Are we really ready for electric vehicles?
By Fleur
@Fleura (30541)
United Kingdom
July 14, 2023 7:10am CST
Everything is geared towards encouraging drivers to choose electric vehicles at the moment – from the promised/threatened phase-out of internal combustion engines to penalties for driving ‘polluting’ vehicles into cities. The government has pledged to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, which is only a few short years away. But are we really ready?
Not long ago there were very few electric vehicle chargers available, but then more started to appear and they were often under-utilised, but now we are starting to see the opposite.
When I stopped at motorway services a few days ago, I noticed four general electric chargers, three of which were in use, and six specialist Tesla chargers, all fully occupied, and before I even got out of my car another four Teslas drove in!
Before long I expect we will start to see queues at chargers, like at petrol stations – except that rather than having to wait just two or three minutes for someone else to fill up their car, drivers have to wait 30 or 40 minutes for the car in front to charge, and then the same length of time to charge their own. And if they go and get a drink or something while they wait their turn, will they lose their place in the queue?
As far as I can see there’s also nothing at all stopping someone simply pressing the ‘stop’ button or pulling out the charging cable from an unattended car left charging while the driver goes for a coffee, so any potential trouble makers could cause a lot of annoyance.
I’m just hoping my old car (18 years old and almost 150,000 miles) will keep going for several more years yet so I don’t have to make a decision about what to get next!
Would you buy an electric car right now?
All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2023.
13 people like this
14 responses
@LadyDuck (472114)
• Switzerland
14 Jul 23
I still see most charging stations empty. Electric cars are more expensive and they are not the best for Switzerland. Electric cars tend to use up a lot more energy going up a mountain, you risk to need to recharge and there are no charging stations close to you.
We bought a new car last year, not a electric, a traditional one. Cars older than 5 years were considered "polluting" and the tax to pay was so high that we decided to buy a new one.
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (160952)
• United States
22 Jul 23
At this point I am not sure that it will work well to have electric cars. It does seem a nuisance. And if you run out there is no taking a container to bring back enough fuel to get you somewhere.
1 person likes this
@jeanbug23 (992)
• Philippines
15 Jul 23
Electric bikes are everywhere here in the Philippines. They are even on the highways. But no electric cars yet. I think these e-bikes are practical but I believe they should avoid the highways because they are lighter and they might end up being blown away by large trucks and buses.
@arthurchappell (44998)
• Preston, England
18 Jul 23
@Fleura beeen a passenger in a few electric cars. I like them. I don't drive. I think more chargers will be set up as the demand for them grows
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137636)
• United States
15 Jul 23
I rarely see charging stations here. Maybe that's just in the more rural communities. But I'm often going to a doctor in a bigger city (over 150,000 people in the city where two of my doctors practice) and don't see charging stations there, either. (I did see a single car charging station in front of my landlord's office downtown when we paid rent a few days ago. But that's the only one I've seen. It had a cord for one vehicle.)
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (93898)
• United States
14 Jul 23
I don’t have the money for an electric car, and I never will. My 2002 Honda CRV is holding up well, and it only has 46,000 miles on it. I bought it used, and it should last me a very long time. Like you, I’m not sure what I will do when it eventually gives up the ghost. However, it would be a disaster if I was expected to someday buy an electric car. I appreciate the environmental reasons to do so, but a poor to middle class person just can’t swing that.
1 person likes this
@m_audrey6788 (58472)
• Germany
14 Jul 23
I can see here at our place electric cars are getting popular and chargers are available on most places. It is good because it saves a lot of gasoline but of course we still need some gasoline cars 
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (47667)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
14 Jul 23
Well, mobility scooters are electric, and I see more and more of them around, so a complete to electriic vehicles shouldn't be too much of a hassle. Some of the very first automobiles were electric but big oil bullied their way into our lives.
1 person likes this
@DWDavis (25805)
• United States
14 Jul 23
My problem with the current electric cars is that no one has figured out what to do with the millions of tons of toxic waste in the batteries when they run down and have to be replaced. Also, a little-known fact, the extra weight of electric cars compared to ICE cars means greater wear and tear on the roadways, and people who drive electric cars aren't paying anything in the way of fuel taxes, so they aren't contributing to the maintenance and upkeep of the roads.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (108144)
• Marion, Ohio
14 Jul 23
There is a push here for electric also. I know we don't have enough chargers in my area
1 person likes this
@Hannihar (130213)
• Israel
14 Jul 23
@Fleura
I have a mobility scooter and when I do not use it I charge it two times a week for 2 hours and if I use it I charge it overnight. I have seen electric cars where I live and they are very small. I would think somone claustrophic would not buy one. I like my mobility scooter even though it is not used on the highway and no insurance for it and it cannot go everywhere in Jerusalem so I stay away from places it cannot go to and concentrate on the ones that it can go to, Sorry, I got off track here and to answer your question I would not buy an electric car or any car. I am happy with my mobility scooter.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (181679)
• United States
14 Jul 23
No, I wouldn't buy an electric vehicle right now. I don't know of any charging stations in our area. I don't think we're ready for this. Enjoy your weekend.
1 person likes this
@arunima25 (87854)
• Bangalore, India
14 Jul 23
Not right now. I bought my latest car in 2019 and don't see any reason for going for a new car. But the chances are high that the next vehicle purchase would be an electric one. We have got few more charge stations in our apartment in the last few months. Earlier there were two for the seven electric vehicles in our apartment complex. Now there are about a dozen and we see more electric vehicles coming up.
1 person likes this
