Posted on 01/05/2022 9:23:44 AM PST by Renkluaf
h/t gringojay – An ice storm and accident stranded drivers in freezing conditions on the Virginia I-95 overnight on Monday. My question – what would have happened if they were all driving electric vehicles?
27-hour commute: Virginia officials pelted with questions after hundreds of drivers were stuck on I-95 overnight
Ryan W. MillerDoyle Rice USA TODAY
The winter storm blanketed several states in the mid-Atlantic and South on Monday, closing schools and causing power outages.
In Virginia, drivers were stranded in a 50-mile stretch of Interstate 95 near Fredericksburg overnight. Five deaths across three states were caused by the weather.
Ice and snow stranded hundreds of drivers on Interstate 95 in Virginia into Tuesday after a winter storm pounded several Eastern states and dumped more than a foot of snow in some places.
The storm brought havoc to roadways, left more than 300,000 without power in Virginia and Maryland and caused at least five deaths across three states.
No injuries or fatalities from the storm or the traffic backup were reported in Virginia.
Problems began Monday morning when a truck jackknifed on Interstate 95, the main north-south highway along the East Coast, triggering a swift chain reaction as other vehicles lost control, state police said.
On a roughly 50-mile stretch of I-95 near Fredericksburg, drivers were stuck in their cars overnight while ice blanketed the freeway. The Virginia Department of Transportation tweeted Tuesday that the stretch of the interstate remained closed.
…
Josh Lederman, a reporter with NBC News, tweeted that he was stuck in his car overnight and many motorists turned off their cars to conserve gas.
“People (myself included) are taking exercise breaks outside their cars, walking their dogs on the interstate. I’ve been putting snow in his bowl and letting it melt into water,” he tweeted, detailing the ordeal.
Sen. Kaine finally arrived in Washington Tuesday afternoon, some 27 hours after his journey began.
Drivers survived the Monday traffic jam by periodically running their engines to stay warm. When the traffic finally started moving again, most vehicles had enough gasoline to finish their journeys.
President Biden is pushing everyone to switch to electric vehicles, as part of his Net Zero plan. But EV batteries suffer severe performance drops in freezing conditions, and are more likely than gasoline engines to fail completely in severe conditions. Even if the EV batteries don’t freeze, an EV battery contains nowhere near as much energy as a tank of gas, so the safety margin is a lot thinner, for people stranded in severe weather who are using the stored energy of their vehicle to stay warm.
In my opinion, if everyone stuck on the I-95 had been driving an EV, the I-95 ice storm traffic jam could have become a mass casualty event.
Glenn Youngkin’s fault! Elect a Republican and this is what you get.
“Sen. Kaine finally arrived in Washington Tuesday afternoon, some 27 hours after his journey began.”
...thank goodness he got there! Of course, he could continue his quest to destroy America from his laptop or cell phone!
Writer knows nothing about EV’s.
Ev’s use very little power when the car is not moving.
Tesla said if the car is not moving their heaters will work for 72 hours on a full or nearly full charge + or - depending on severity of the outside temperature.
.
“Writer knows nothing about EV’s.”
Yep, see my post #5
Just pull out the portable solar panels, and you’re good to go, right?
Never thought about it til now. I guess electric cars use electric heat elements to warm the passenger cabins?
Another advantage to the internal combustion engine is heat, which is typically something you expel intentionally to cool the engine, but in wintery/cold conditions, it’s something you utilize to warm passengers.
If you’re not gonna get where you were going....for hours....Why would you even bother? People are plain stupid.
“Tesla said if the car is not moving their heaters will work for 72 hours on a full or nearly full charge + or - depending on severity of the outside temperature.”
Just use seat heaters and you are good for a VERY long time.
EV owners probably have the highest vaxx rate.
If 1000s of EVs are trapped on the road due to snow and ice, look at the bright side. Perhaps one of them will short out and catch fire. The fire will burn for days providing warmth for lots of people and saving them from needing to run their cars to stay warm.
Ev’s use very little power when the car is not moving.
~~~
Likewise, most newer cars consume relatively small amounts of gasoline while idling. So as long as your fuel isn’t low, and as long as you know you don’t have an exhaust leak or obstructed tailpipe, there is no reason not to periodically start your car and warm it up.
bump
No problem! The tow trucks would bring you a gallon of fresh electrons and you’d warm that cabin up in no time, then be on your way.
Such unfounded, ridiculous concerns!
How does an EV even provide interior cabin heat? From a battery alone, I would think that would use a tremendous amount of battery energy.
Bet he was and still is a “poopie boy pooh pants” and lost NO weight at all. And still financing/protecting his AntiFA member son’s support! What an absolute lying tool.
And important to know— no0ne in VA cares about Tim Kaine, the little pervo.
Please explain where he is wrong.
Do you disagree that the batteries can deliver less energy in low temperatures? That they will be depleted heating cabins? That it would take thousands of service vehicles to recharge all those dead EVs enough to get them home? That such portable charging service vehicles are simpler and more cost-effective than handing a gallon can of gasoline to a stranded driver?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.