My daughter recently aquired a tesla 3 through work. Mileage meant to be 300+ went to Eastbourne from Herne Bay and had to recharge to get home. Not very practical
Regarding infrastructure, EVs are something like 40% heavier. Think of the issues that creates for ferries, bridges, general road wear and tear. Where is the joined up / long term thinking on all of this? 🤔
I’ve seen this a lot along with the tyre wear which creates pollution.
I’m sure van’s, lorries and other commercial vehicles already do the bigger share of wear and tear.
Leasing a BMW ix50 thru my company…..best car I have ever owned….amazing technology although will say charging infrastructure probably better here in USA
Was actively considering switching to an EV when I change my car in probably March. I’ve now decided against it, at least for the next change. For every positive comment I’m reading, I seem to read at least two negatives. I’m not convinced personally by the range or requirements of infrastructure at present and I’m hoping and assuming both will continue to improve before the car change after this next one. Probably rubbish but I can’t help thinking that the total switch to EV is not going to be smooth or popular.
Was actively considering switching to an EV when I change my car in probably March. I’ve now decided against it, at least for the next change. For every positive comment I’m reading, I seem to read at least two negatives. I’m not convinced personally by the range or requirements of infrastructure at present and I’m hoping and assuming both will continue to improve before the car change after this next one. Probably rubbish but I can’t help thinking that the total switch to EV is not going to be smooth or popular.
Was actively considering switching to an EV when I change my car in probably March. I’ve now decided against it, at least for the next change. For every positive comment I’m reading, I seem to read at least two negatives. I’m not convinced personally by the range or requirements of infrastructure at present and I’m hoping and assuming both will continue to improve before the car change after this next one. Probably rubbish but I can’t help thinking that the total switch to EV is not going to be smooth or popular.
Can’t argue with your conclusion but then how was the change from the horse to the car?
Was actively considering switching to an EV when I change my car in probably March. I’ve now decided against it, at least for the next change. For every positive comment I’m reading, I seem to read at least two negatives. I’m not convinced personally by the range or requirements of infrastructure at present and I’m hoping and assuming both will continue to improve before the car change after this next one. Probably rubbish but I can’t help thinking that the total switch to EV is not going to be smooth or popular.
Can’t argue with your conclusion but then how was the change from the horse to the car?
Was actively considering switching to an EV when I change my car in probably March. I’ve now decided against it, at least for the next change. For every positive comment I’m reading, I seem to read at least two negatives. I’m not convinced personally by the range or requirements of infrastructure at present and I’m hoping and assuming both will continue to improve before the car change after this next one. Probably rubbish but I can’t help thinking that the total switch to EV is not going to be smooth or popular.
Can’t argue with your conclusion but then how was the change from the horse to the car?
In terms of comfort, speed, distance, looking after the animal ie feeding, bedding and stable it was a very easy change
The problem now is people have to reevaluate being able to go for 300/400 miles on a tank full of fuel with a 5 minute stop to refuel to finding a charger and waiting for it to charge.
This and a number of other issues will hold me back and no doubt many others
Was actively considering switching to an EV when I change my car in probably March. I’ve now decided against it, at least for the next change. For every positive comment I’m reading, I seem to read at least two negatives. I’m not convinced personally by the range or requirements of infrastructure at present and I’m hoping and assuming both will continue to improve before the car change after this next one. Probably rubbish but I can’t help thinking that the total switch to EV is not going to be smooth or popular.
Can’t argue with your conclusion but then how was the change from the horse to the car?
In terms of comfort, speed, distance, looking after the animal ie feeding, bedding and stable it was a very easy change
The problem now is people have to reevaluate being able to go for 300/400 miles on a tank full of fuel with a 5 minute stop to refuel to finding a charger and waiting for it to charge.
This and a number of other issues will hold me back and no doubt many others
My thoughts exactly. I'm a reasonably fit 67 year old and my wife and I plan to do a lot of traveling in the UK (so much to see that we haven't seen) and the ease of adding 400+ miles to a range in 5 minutes is, from a selfish perspective, a given requirement.
When we get older we will likely do a lot fewer miles and perhaps the next purchase will be an EV.
