The drain strain

Whilst I can see that electric vehicles may have a role to play in displacing pollution from cities like London to places like Didcot and Ferrybridge, I think we need to question whether or not these vehicles are safe to be used on dual carriageways. To join the A46 north bound outside Warwick there is a short downhill slip road from a roundabout. As I turned onto this, I found myself behind a small car which proceeded down the slip road at about 55 mph keeping well ahead of a large truck, doing the same speed, about 200 yards back on the carriage way. Thinking this to be an ordinary car, I got behind it, expecting to join the carriageway without a problem. However, when the car reached the crossing line where the road becomes level, its speed slowed gradually to about 45 mph, despite the desperate attempts of its grimacing driver. I had to choose between an emergency stop at the end of the slip road or forcing my way in between the electric car and the rapidly closing truck. Rightly or wrongly I chose the latter course and had one of my most un-nerving experiences in 20 years of motoring. The Highway Code states that when joining dual carriageways a driver is expected to reach the speed of the traffic on the carriage way. This car certainly proved incapable of that. I believe vehicles like this should be constrained to 30mph areas or, at the very least, clearly marked up with orange paint so that other drivers can give them special consideration.

Asked on 1 October 2011 by BD, via e-mail

Answered by Honest John
It's the first time this point has been raised in an e-mail to the column, but it's a very valid point. Liability would rest with the driver of the electric car in the same way that it does when a car runs out of petrol on a motorway. ‘Range Anxiety’ is the worry of anyone running a purely electric car.
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