Electric cars cause TWICE as much road damage as petrol ones
Discussion
The study referenced in the article seems to focus on the weight of EVs vs the IC equivalent as a factor in road wear, but the margins for additional weight factor of EVs sounds very contrived - yes, batteries are heavy but then you're not lugging a bit lump of an IC engine around. A quick Google shows a BMW 3 series having weights in the range 1,570 to 1,965 kg depending on the model, and a Tesla Model 3 (for example) as 1,726 to 1,847 kg - hardly a massive difference....
Timothy Bucktu said:
s1962a said:
We should just ban all EV's then. Job jobbed.
No no, no...first we must get everyone into EVs, THEN we declare them bad for the environment and 'encourage' everyone to buy the new thing.Zetec-S said:
What a load of clickbait s
te... although I guess it worked as I briefly scanned the article to confirm my suspicions 
What a surprise. it's based around an article in the Telegraph - they've been running a series of anti-EV reports recently, starting with the one which claimed EVs are too heavy for our car parks, but didn't mention that many of the SUVs which have been using them for decades are considerably heavier..te... although I guess it worked as I briefly scanned the article to confirm my suspicions When the article includes utter nonsense like this:-
t again.
DailyFail said:
Electric cars, which are roughly twice as heavy as standard models, could also cause serious damage to car park floors with especially older, unloved structures most at risk of buckling, experts have said.
They've also said the EV versions are, on average, 312kg heavier than the ICE. Surely that means the ICE only weighs 312kg and the EV 624kg? Or they could be spouting random bullst again.rscott said:
They've also said the EV versions are, on average, 312kg heavier than the ICE. Surely that means the ICE only weighs 312kg and the EV 624kg? Or they could be spouting random bullst again.
Considering how quick some EV's are, maybe the roads are getting chewed up by EV owners launching their car at every opportunity? t again.
First, an admission, I'm a fan of EVs.
Now thats out of the way, yes, EV's might be a touch heavier and technically I guess that has an impact.
A more honest headline might have been "New, safer cars cause TWICE as much road damage as older and much lighter ones that don't comply with modern crash safety standards or hundreds of kg of comfort and convenience features"
...given the roads and carparks mentioned were probably designed around accommodating Triumph Dolomites and Ford Cortina's and not 1600kg Toyota SUVs. Even pure petrol ones.
Now thats out of the way, yes, EV's might be a touch heavier and technically I guess that has an impact.
A more honest headline might have been "New, safer cars cause TWICE as much road damage as older and much lighter ones that don't comply with modern crash safety standards or hundreds of kg of comfort and convenience features"
...given the roads and carparks mentioned were probably designed around accommodating Triumph Dolomites and Ford Cortina's and not 1600kg Toyota SUVs. Even pure petrol ones.
Yes they put more wear on the roads.
BUT.
That wear is negligible. Road life/wear/design is measured in (tens of, or hundreds of) MSAs - or "Million Standard Axles". A "Standard Axle" is an HGV axle, and is around 8 tonnes. So a road could very realistically have a design life of 100 MSAs over 50 years.
The difference between a 1tonne and 2 tonne car, is so small you might as well not bother considering it, in the real world.
Weather conditions have far more of an impact on potholes.
BUT.
That wear is negligible. Road life/wear/design is measured in (tens of, or hundreds of) MSAs - or "Million Standard Axles". A "Standard Axle" is an HGV axle, and is around 8 tonnes. So a road could very realistically have a design life of 100 MSAs over 50 years.
The difference between a 1tonne and 2 tonne car, is so small you might as well not bother considering it, in the real world.
Weather conditions have far more of an impact on potholes.
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