Tag: driving

Some Issues with Electric Vehicles, 95 Issues in Total, in Fact!

Safety:

  1. Fires in EVs are particularly dangerous because they burn at very high temperatures, usually emit toxic gases and are difficult to extinguish. EV drivers and passengers have been killed in such fires. [Sources: multiple media reports and video recordings of incidents]
  2. Most instrumentation in EVs is via large touch-screen systems that are not in the driver’s eye line (i.e. they must look sideways). Many are also touchscreens, which means that certain information must be read and then a hand taken off the steering wheel to select some option. These are a serious distraction for drivers. [Source: Advertising for certain EVs]
  3. Driver stress in EVs is far higher than ICE cars. Will they reach their target recharging station? Will it be operating when they arrive? Maybe they’ll even put themselves in discomfort by turning off the air-conditioning to try to get to the recharge point, but that might threaten their health on very cold or very hot days. [Source: Logical consequence of other points mentioned below.]
  4. Public recharging stations are often not manned and even a fast charge typically takes around 40 minutes. This situation can put personal safety at risk, especially if recharging late at night. [Source: personal experience provides anecdotal evidence]
  5. EV owners can have little confidence that their vehicle will be available to respond to an emergency at any time of day even over a relatively short distance. [Source: logical consequence of battery drainage and patterns of recharging.]
  6. Most EVs can accelerate much faster than ICE cars. This is a threat to the safety of drivers and the public. [Source: data on EV performance]
  7. The greater acceleration and greater mass mean greater tyre wear. EVs don’t emit CO2 but they cause much greater emission of rubber particulates, which are dangerous to human health. [Source: anecdotal evidence of tyre degradation]
  8. The greater mass of EVs compared to ICE vehicles means that in a collision between the two types of vehicles, the ICE vehicle is going to suffer more damage, which means an increased safety risk for ICE drivers. [Source: Logical consequence based on physics]
  9. The cars are very quiet, which poses a problem for the blind or visually impaired who rely on vehicle noise, or more correctly its absence, to indicate when it’s safe to cross a road. [Source: Logical consequence of cars being very quiet.]
  10. Tests in the USA have shown that conventional guard rails along road sides will not stop an EV because these cars have greater mass than ICE cars and therefore greater momentum. EVs with batteries position very low tend to spear under the guard rail while EVs with higher batteries just push through the rail.

Financial, Fire, Weight, Insurance, and a bunch of other issues for Owners

click to see the whole list

It’s not the panacea they are leading us to believe. Give me a V-8, a diesel, or better yet, a V-12

My Observations On Road Rage And Driving, People Act Like Children

I’ve been driving between states and have noticed some trends.

Mostly, people are childish in their cars. They might be decent people, but as soon as they get behind the wheel, they revert to the playground.

It’s like they think they own the road.

Here is what I noticed.

I was merging onto a highway in a lane that had to go from two to one. I generally will let at least one car in and absolutely let a truck in to be decent. It used to be that way in the South. Yesterday, a Ford Escort sped up to try and not let me in. Little children are spiteful and try to have all the toys just to not let you have one.

I’ve written about how to merge in traffic so don’t mess with me. I also drive a truck. When I saw she was trying to be an asshole, I just kept merging and got in easily, but this is just where it started. She never had a chance as I just kept coming. The lane was ending and I didn’t have a choice. Of course I got in, but give me a break. Is it too much to ask to be nice?

I’ve learned that holding your speed and lane is generally just as fast as lane jumping. A few miles later, there were lane darters jumping across two lanes at a time on both sides just to get a few cars ahead. It’s just like children cutting in line just to be ahead of you, even if just by a place or two.

The problems with this are that it screws up traffic and caused a lot of people to hit the brakes. That is a traffic killer every time. I’ll give the Europeans this one. They know how to pass. It’s always on the left and if they are not fast, they drive in the right lanes.

The next childish behavior was people who don’t think the rules belong to them. The speed limit at the time was 70 and I get 75 MPH, but I was getting passed by people going at least 90. I have a brother in law that does this and I think that he’s a dick for being this impatient.

It’s proven that your probability of a crash or death goes up exponentially with speed above the limit.

I settled back to let them get away from me, half expecting them to be ticketed ahead or in a crash. I made good time and got to where I was going safely. I was glad to be done with it.

I could go on, but I’m sure everyone sees what I do and are either like me or like a child.

South Florida In One Gif

While I’m being sarcastic…..

When I lived there, this was the story almost every week. It was usually an 80+ year old grandmother who didn’t know how it happened. It got to where we weren’t even surprised, rather we’d just say, “well, there goes another one”.

