Most of us have heard about the exploding iPods or the combusting laptops that can cause horrific burns. Although the lithium-ion batteries we'll find in the upcoming wave of modern plug-in cars are a far cry from the laptop and iPod batteries of yesteryear, a healthy level of doubt still remains on the minds potential EV customers. Let's face it, electric car-sized lithium ion batteries carry around a lot of juice and, given the right circumstances (say a crash), they could torch up like a runaway string of high-power fireworks.

While I was at the recent Nissan LEAF battery plant groundbreaking in Smyrna, Tennessee, I was able to talk with Mark Perry, Nissan's director of product planning and strategy for North America, about what Nissan has done to ensure the safety of their first mass-market electric car and its' occupants.

"There are three different switches in there from a safety standpoint, so if there's any type of crash, the three switches work to actually shut power off to the entire pack," said Perry. "The battery is completely sealed; we've put the pack in swimming pools, we've frozen it, we've put high pressure hoses on it to make sure it doesn't leak. The engineers have done everything they possibly could to try and make it fail, so we understand what happens in those situations."

And if you're wondering if the LEAF will protect its occupants in a crash, Perry says they fully expect the car to be just as safe as any well-designed modern vehicle. "We've already done the crash testing on the LEAF, and everything is good," he said. "There are no regulatory issues there and that's all behind us."

All that sounds pretty good so far. As we get closer to launch, I'll be sure to grill Nissan a little bit more about their battery management system and how they can assure the average buyer that the batteries will stay cool enough to avoid a disastrous flaming car.