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Could ‘range anxiety’ encourage safer driving?
06 October 2021
The results of a recent poll by the AA suggest that those driving an electric vehicle (EV) are less likely to be involved in accidents than those in petrol or diesel cars because "range anxiety", the fear of running out of battery whilst driving, causes drivers to reduce their speed.
The poll of 14,000 drivers found that 51 per cent had range anxiety when driving on a motorway.
AA president Edmund King said, “The obsession with range when behind the wheel does also influence drivers to slow down, keep constant speeds and avoid sharp braking or harsh acceleration.
“Often EV drivers play the ‘range game’ to see how many extra miles they can squeeze out of the battery. It is a badge of honour.”
Other figures from the AA show that as of August 2021, breakdowns due to running out of charge had more than halved in the past five years. Just 3.71 per cent of EV breakdowns attended by AA patrols so far in 2021 were due to a lack of charge.
Industry figures show that between January - June 2020, around 24,470 incidents in which people were killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents were reported to the police.
Head of transport safety at TRL (previously called the Transport Research Laboratory) Neale Kinnear said, “When you’re travelling on a motorway there is a noticeable difference in the speed with which your range will come down compared to when you are travelling at 30 MPH or 40 MPH.
“When you drive an EV, compared to an internal combustion vehicle, you start to think about energy conservation and that may lead to more economical and safer styles of driving.”
With this in mind, there is hope that as we see more EVs on UK roads leading up to and following the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2030, that we could potentially see a reduction in serious road traffic accidents.
At Marshall Leasing, we are always interested in the latest news about electric vehicles and road safety. We trust that you find this information interesting.
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