce that the products of the operators on the platform are compliant, thus causing the widespread phenomenon of open sale of illegal batteries.
Experts in this regard call for the platform to be brave enough to take responsibility for solving problems such as the quality and safety of products sold by e-commerce.
From a regulatory perspective, Ge Jiangqiu said that consumer disputes on e-commerce platforms are particular and complex compared to other areas. The territorial management of administrative supervision by market regulatory agencies and other e-commerce companies’ cross-regional off-site transactions The contradiction has always existed.
The e-commerce platform registration location, the location of the buyer and the seller, the seller’s place of business, the source of production, the storage location, etc. may be located in different administrative jurisdictions, or even overseas, so administrative supervision is often difficult to effectively implement.
Multiple measures to rectify battery chaos in violation of regulations
In view of the various pain points and difficulties of electric bicycle battery management, the industry has put forward various suggestions on how to rectify the chaos.
The fire department stated that it will continue to strictly investigate the installation of excessive batteries in violation of regulations.
At present, the barriers to entry in the field of electric vehicles are relatively low. The illegal modification and sale of batteries has formed a gray industry chain. Market supervision departments and public security agencies must establish a joint investigation and punishment mechanism, and strictly implement relevant regulations and standards. For online and offline electric bicycles Sales companies carry out high-frequency law enforcement inspections and impose penalties in accordance with laws and regulations. If a crime is involved, criminal responsibility shall be investigated in accordance with law.
Experts suggest that the postal management department and the commercial department should formulate industry management regulations based on the status quo in the take-out and express delivery fields, requiring that registered riders and registered riders on the e-commerce platform are strictly prohibited from buying and using electric bicycles and batteries that do not meet national standards; at the same time, they must add Inspect and supervise the work units, and impose penalties on enterprises that do not perform their duties properly.
On the supply side of electric bicycle batteries, it is urgent to establish a basic energy system for the replacement of two-wheel electric vehicles.
At the Fifth Session of the 15th Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress held a few days ago, Yao Shanshan, a representative of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress, proposed to build a standardized power exchange product system and build a safe and reliable basic energy system for non-motor vehicles.
“When users use the battery replacement cabinet, they only need to scan with their mobile phone to replace the fully charged battery with the dead battery. These new batteries are in line with national standards.” Yao Shanshan said, “The battery replacement mode will change The overall charging safety risk is completely separated from people from the perspective of space and time, to avoid safety accidents, and improve the standardization of batteries, the efficiency and safety of battery replacement and many other aspects."