You are right about horses - I just wish someone had told me before I bought one (mugged off!) that didn't like running!
My daughter recently aquired a tesla 3 through work. Mileage meant to be 300+ went to Eastbourne from Herne Bay and had to recharge to get home. Not very practical
Seems like some important facts are missing. How old is the Tesla and what was the battery charge when she set off ?
Regarding infrastructure, EVs are something like 40% heavier. Think of the issues that creates for ferries, bridges, general road wear and tear. Where is the joined up / long term thinking on all of this? 🤔
40% is a very good number to use if you want to scare people from getting an EV or just want to give them an excuse not to make the jump.
My research suggests it is a greatly inflated number and slightly heavier EVs present no real problems. Certainly I can report that, despite being parked in the outermost lane of the IoW ferry, we kept an even keel !
The biggest issue I can see with a en mass switch to EV’s still come down to charging for literally millions of people. I just Google Earthed a typical (?) suburban street and for those who want to check it’s Melling Street in Plumstead which is incidentally where my father in law lives. I counted the lampposts on either side of the street and the total is six. Given that lampposts are seen as a way of providing on street charging points in addition to dedicated charging points, I don’t see how it helps much. How would someone living in one of the terraced houses in that typical street hope to charge their EV ? Lampost charging would be chaos with cars competing for the space to charge and how exactly would people charge vehicles from a charging point from their property even if it was practical to have one fitted. These are not small issues that need resolving but massive issues that are duplicated up and down the country for millions and millions of car owners.
The biggest issue I can see with a en mass switch to EV’s still come down to charging for literally millions of people. I just Google Earthed a typical (?) suburban street and for those who want to check it’s Melling Street in Plumstead which is incidentally where my father in law lives. I counted the lampposts on either side of the street and the total is six. Given that lampposts are seen as a way of providing on street charging points in addition to dedicated charging points, I don’t see how it helps much. How would someone living in one of the terraced houses in that typical street hope to charge their EV ? Lampost charging would be chaos with cars competing for the space to charge and how exactly would people charge vehicles from a charging point from their property even if it was practical to have one fitted. These are not small issues that need resolving but massive issues that are duplicated up and down the country for millions and millions of car owners.
If everyone switched today it would be a disaster, not just for existing infrastructure but for the knock on short term environmental effect. It wouldn't make sense and needs phasing, the question being at what rate the transition is optimal for both.
The biggest issue I can see with a en mass switch to EV’s still come down to charging for literally millions of people. I just Google Earthed a typical (?) suburban street and for those who want to check it’s Melling Street in Plumstead which is incidentally where my father in law lives. I counted the lampposts on either side of the street and the total is six. Given that lampposts are seen as a way of providing on street charging points in addition to dedicated charging points, I don’t see how it helps much. How would someone living in one of the terraced houses in that typical street hope to charge their EV ? Lampost charging would be chaos with cars competing for the space to charge and how exactly would people charge vehicles from a charging point from their property even if it was practical to have one fitted. These are not small issues that need resolving but massive issues that are duplicated up and down the country for millions and millions of car owners.
Can't the terraced house/non driveway plebs make do with public transport?
If you can't afford a proper abode, you have no right to use the new EV technology.
Was actively considering switching to an EV when I change my car in probably March. I’ve now decided against it, at least for the next change. For every positive comment I’m reading, I seem to read at least two negatives. I’m not convinced personally by the range or requirements of infrastructure at present and I’m hoping and assuming both will continue to improve before the car change after this next one. Probably rubbish but I can’t help thinking that the total switch to EV is not going to be smooth or popular.
Can’t argue with your conclusion but then how was the change from the horse to the car?
In terms of comfort, speed, distance, looking after the animal ie feeding, bedding and stable it was a very easy change
The problem now is people have to reevaluate being able to go for 300/400 miles on a tank full of fuel with a 5 minute stop to refuel to finding a charger and waiting for it to charge.
This and a number of other issues will hold me back and no doubt many others
My thoughts exactly. I'm a reasonably fit 67 year old and my wife and I plan to do a lot of traveling in the UK (so much to see that we haven't seen) and the ease of adding 400+ miles to a range in 5 minutes is, from a selfish perspective, a given requirement.
