Electric vehicles

[Terry - Somerset]

Sadly, pedestrians now don't have to take responsibility, due to recent changes, they have precedence in right of way over the car.
Still likely to end up over the car bonnet anyway though.

I think that pedestrian priority is applied with some common sense.

Deliberately (or even inattentively) stepping into the path of a vehicle which has insufficient time to react, stop or avoid would not render the car liable.

Priority is where a pedestrian has started to cross the road, waiting by a zebra crossing etc.

 

[John Brown]

I think that pedestrian priority is applied with some common sense.

Deliberately (or even inattentively) stepping into the path of a vehicle which has insufficient time to react, stop or avoid would not render the car liable.

Priority is where a pedestrian has started to cross the road, waiting by a zebra crossing etc.

The whole thing's ridiculous. Motorists should be allowed to run down pedestrians whenever the urge takes them, cyclists too. What's the world coming to?

 

[Sachakins]

I think that pedestrian priority is applied with some common sense.

Deliberately (or even inattentively) stepping into the path of a vehicle which has insufficient time to react, stop or avoid would not render the car liable.

Priority is where a pedestrian has started to cross the road, waiting by a zebra crossing etc.

Its not just at designated crossing zones now. 2022 update of highway code states:

Rule H2 applies to drivers, motorcyclists horse-drawn vehicles, horse riders and cyclists. It reads:

“At a junction you should give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road into which or from which you are turning.”

From January 2022 a pedestrian waiting to cross should be given priority. Previously, drivers were told to give way to pedestrians if they ‘have started crossing and traffic wants to turn into the road’. The change also appears in the revised Rule 170.

Rule H2 also advises drivers on pedestrian priority at zebra crossings. Rule 195 goes into more detail and tells us that drivers:

MUST give way when a pedestrian has moved onto a crossing
SHOULD give way when a pedestrian is waiting to cross
Although drivers are asked to give way more often, pedestrians still have a responsibility to cross safely. A new addition to Rule 8 makes it clear that pedestrians should ‘cross at a place where drivers can see you.’

 

[johnb80]

I think that pedestrian priority is applied with some common sense.

You would like to think so but sadly not.

The new Highway Code rule changes resulted from a public consultation that took place between July and October 2020 to improve road safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and horse riders alike. The consultation saw 20,000 respondents among the general public, businesses, and organisations who voted in favour of all the changes proposed.

The new changes have come into effect on the 28th of January 2022 and will need to be observed by all road users.

There are five new changes to take into consideration:

1. Hierarchy of Road Users

Three new rules have been introduced as part of this category:

Rule H1 (Danger on the Road): States that drivers are the ones who can cause the most significant harm in the event of a collision and that they bear the greatest responsibility when it comes to taking care of and reducing dangers to others around them.

Rule H2 (Pedestrians Crossing): Highlighting that at junctions, drivers should give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross on a road into which they are turning.

Deliberately (or even inattentively) stepping into the path of a vehicle which has insufficient time to react, stop or avoid would not render the car liable.

No doubt solicitors from both sides would be making money on this one.

Priority is where a pedestrian has started to cross the road, waiting by a zebra crossing etc.

Sadly not the case, common sense all gone.

 

[woodieallen]

Isn't the whole point of reducing emissions to make the air safer, not to mention the planet as a whole?

Other people's safety, rather than just yours.

I had a little wager as to who would pop up with this, some might say - trite, comment. I won my bet with myself.

 

[MikeJhn]

Standard on all of the EV's I've had / got. Really nice on a cold winters morning when neighbours are scraping their windows, ours are all defrosted, interior toasty.

And range reducing by the minute.

 

[John Brown]

I had a little wager as to who would pop up with this, some might say - trite, comment. I won my bet with myself.

Congratulations! You must feel justifiably smug!
I happen to have a problem with people who circumvent emissions control features, such as EGR, and Stop/start is, I believe, intended to reduce emissions.

 

[Vulcan]

And range reducing by the minute.

Not at all. It’s done while it’s on the drive still plugged in. 😉

Doing the same thing with an ICE car does of course reduce the range - unless you live at a Petrol Station. 🤣

 

[Vulcan]

Strange. One minute Volkswagen say they’re investing €150 Million on new Petrol engines and then they post stuff like this?! 😆

 

[AJB Temple]

Not at all. It’s done while it’s on the drive still plugged in. 😉

Doing the same thing with an ICE car does of course reduce the range - unless you live at a Petrol Station. 🤣

Spot on. The EV pre-warms the battery, heats the seats, heats air con to temp, heats steering wheel, demists the mirrors and all screens and windows. And can be programmed from your phone to do all this whilst you are still in bed. Brilliant.

