I’ll mention once again that I’m not against EVs. It would be great if they were ready for primetime, as they do not release all the air pollutants that gas powered ones do, and I’m not referring to carbon dioxide. If you want one, get one. I am 100% against mandates and forcing citizens to purchase one. And we have even more problems
The electric vehicle dream has turned into a nightmare
The rollout of electric cars isn’t quite going to plan, is it? By the end of the decade it will be illegal to buy a new petrol car, but that doesn’t mean we’ve thought through the consequences.
There were always obvious problems with the technology: the electricity has to come from somewhere, and Britain isn’t installing enough chargers to meet government targets. And that’s before you take the rocketing price of electricity into account, which means that thousands of the handy roadside chargers where motorists could charge up for nothing have been pulled. There are nearly 40 per cent fewer than a year ago.
Wait for it
It now turns out that some bridges may not be able to take the weight of electric cars which, due to their large battery packs, are heavier than their petrol equivalents. Cue lengthy detours to a sturdier crossing point. It’s little use having new technology without the infrastructure to match.
Well, that’s a new one on me. But, it makes sense. EVs can weight anywhere from hundreds to thousand of pounds more than a fossil fueled vehicle. Bridges were designed for certain weights, averaged out between cars and trucks of all sizes as they travel across them. Now you’ll be added thousands or tens of thousands of pounds more weight to each bridge, stressing them. Bridges have collapsed from having too much weight on them. What happens when you have a jam, and you have added 15K pounds more?
A further issue is what happens when an electric car hits a pedestrian or a cyclist. Because they’re so heavy, the impact can be worse than that of a normal car. Urban 4x4s used to get a bad press because they could flatten pedestrians like a tank, but an electric car can do the same. Because they’re so quiet – unless they come with the fake engine noises manufacturers are working on – people might not hear them coming.
That’s not good. Here’s something from back in January: “Drivers beware: Some electric cars are so heavy they risk crushing smaller vehicles in collisions“. Have the Powers That Be really thought this through?
Moreover, if you’re remotely paranoid about surveillance technology when it comes to some social media apps or your smartphone, it turns out that some smart electric cars can collect data including route history and road speed. All the cameras, sensors, internet connectivity and radar which make the latest models so covetable also mean that they could theoretically be used for remote surveillance. I bet James Bond would pass on the electric vehicle and stick with the Aston Martin.
They keep coming up with more and more problems, eh?
Momentum = mass x velocity. Force = mass x acceleration. Hitting a pedestrian, someone of low mass moving slowly, with an automobile, something with high mass, often traveling in a different direction, accelerates that person from a low speed, perhaps zero depending upon the direction of the impact, to a higher one, due to the mass multiplier. Increase the mass of the automobile, and you increase the force applied in an accident.
Or, as hospital workers are wont to put it, a multiple crunch.
“WHERE DOES THE ELECTRICITY COME FROM?”
and how much pollution is generated creating that electricity??
with less than 20% of electricity coming from renewables, EVs
just move the source of pollution from one place, the road way,
to another place, the power station. until the vast majority of
electricity comes from renewables, or nuclear, “EVs reduce pollution”
is a fantacy.
It’s undoubtedly true that using EVs moves the source of pollution from the road to the power station. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. There are fewer power plants than cars, and power plants are under control of engineers who can keep things cleaner.
In some situations, like cities, there is an advantage to having the cars clean and the power pumped in from the boonies.
Parking garages are a bigger problem than bridges, since bridges are designed to accommodate heavy trucks that are excluded from automobile parking garages.
This article appears to have origins in Britain where they have a few bridges that have been in service for hundreds of years. However, that does not change the issue that EV’s are typically heavier than comparable ICE vehicles. The state of the infrastructure is not generally prepared for a total shift to electric. Overall, our bridges are probably adequate with some that need rebuilding anyway. Folks in rust belt areas should pay particular attention. The electric grid is probably a bigger problem.
The electric grid, can it be upgraded?
Asking for a friend
The Tesla Mod Y (top selling passenger car in USA) long range loaded weighs 4400 pounds
The average weight of a new car sold in USA is 4100
Can you do the subtraction for the class?
Dana
Did you bother to even check the weight of the Tesla Mod Y (the largest selling passenger car model in the USA!)?
The heaviest long range. Mod weighs a whopping 4400 pounds. The average weight of a new car sold in the USA is 4100 pounds
Dana do you forsee this difference being a cause for bridge collapse
In the future?
3 out of 4 top selling cars in America are trucks. Tesla is #9, not #1. Saying something over and over doesn’t make it true.
Car and Driver
Johnny-why upgrade them if gasoline powered cars are working just fine?
Asking for a friend
According to Car & Driver 1st Quarter 2023 the Tesla ModelY is in 4th behind the pickup trucks.
The Model Y and Tesla 3 together outsell all but the F-150 (including the Lightning)
The Tesla Y is the faster selling passenger vehicle.
I’m glad to hear Teslas are selling like hotcakes. I hope Elon makes another $50 billion. That’s $50 billion the leftists won’t earn. LOL
Perhaps Elon can buy CNN and/or MSNBC and turn the old whores into respectable ladies.
I think ol’ Elon is just waiting for SpaceX to send him to Mars, using Tesla to pay for it. 🙂 Then the Earth can go to hell of it’s own making.
FULL VIDEO – Former President Donald Trump town hall with CNN:
https://commoncts.blogspot.com/2023/05/full-video-former-president-donald.html