When we get older we will likely do a lot fewer miles and perhaps the next purchase will be an EV.
You are right about horses - I just wish someone had told me before I bought one (mugged off!) that didn't like running!
No sympathy, you made a good living out of people who liked horses that couldn’t run 😁
The biggest issue I can see with a en mass switch to EV’s still come down to charging for literally millions of people. I just Google Earthed a typical (?) suburban street and for those who want to check it’s Melling Street in Plumstead which is incidentally where my father in law lives. I counted the lampposts on either side of the street and the total is six. Given that lampposts are seen as a way of providing on street charging points in addition to dedicated charging points, I don’t see how it helps much. How would someone living in one of the terraced houses in that typical street hope to charge their EV ? Lampost charging would be chaos with cars competing for the space to charge and how exactly would people charge vehicles from a charging point from their property even if it was practical to have one fitted. These are not small issues that need resolving but massive issues that are duplicated up and down the country for millions and millions of car owners.
I think this is a massive advantage China has and why EV cars have been so easily switched to here, almost everyone living in an urban area will live in a high rise, I live in a 32 floor building in a complex of 50 buildings, with large gardens, ponds etc. Under the entire (very large) complex is a full 3 story car park with every resident having their own car parking space, with an electric charging point installed for free upon purchase of a (very heavily subsidised) EV.
Now whilst I do live in a rather ‘nice’ neighbourhood the individual car parking space is pretty much standard across any estate build within the last 10/15 year (and that’s most of them in the city)
The biggest issue I can see with a en mass switch to EV’s still come down to charging for literally millions of people. I just Google Earthed a typical (?) suburban street and for those who want to check it’s Melling Street in Plumstead which is incidentally where my father in law lives. I counted the lampposts on either side of the street and the total is six. Given that lampposts are seen as a way of providing on street charging points in addition to dedicated charging points, I don’t see how it helps much. How would someone living in one of the terraced houses in that typical street hope to charge their EV ? Lampost charging would be chaos with cars competing for the space to charge and how exactly would people charge vehicles from a charging point from their property even if it was practical to have one fitted. These are not small issues that need resolving but massive issues that are duplicated up and down the country for millions and millions of car owners.
Was actively considering switching to an EV when I change my car in probably March. I’ve now decided against it, at least for the next change. For every positive comment I’m reading, I seem to read at least two negatives. I’m not convinced personally by the range or requirements of infrastructure at present and I’m hoping and assuming both will continue to improve before the car change after this next one. Probably rubbish but I can’t help thinking that the total switch to EV is not going to be smooth or popular.
Can’t argue with your conclusion but then how was the change from the horse to the car?
Slow, somebody had to walk in front of it with a red flag I believe 😁
The weight of them is becoming an issue in car parks. The scrunching and chewing up of the surface from EVs turning without moving at any pace.
Its presented an opportunity for one of my mates who sells an elastic-tarmac product but thats only being bought by people that give a shit about potholes in their car park
Bit the bullet. Bought an IONIQ 6 EV. 10 months old. Fantastic drive, smooth, quiet and with rapid acceleration. Hyundai deal at the moment you get a home charger fitted by Ohme for free as part of the deal. Still not sure about EVs but I'm giving it a go.
The weight of them is becoming an issue in car parks. The scrunching and chewing up of the surface from EVs turning without moving at any pace.
Its presented an opportunity for one of my mates who sells an elastic-tarmac product but thats only being bought by people that give a shit about potholes in their car park
'analysis found that any extra wear is “overwhelmingly caused by large vehicles – buses, heavy goods vehicles”. Road wear from cars and motorcycles is “so low that this immaterial”, they said.
'However, in the longer term, the assumption that electric cars will always be heavier is also open to question. Auke Hoekstra, an energy transition researcher at the Eindhoven University of Technology, estimates that batteries are cramming twice as much energy into the same weight every decade. If that continues, the weight problem will disappear before it has started.
