Posted on 12/18/2022 2:30:56 PM PST by Libloather
Multi-storey and underground car parks could collapse under the weight of electric vehicles, engineers have warned.
Electric cars, which are roughly twice as heavy as standard models, could cause ‘catastrophic’ damage, according to the British Parking Association (BPA), which wants local authorities to conduct urgent structural surveys.
Most of the nation’s 6,000 multi-storey and underground facilities were built according to guidance based on the weight of popular cars of 1976, including the Mk 3 Ford Cortina.
But the electric cars currently on the UK market are far bulkier. For instance, the best-selling Tesla Model 3 weighs 2.2 tons fully loaded, making it more than 50 per cent heavier than a 1.4-tonne Cortina.
Structural engineer Chris Whapples, a member of the BPA which represents car-park owners, said: ‘If a vehicle is heavier than the car park was originally designed for, the effects could be catastrophic. We’ve not had an incident yet, but I suspect it is only a matter of time.
‘We have recommended that a loading check is performed on all older car parks. And the industry is responding.’
Electric vehicles are heavier predominantly because of the batteries used to power them, and the reinforced framework and suspension needed to accommodate them.
‘All the internal components make these batteries very, very heavy,’ said Mr Whapples. ‘Nowadays, the battery forms the underfloor of most EVs. It’s contained over virtually the entire footprint of the vehicle, from axle to axle.’
Electric cars have soared in popularity in recent years. Today there are an estimated 620,000 on the road in the UK, and 440,000 plug-in hybrids which use both petrol and electric.
One in ten new cars sold in 2021 was electric, while a further seven per cent were hybrid.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Over the river and through the bridge, to grandmother’s house we go...
If that is the case, then these EV peeps need to be charged road taxes just like trucks!
DUH!........
Only if you let it
This will be forgotten, but it will come true.
A Tesla weighs 4,400? My F-150 weighs 4,800. I think I’ll stay out of parking garages.
There’s something I’m not clear on. EVs have a huge, heavy battery - but they have no IC engine or radiator. Is the weight of an EV electric motor comparable to the weight of an IC engine and the associated components?
It must be about the same or else some of an IC battery weight - and hence some of the weight concerns - would be offset.
Where will the power come from? Where will the lithium come from? Where can these beasts be parked in big cities?
Plz see my #47. What do you think? Cause I don’t know.
“There’s something I’m not clear on. EVs have a huge, heavy battery - but they have no IC engine or radiator. Is the weight of an EV electric motor comparable to the weight of an IC engine and the associated components?”
Lithium Ion is, by far, the most efficient battery-based energy storage medium available for surface vehicles. But to have a decent range, it still takes a huge quantity of the batteries and thus a HUGE weight. I have no clue if their car parks will collapse, but if they do, they certainly weren’t built with much margin for heavier vehicles.
1,600 additional pounds for a light-duty truck is significant.
So, about the same as a Ford F-150? (4,069 to 5,697 pounds)
They should be charged extra for tearing up the roads and making it harder for the rest of us to get around
Or for that matter, a 1964 Lincoln Continental (5055 lbs)
And their braking distances will suffer from mysterious weights creating more dangerous automobiles but they won’t figure that out till it’s already happening because they’re too stupid to look that far ahead before they jump in with both feet
Monstrous Weights
“1,600 additional pounds for a light-duty truck is significant.”
Perhaps, but the MESSAGE it sends is FAR MORE significant, which is that the owner CARES and refuses to destroy the environment by driving a gasoline vehicle.
If more people CARED, the world would be a better place (even with car parks collapsing).
Deep States, plural, don’t care.
However, I'm having trouble believing today's EV's are heavier than cars from the 1970's (as the article states the standard for car weights were when the parking decks were designed).
Funny
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