An article by Recurrent’s Liz Najman last winter, EV range anxiety afflicts this group of people the most, busted one of EV’s most persistent myths. The fear that EVs will leave you stranded by the side of the road instills such “range anxiety” in drivers that no one would ever want an EV.
Najman’s article reflects my own experience having driven electric for nearly a decade now, and the experience of the drivers I am in contact with. Once you’re in the driver’s seat, range anxiety decreases in direct relationship to how much you drive electric. On one of our last road trips, it only dawned on me well into the drive that I hadn’t done the detailed trip planning I once did. The car’s range is long enough, and the number of charge stations—at least here in California—is frequent enough that I didn’t bother to think much about it before heading out. (See 400 Mile EV Road Trip–without a Spreadsheet!, and Familiarity brings Confidence–300-Mile Day Trip in an EV on a Whim.)
So let’s let Najman speak for herself based on analysis of the EVs and EV drivers in Recurrent’s extensive database.
“It turns out that range anxiety is highest for people who don’t yet own their first EV, and generally decreases with experience. . .
“In truth, almost no one gets stranded in their EV. In one study, while more than 60% of drivers “never get close” to running out of charge, only 8% of drivers ever have. Plug-in America has similar stats going back as far as 2015, when charging infrastructure was nearly non-existent and the only mass market EVs were the LEAF and Model S. Of these early adopters, only 12% and 3%, respectively, ever ran out of charge.”
EV drivers do occasionally get stranded. As Najman explains, “It’s worth noting that of the drivers who have been stranded, there are some multiple offenders, which suggests that it’s more of a personality trait than a technological flaw. These drivers are probably like my dad: someone who also runs out of gas in their ICE car with some regularity.”
Again, this reflects my experience. I know of one EV driver who deliberately stranded herself so that AAA would tow her car to the nearest EV charge station, which was also her destination. This was back in the day when there were no charge stations on her route and her destination was beyond the range of Chevy’s Bolt. That wouldn’t happen today. That route is now fully served by DCFC stations.
Similarly, I’ve noted that drivers of combustion vehicles also have range anxiety. In one field trip to a remote part of the San Andreas Fault, two combustion vehicle drivers panicked at the midpoint and abandoned the trip to find the nearest gas station. I was driving a Bolt and didn’t have any problem as I’d planned ahead.
Here are few articles on the topic.