They are the same drivers who get into the fast lane and go 5 MPH below the speed limit and don’t move. My friend called them nesters because they’d nest in the fast lane.

Introvert Driving

I get to make a long drive today. This is what it’s going to look like in feeling except I’m alone. I first thought that this guy was by himself, but I’ll pretend it’s his dog, who would probably be a helluva lot more quiet.

FWIW, I’m looking to get another truck after I’m through with my current car. I’ve enjoyed them every time I’ve owned one. You get to sit up high and see everything. You are also further away from others that way.

The partner next to me today will be no one. My company is an audible book. The title is Algorithm’s to live by, by Brian Christian. It is mind blowingly complex thinking, but really helps you in life and will turn your mind internally by a mile.

I do get to see the rest of my family and dog when I get there and look forward to it. I love them, but being alone lets me re-charge my social energy.

How To Properly Merge Into Traffic

Traffic 101, The Set Up On What The Battlefield Was

I learned the rules of the road in Miami during the Miami Vice days.

I had a 10 mile commute that took 1 hour because of traffic. There was basically one way from where I lived to where I worked. You could see any number of things on the ride. There were girls putting on make up, men shaving, people having sex (yes, not a typo) and a lot of people getting high on their way to work. Back then, the drugs came through South Florida, not Mexico. It was enjoyed with great gusto at the port of entry.

Getting in and out of traffic was difficult. Miami is just another Borough of New York driving wise. Florida drivers are close to the top of the list of worst in any state. Traffic, short tempers and the same freakin’ commute every damn day made them mean and short fused.

Road rage was way different. Instead of giving the finger and cussing someone out in your car all nice and protected, we saw guns come out a window on the road.

Here is a link to a road rage story in Miami where they are shooting at each other.

How I Learned To Merge

If you read all of the above, you got that there was a lot of drug money and expensive cars. Mine was not. My first lesson was to learn how to play chicken. Most people will finally back off if you are willing to sacrifice your car or make it look like you are.

Sure, like the picture you can go to the end of the line to get in, but what if the opportunity is not there?

—–> HERE IS YOUR BEST PIECE OF ADVICE.

Find the most expensive car in the line and merge on it. They will give way as they have more to lose. Don’t try it if you see them pull a pistol. I always liked Mercedes or Sports Cars. This excludes Ferrari’s because the druggies owned them. I aimed at the Merc’s or other big sedans. They were executives who didn’t want to let you in, but gave up easily.

——> NEXT PIECE OF ADVICE

Don’t make eye contact because you want them to think that you don’t see them, despite the fact that they are guiding a 3000 pound death machine capable of causing pain and damage potentially inches away from you. You might be nice or scared off by people like me if you see them. Conversely, if I didn’t want to let you in, I was willing to win the game of chicken from the other lane.

It’s like asking for forgiveness instead of permission. Just keep going. Pretend you don’t see them and barge in.

—–> A CHEAP MERGE, BUT DOESN’T GET YOU POINTS IN THE MERGE GAME

I’ll mention it because someone will call it out, but merge on the trucks nicely. Be decent about it and give them time to stop. They hate cars doing that and sometimes they can’t stop in time. Catch them on the acceleration because cars always win.

——> A DICK MOVE, BUT EFFECTIVE

You can always come in on a motorcycle, but what’s the sport of that. Coming in on a really expensive car with a person who looks like an asshole is a lot more satisfying.

—–> LADY DRIVER WARNING

Don’t come in if they are putting on makeup in the mirror. They won’t see you and you will sacrifice both cars. This is the one time you need to check first. I am more likely to go in on a female however as they are less aggressive. They can get way funnier when they get mad at you though, so the show sometimes is worth it. They give up too fast though

Living in the South

I don’t live in Miami anymore. I moved to the South. That sounds counter-intuitive but the South begins above Orlando and goes to about Virginia-ish. It mixes with the north from there. The reason I bring that up is that people are nice in the South. They let you in when you want to merge into traffic.

You just look at the other driver, ask with your hand if it’s ok and almost always you get let in. You wave when done and everyone feels good. Sure, it’s not the satisfaction of gaining seconds during a last dash merge, but I’m not in that big of a hurry anymore.

I got so used to letting people in, on a business trip in New York I tried to let someone in. They didn’t trust me so I realized I was supposed to cut them off. Once I did, they almost thanked me. See why people are happier in the south?

My traffic study skills show that staying in a lane can be just as fast as jumping all around. Merging skills are for when you are caught in a lane close and you have to get in. Don’t be a dick and tie up traffic for those few seconds.