T&E’s Mathieu said governments should incentivise smaller cars through policies such as taxes and parking charges. That would have benefits far beyond road wear: it would use fewer resources, limit carbon emissions, and make car park scrapes less likely.
“It is not inevitable that EVs are much heavier” than internal combustion engine cars, Mathieu said. “We can and should shift from [internal combustion engines] to EVs, while at the same time reversing the SUV trend.”
The verdict
Extra weight from electric cars could cause some problems at the margins, and in the short-term. However, most EV drivers are unlikely to ever experience problems directly.
Some car park owners may be affected, and if electric trucks are heavier when they become widespread that could add to road maintenance costs.
But almost all of the direct costs will be borne by infrastructure maintenance budgets. The ECIU’s Walker said concerns about extra weight for EVs were simply “massively overstated”. However, he added that carmakers do have a responsibility to produce smaller electric cars, after years of focusing on the most profitable SUVs.
The extra weight of electric cars is not likely to accelerate the destruction of roads, bridges and car parks. Weight concerns threaten to be a distraction from the ultimate prize: cutting carbon emissions to net zero.
Potholes
'Motoring organisations The AA, RAC and FairCharge have hit back at claims that the weight of electric vehicles is responsible for a decline in the quality of roads.
According to the latest Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey report by the Asphalt Industry Alliance more than half of the local road network in England and Wales is reported to have less than 15 years’ structural life left, with the amount needed to fix the backlog of carriageway repairs increasing to a record high of £16.3 billion.
Following the publication of the report some national media outlets have put the blame for the deteriorating road network on heavier electric vehicles and larger cars which they say are helping push Britain’s crumbling roads to ‘breaking point’. This is despite the ALARM survey not even mentioning electric vehicles at all.
According to one report “EVs cause twice as much stress on tarmac because they greatly outweigh their petrol or diesel equivalents”.
The RAC’s Head of Policy Simon Williams labelled the assertion that EVs are partly to blame for the poor quality of the UK’s roads as “misguided”.
He said: “A long-term lack of investment in local roads from central government is unquestionably the cause as this has led to a 45% reduction in maintenance carried out by councils in England in the last five years alone.
“Shockingly, government data shows 60% of English councils didn’t carry out any life-extending surface dressing work on their roads in the 2022/23 financial year which means existing defects have simply been left to deteriorate. If water gets into any cracks in the road and freezing conditions follow, surfaces crumble and potholes appear as vehicles of any weight pass over them.
“Any attempt to say the weight of EVs is responsible for a decline in the quality of our roads is a distraction from the reality that our roads have been neglected for too long. We badly need to start treating our roads like the national assets they are, instead of poring good money after bad by just filling potholes which are, of course, purely the symptom of a far deeper problem.”
Edmund King, AA President, said the recent headlines “beggared belief”.
He said: “The current state of the roads is due to years of underspending, sub-standard repairs, roads only being resurfaced every 80 years, and all of this exacerbated by record rainfall over the last nine months. To suggest that the one million EVs on the roads, out of 41.3 million licensed vehicles, are to blame for the potholes is barking. Obviously 44 tonne trucks can add to wear and tear, but it is estimated that on average an EV is about 300lbs heavier than a comparable petrol car, that is the weight of one heavy passenger.
“Perhaps the next headline should be ‘heavy passengers cause potholes. It beggars belief.”
Quentin Willson, motoring broadcaster and Founder of FairCharge, said:
“The notion that heavier electric cars are causing a pothole crisis on our roads makes no sense at all. What about all the vans, trucks, fuel tankers, car transporters and 44 tonne HGVs – not to mention all the two tonne SUVs? EVs are definitely not the heaviest vehicles on our roads by a massive margin. This is just another nonsensical EV myth.”
Craig Andrews, Technical Director for leading highway and runway maintenance specialist Foster Contracting, said:
“The failing UK road network is nothing to do with electric vehicles. It’s decades of under funding before EVs ever hit the roads. Cars of any kind have very little impact on a pavement. It’s the HGVs that cause the stress and do the damage.”