 

[woodieallen]

Congratulations! You must feel justifiably smug!
...

Not really. Bored, yes.

 

[John Brown]

Not really. Bored, yes.

Yes, me too.

 

[johnb80]

And range reducing by the minute.

Nope, that doesnt happen, at home it's plugged in, if out and about makes hardly any difference. Consider the difference with ICE, running on rich mixture due to cold, running much longer needing to warm up to de-ice / heat interior. No contest.

 

[johnb80]

I had a little wager as to who would pop up with this, some might say - trite, comment. I won my bet with myself.

Good for you, well done................... who cares ?

 

[Terrytpot]

There should be legislation that every single damn (un)helpful 'feature' such as auto stop/start and lane assist should be able to be disabled and permanently. None of this having to re-disable it everytime you turn the damn thing on.

I suspect you’ll find that as far as the stop/start is concerned, it’s default position of “on” is so that they can tell the lies they do about the vehicles economy because if you change it to off as the default there’s absolutely no chance whatsoever of it getting anywhere near it’s claimed possible mileage ( not that having it turned on would make much difference but every little bit helps apparently).

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Are dealer prices really around £180 ph? I've not been to one in a while, i know about overheads but how can they justify that sort of money?

I knew of one charging £150 + vat - 30 years ago.

 

[Drifter2406]

I knew of one charging £150 + vat - 30 years ago.

Blimey, glad I service the van myself.

 

[MikeJhn]

I suspect you’ll find that as far as the stop/start is concerned, it’s default position of “on” is so that they can tell the lies they do about the vehicles economy because if you change it to off as the default there’s absolutely no chance whatsoever of it getting anywhere near it’s claimed possible mileage ( not that having it turned on would make much difference but every little bit helps apparently).

That is possibly the most skewed views put out there, you can't get any mileage with the engine off.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

I suspect you’ll find that as far as the stop/start is concerned, it’s default position of “on” is so that they can tell the lies they do about the vehicles economy because if you change it to off as the default there’s absolutely no chance whatsoever of it getting anywhere near it’s claimed possible mileage ( not that having it turned on would make much difference but every little bit helps apparently).

I dislike stop start.

I usually switch it off at the start of a journey or when it first activates. If I forget, the trip computer at the end of a normal journey shows that the SS has operated for perhaps one or two minutes.

The fuel saving from a minute or so of engine idling avoided trivial - idling for an hour in the average size car uses 1-2 litres. Financially it makes little sense - other components wear faster and replacement, batteries tend to be larger and more expensive.

The environmental argument may have some legs but even this is questionable - more fuel would be saved by moderating driving speeds by 1 or 2 mph on a motorway and avoiding unnecessarily fast acceleration that will ever be saved by a stop start system,

 

[Terrytpot]

I dislike stop start.


The fuel saving from a minute or so of engine idling avoided trivial - idling for an hour in the average size car uses 1-2 litres. Financially it makes little sense - other components wear faster and replacement, batteries tend to be larger and more expensive.

The environmental argument may have some legs but even this is questionable - more fuel would be saved by moderating driving speeds by 1 or 2 mph on a motorway and avoiding unnecessarily fast acceleration that will ever be saved by a stop start system,

Ok , for some reason you dislike Stop-Start technology , let’s move on to your other points.

Taking your suggested 1-2 lts of fuel saved at a cost of £1.50-£3.00 (average of current fuel price) for an hr of just idling in the average car seems fairly plausible.

Saying other components wear faster could be conceived as a bit of a stretch though when all you’re using is current from the battery and the starter motor, both of which are as you pointed out “beefed up” to cope with the additional demand placed on them.

I agree fully that far more fuel can be saved by driving in a more efficient and economical manner and as such have to regularly undertake SAFED training as part of my job (Safe And Fuel Efficient Driving) as an HGV driver.

None of the above though address the fact that Auto manufacturers are trying to sell product and if they can advertise that theirs can hit benchmarks that consumers desire then they’ll actively pursue that avenue and if that means including elements that some buyers don’t like , well there are other choices available.