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I'd have to drive 8 miles to use one, and if it was in use, the next one is over 100 miles away. It's fair to assume that these won't be charged from public supplies.

So would you rather people drive around in large engine diesels, or in electric vehicles?

In all honesty, it seems like an attitude of. "Oh well, he can afford it, he should pay". I can't afford a Tesla, or any other similar luxury vehicle, but I wouldn't consider an electric vehicle with no considerable tax savings. After all, they're far less practical than fossil fuel vehicles.

If manufacturers aren't able to sell the vehicles, then the development of the technology and infrastructure will be slow. It is a step backwards.

Of course, the other step backwards is the re-introduction of the "road fund" that the VED will be paid into for road maintenance, as it will bring back the argument of "we pay for the roads, you don't"
 

raleighnut

Legendary Member
Sadly electric vehicles don't remove emissions, they just move them somewhere else ATM.
 
Sadly electric vehicles don't remove emissions, they just move them somewhere else ATM.

Plus lithium is difficult to obtain, and process. Lithium is also a very rare commodity, and is difficult to recycle.

Electric vehicles have a long way to go certainly. But we need to do something to encourage people to subsidise the early technology.

After all, the rich guys who can afford the early technology are the ones who help drive it forward and provide a market for manufacturers to develop for until it becomes more mainstream. I think we still need to incentivise people to become early adopters.
 

fatblokish

Guru
Location
In bath
I drove a friends Tesla in the Netherlands yesterday. And now I really, really want one. The supercharger system is more extensive over there, indeed in Amsterdam there were a number of Tesla taxis.

One problem my friend has experienced is the surprise experienced by cyclists as a near silent car overtakes them. So at the moment it appears to be a choice between smoke and surprise.
 
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bozmandb9

Insert witty title here
Sadly electric vehicles don't remove emissions, they just move them somewhere else ATM.

Ah, I was waiting for that one. I know we don't see much of it, but you remember that big red thing in the sky? Seriously, clean production of plentiful energy is a broader problem. But you can guarantee that electricity emissions will not make your nigh street a dangerous place to breathe in (or engulf a group ride in a cloud of smoke!).

Separately, Elon Musk has a company which supplies solar panels on a fully funded (financed), basis in the USA, and he's developed a battery which will enable households to become energy independent (ie go off grid). The technology may not be perfect yet, but it's certainly going in the right direction. There are also solar films which are under development, which will be a much cheaper and convenient solution.

I think the idea about electric being as bad as ICE due to the fact that you still have to product the electricity, is a little jurassic, and belongs with Clarkson/ light entertainment.
 
One problem my friend has experienced is the surprise experienced by cyclists as a near silent car overtakes them. So at the moment it appears to be a choice between smoke and surprise.
The americans are addressing this by putting speakers under the bonnet. That is a bad idea, seeing as road noise has a death toll.

Imagine how nice cities will be with silent, exhaust-free cars that are self driven so don't remain blocking the street when they aren't being used.
 
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bozmandb9

Insert witty title here
The americans are addressing this by putting speakers under the bonnet. That is a bad idea, seeing as road noise has a death toll.

Imagine how nice cities will be with silent, exhaust-free cars that are self driven so don't remain blocking the street when they aren't being used.

Speakers may not be a bad idea. Instead of recorded engine noise or horn, there should just be an automated pleasant message! Morning, passing right, have a great ride.
 
Please could you quantify that?
http://bfy.tw/5ZzE
 

Ajax Bay

Guru
Location
East Devon
Researchers analysed data [of] levels of road traffic noise across different postcode areas, comparing this to deaths. Deaths were four per cent more common among adults and the elderly in areas with daytime road traffic noise of more than 60dB compared to areas with less than 55dB. The researchers say the deaths are most likely to be linked to heart or circulatory disease. They say this could be due to increased blood pressure, sleep problems and stress from the noise.

No causal link has been established in that study. Many other factors are likely to be factors in increased mortality in people living in different areas (eg socio-economic) between the many different postcodes. Also Simpson's Paradox.
 
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bozmandb9

Insert witty title here
Researchers analysed data [of] levels of road traffic noise across different postcode areas, comparing this to deaths. Deaths were four per cent more common among adults and the elderly in areas with daytime road traffic noise of more than 60dB compared to areas with less than 55dB. The researchers say the deaths are most likely to be linked to heart or circulatory disease. They say this could be due to increased blood pressure, sleep problems and stress from the noise.

No causal link has been established in that study. Many other factors are likely to be factors in increased mortality in people living in different areas (eg socio-economic) between the many different postcodes. Also Simpson's Paradox.

Three key words which mean that the study shows nothing but a correlation. Similar example, in areas with more crime, there are more Police. So Police cause crime right???
 
Researchers analysed data [of] levels of road traffic noise across different postcode areas, comparing this to deaths. Deaths were four per cent more common among adults and the elderly in areas with daytime road traffic noise of more than 60dB compared to areas with less than 55dB. The researchers say the deaths are most likely to be linked to heart or circulatory disease. They say this could be due to increased blood pressure, sleep problems and stress from the noise.

No causal link has been established in that study. Many other factors are likely to be factors in increased mortality in people living in different areas (eg socio-economic) between the many different postcodes. Also Simpson's Paradox.

Could it not be that busier roads, are also in more urban environments? I mean somebody living in a busy, noisy city centre, or on the side of a dual-carriage way. Most likely has a more stressful life compared to somebody living in a detached farm house.
 
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bozmandb9

Insert witty title here
Could it not be that busier roads, are also in more urban environments? I mean somebody living in a busy, noisy city centre, or on the side of a dual-carriage way. Most likely has a more stressful life compared to somebody living in a detached farm house.

Could it not be that more noise is a result of more traffic, and more traffic means more danger from traffic, and the association with noise is irrelevant, as I pointed out in my earlier post? A case of mixing up cause and effect? Traffic noise doesn't kill. Higher traffic density does (or did the study adjust for traffic density?).
 
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