Colin Walker, Head of Transport at the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit, said:
“Attempts to pin the blame for the UK’s pothole problems on electric vehicles shows that media misinformation about EVs isn’t going away. Rather than making alarmist and unevidenced claims, wouldn’t it be better if our media used its influence to help its readers access the benefits and savings that come from EV ownership? After all, EVs can save their owners as much as £1,300 a year to run – handy savings in the midst of a cost of living crisis. And, increasingly powered by electricity from British windfarms rather than oil imported from abroad, EVs can help secure our energy independence and protect us from future global price shocks.”
Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) Chair Rick Green commented:
“Our Annual Local Authority Road Maintenace (ALARM) survey reports are based on both qualitative and quantitative feedback received from those responsible for maintaining them and have for many years highlighted the link between highway maintenance funding and the condition of the local road network.
“ALARM 2024, once again, reports that local authorities don’t have the funds to keep the carriageway to their own target conditions and that lack of investment is the reason for continued deterioration and a network in decline.
“Reasons identified by local authority engineers needing to deal with unforeseen costs included rising traffic volumes and increased average vehicle weights on a deteriorating network. Feedback received from local highway authorities (LHAs) indicates a perception that there may be an impact due to heavier vehicles (with whatever drivetrain) especially on evolved, unclassified roads that would not have been designed to deal with today’s larger and heavier vehicles, let alone HGVs’ total and axle weights.'
The biggest issue I can see with a en mass switch to EV’s still come down to charging for literally millions of people. I just Google Earthed a typical (?) suburban street and for those who want to check it’s Melling Street in Plumstead which is incidentally where my father in law lives. I counted the lampposts on either side of the street and the total is six. Given that lampposts are seen as a way of providing on street charging points in addition to dedicated charging points, I don’t see how it helps much. How would someone living in one of the terraced houses in that typical street hope to charge their EV ? Lampost charging would be chaos with cars competing for the space to charge and how exactly would people charge vehicles from a charging point from their property even if it was practical to have one fitted. These are not small issues that need resolving but massive issues that are duplicated up and down the country for millions and millions of car owners.
Can't the terraced house/non driveway plebs make do with public transport?
If you can't afford a proper abode, you have no right to use the new EV technology.
keep it for the elite.
I live in a terraced street where there are quite a few EVs. Every lampost has been adapted with a charger, but a lot of owners run a cable out overnight. They put a cover over the cable, and don't drape the cable as shown in the photo above.
Regarding infrastructure, EVs are something like 40% heavier. Think of the issues that creates for ferries, bridges, general road wear and tear. Where is the joined up / long term thinking on all of this? 🤔
Where did you hear that @Weegie Addick? Ev's are actually around 15% heavier than their ICE equivalents, currently:
Hyundai Kona: ICE 1450kgs EV 1615 kgs (11% increase) Genesis G80: ICE 2023kgs EV 2325 kgs (15% increase) Genesis GV70: ICE 2038kgs EV 2310 kgs (13% increase) Volvo XC 40: ICE 1760kgs EV 2001 kgs (14% increase)
The biggest issue I can see with a en mass switch to EV’s still come down to charging for literally millions of people. I just Google Earthed a typical (?) suburban street and for those who want to check it’s Melling Street in Plumstead which is incidentally where my father in law lives. I counted the lampposts on either side of the street and the total is six. Given that lampposts are seen as a way of providing on street charging points in addition to dedicated charging points, I don’t see how it helps much. How would someone living in one of the terraced houses in that typical street hope to charge their EV ? Lampost charging would be chaos with cars competing for the space to charge and how exactly would people charge vehicles from a charging point from their property even if it was practical to have one fitted. These are not small issues that need resolving but massive issues that are duplicated up and down the country for millions and millions of car owners.
Can't the terraced house/non driveway plebs make do with public transport?
If you can't afford a proper abode, you have no right to use the new EV technology.
keep it for the elite.
I live in a terraced street where there are quite a few EVs. Every lampost has been adapted with a charger, but a lot of owners run a cable out overnight. They put a cover over the cable, and don't drape the cable as shown in the photo above.
Surely people can pay an electrician and / or build to run a cable from the house to the road in a small trench. Might cost the same as a couple of full tanks of petrol!
The biggest issue I can see with a en mass switch to EV’s still come down to charging for literally millions of people. I just Google Earthed a typical (?) suburban street and for those who want to check it’s Melling Street in Plumstead which is incidentally where my father in law lives. I counted the lampposts on either side of the street and the total is six. Given that lampposts are seen as a way of providing on street charging points in addition to dedicated charging points, I don’t see how it helps much. How would someone living in one of the terraced houses in that typical street hope to charge their EV ? Lampost charging would be chaos with cars competing for the space to charge and how exactly would people charge vehicles from a charging point from their property even if it was practical to have one fitted. These are not small issues that need resolving but massive issues that are duplicated up and down the country for millions and millions of car owners.
Can't the terraced house/non driveway plebs make do with public transport?
If you can't afford a proper abode, you have no right to use the new EV technology.
keep it for the elite.
I live in a terraced street where there are quite a few EVs. Every lampost has been adapted with a charger, but a lot of owners run a cable out overnight. They put a cover over the cable, and don't drape the cable as shown in the photo above.
Surely people can pay an electrician and / or build to run a cable from the house to the road in a small trench. Might cost the same as a couple of full tanks of petrol!
No way, you can't just be digging up footpaths regardless of the good intentions. Footpaths are already chock full of underground cables and pipes and you need that electrician or whoever is wanted to dig that cable in to apply for a streetwork permit and be responsible for a guarantee on the reinstatement of the footpath. Local councils have a hard enough job getting major players in the utility game to reattend sites where they have fucked up the reinstatement let alone any electrician who decides to branch into this
Comments
The problem now is people have to reevaluate being able to go for 300/400 miles on a tank full of fuel with a 5 minute stop to refuel to finding a charger and waiting for it to charge.
This and a number of other issues will hold me back and no doubt many others
If you can't afford a proper abode, you have no right to use the new EV technology.
keep it for the elite.
Slow, somebody had to walk in front of it with a red flag I believe 😁
Its presented an opportunity for one of my mates who sells an elastic-tarmac product but thats only being bought by people that give a shit about potholes in their car park
'However, in the longer term, the assumption that electric cars will always be heavier is also open to question. Auke Hoekstra, an energy transition researcher at the Eindhoven University of Technology, estimates that batteries are cramming twice as much energy into the same weight every decade. If that continues, the weight problem will disappear before it has started.
T&E’s Mathieu said governments should incentivise smaller cars through policies such as taxes and parking charges. That would have benefits far beyond road wear: it would use fewer resources, limit carbon emissions, and make car park scrapes less likely.
“It is not inevitable that EVs are much heavier” than internal combustion engine cars, Mathieu said. “We can and should shift from [internal combustion engines] to EVs, while at the same time reversing the SUV trend.”
The verdict
Extra weight from electric cars could cause some problems at the margins, and in the short-term. However, most EV drivers are unlikely to ever experience problems directly.
Some car park owners may be affected, and if electric trucks are heavier when they become widespread that could add to road maintenance costs.
But almost all of the direct costs will be borne by infrastructure maintenance budgets. The ECIU’s Walker said concerns about extra weight for EVs were simply “massively overstated”. However, he added that carmakers do have a responsibility to produce smaller electric cars, after years of focusing on the most profitable SUVs.
The extra weight of electric cars is not likely to accelerate the destruction of roads, bridges and car parks. Weight concerns threaten to be a distraction from the ultimate prize: cutting carbon emissions to net zero.
Potholes
'Motoring organisations The AA, RAC and FairCharge have hit back at claims that the weight of electric vehicles is responsible for a decline in the quality of roads.
According to the latest Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey report by the Asphalt Industry Alliance more than half of the local road network in England and Wales is reported to have less than 15 years’ structural life left, with the amount needed to fix the backlog of carriageway repairs increasing to a record high of £16.3 billion.
Following the publication of the report some national media outlets have put the blame for the deteriorating road network on heavier electric vehicles and larger cars which they say are helping push Britain’s crumbling roads to ‘breaking point’. This is despite the ALARM survey not even mentioning electric vehicles at all.
According to one report “EVs cause twice as much stress on tarmac because they greatly outweigh their petrol or diesel equivalents”.
The RAC’s Head of Policy Simon Williams labelled the assertion that EVs are partly to blame for the poor quality of the UK’s roads as “misguided”.
He said: “A long-term lack of investment in local roads from central government is unquestionably the cause as this has led to a 45% reduction in maintenance carried out by councils in England in the last five years alone.
“Shockingly, government data shows 60% of English councils didn’t carry out any life-extending surface dressing work on their roads in the 2022/23 financial year which means existing defects have simply been left to deteriorate. If water gets into any cracks in the road and freezing conditions follow, surfaces crumble and potholes appear as vehicles of any weight pass over them.
“Any attempt to say the weight of EVs is responsible for a decline in the quality of our roads is a distraction from the reality that our roads have been neglected for too long. We badly need to start treating our roads like the national assets they are, instead of poring good money after bad by just filling potholes which are, of course, purely the symptom of a far deeper problem.”
Edmund King, AA President, said the recent headlines “beggared belief”.
He said: “The current state of the roads is due to years of underspending, sub-standard repairs, roads only being resurfaced every 80 years, and all of this exacerbated by record rainfall over the last nine months. To suggest that the one million EVs on the roads, out of 41.3 million licensed vehicles, are to blame for the potholes is barking. Obviously 44 tonne trucks can add to wear and tear, but it is estimated that on average an EV is about 300lbs heavier than a comparable petrol car, that is the weight of one heavy passenger.
“Perhaps the next headline should be ‘heavy passengers cause potholes. It beggars belief.”
Quentin Willson, motoring broadcaster and Founder of FairCharge, said:
“The notion that heavier electric cars are causing a pothole crisis on our roads makes no sense at all. What about all the vans, trucks, fuel tankers, car transporters and 44 tonne HGVs – not to mention all the two tonne SUVs? EVs are definitely not the heaviest vehicles on our roads by a massive margin. This is just another nonsensical EV myth.”
Craig Andrews, Technical Director for leading highway and runway maintenance specialist Foster Contracting, said:
“The failing UK road network is nothing to do with electric vehicles. It’s decades of under funding before EVs ever hit the roads. Cars of any kind have very little impact on a pavement. It’s the HGVs that cause the stress and do the damage.”
Colin Walker, Head of Transport at the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit, said:
“Attempts to pin the blame for the UK’s pothole problems on electric vehicles shows that media misinformation about EVs isn’t going away. Rather than making alarmist and unevidenced claims, wouldn’t it be better if our media used its influence to help its readers access the benefits and savings that come from EV ownership? After all, EVs can save their owners as much as £1,300 a year to run – handy savings in the midst of a cost of living crisis. And, increasingly powered by electricity from British windfarms rather than oil imported from abroad, EVs can help secure our energy independence and protect us from future global price shocks.”
Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) Chair Rick Green commented:
“Our Annual Local Authority Road Maintenace (ALARM) survey reports are based on both qualitative and quantitative feedback received from those responsible for maintaining them and have for many years highlighted the link between highway maintenance funding and the condition of the local road network.
“ALARM 2024, once again, reports that local authorities don’t have the funds to keep the carriageway to their own target conditions and that lack of investment is the reason for continued deterioration and a network in decline.
“Reasons identified by local authority engineers needing to deal with unforeseen costs included rising traffic volumes and increased average vehicle weights on a deteriorating network. Feedback received from local highway authorities (LHAs) indicates a perception that there may be an impact due to heavier vehicles (with whatever drivetrain) especially on evolved, unclassified roads that would not have been designed to deal with today’s larger and heavier vehicles, let alone HGVs’ total and axle weights.'
Where did you hear that @Weegie Addick?
Ev's are actually around 15% heavier than their ICE equivalents, currently:
Hyundai Kona: ICE 1450kgs EV 1615 kgs (11% increase)
Genesis G80: ICE 2023kgs EV 2325 kgs (15% increase)
Genesis GV70: ICE 2038kgs EV 2310 kgs (13% increase)
Volvo XC 40: ICE 1760kgs EV 2001 kgs (14% increase)
And battery weights are falling.