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EV adoption in US is happening faster than predicted

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Re: EV adoption in US is happening faster than predicted

#491

Post by csa »

therealrootuser wrote: post #187

As someone that is currently in the market for a new car, I would love to get an EV, but I also don't have a good way to charge. Seems like most EV owners just charge at their house, but what about people that don't have access to a good power tap? (apartment dwellers, renters, etc.) Sometimes it feels like there is a group of EV elites out there that are predicting the complete demise of ICEs while conveniently down…

> I live on the outskirts of a major metro area. I've looked at the charging maps, and there just aren't good chargers available right now.

If EV adoption is low in your metro area, then EVs may only be convenient for home owners and folks who live near charging stations until more people get EVs.

Once there is a critical mass of EVs in your area (or even just passing through), then stations will pop up everywhere.

I live in a non-urban coastal area of California, and there are multiple EV stations at almost every mall and every Target within an hour drive of where I live (probably wider than that, but I haven’t really checked).

Re: EV adoption in US is happening faster than predicted

#492

Post by UncleMeat »

snuxoll wrote: post #132
endisneigh wrote: post #74

I love EVs. That being said I wish someone would make an enclosed bicycle/motorcycle that costs less than $2000. Something like that which can go 30mph and had space for 2 days of groceries would be enough for me to eliminate my car all together. I'm cobbling something similar now with a Class 3 cargo ebike, but rain sucks =/ The idealist in me says that electric ebikes could eliminate most of Americas problems in on…

> Bike infrastructure can be used for walking. Please, no more of this. Bicycles should be on their own dedicated right of way, mixing them with cars is dangerous for cyclists, but mixing bikes with pedestrians is dangerous for pedestrians. Multi-use paths are fine for recreation, but they are not transit infrastructure and should not be treated as such.

Especially if people are suggesting bikes traveling at 30mph that also contain the heft needed for pedal assistance.

Re: EV adoption in US is happening faster than predicted

#493

Post by usrusr »

krisoft wrote: post #266
eyelidlessness wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As both a cyclist and pedestrian, I definitely prefer bikes off the sidewalk. Even conscientious cyclists who call “on your left” or whatever routinely underestimate the necessary reaction time and overestimate how far their voice will carry. Even if they get both of those right, they’ve frequently terrified my pup by just being faster and louder and larger than anything on foot she’s ever met. I’ve had to return hom…

> Even conscientious cyclists who call “on your left” or whatever routinely underestimate the necessary reaction time and overestimate how far their voice will carry. You are absolutely right. As a cyclist there isn’t really any good way to reliably avoid startling a pedestrian in a mixed environment. Even if you do the even more conscientious thing and you slow all the way down to match speed with them, and then “wa…

The least bad way seems to be giving them plenty of opportunity to "notice the cyclist on their own". "Look how polite I am" vs "how dare they order me aside!"

My usual approach sequence is bell first (very early/far, only to soothe my nerves when the walker later starts that "should have used a bell!" tirade - sometimes a dog hears and understands that early bell and notifies its human) then generous freehub noise (first stage of "notice on their own"), then more bell and when I'm close, already effectively at walking speed, a short burst of blocking the rear brake. Unsurprisingly, people who appeared completely deaf to the bell right behind them a second earlier seem to hear even the tiniest scratch of a tire loud and clear...

Re: EV adoption in US is happening faster than predicted

#494

Post by usrusr »

ghaff wrote: post #457
ZeroGravitas wrote: post #371

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, anything audio, like a whistle, shouting "ahoy there!", has less use these days and with tiny airpods being a thing now, it's not even possible to guess from a distance if someone is listening to music. Possibly some kind of laser beam thing that sweeps the ground in front of you might work?

I don't really get the AirPod proliferation. Even if I'm in the woods by myself, much less on a busy path, I can't stand the disconnection from my environment.

Do you drive a lot? Drivers are very used to the audio disconnect.

Before I did my licence I was a firm believer in "no earbuds on the road", but after a few driving lessons I got so used to taking in the traffic situation with eyes only that I quickly converted to an earbuds all the time cyclist. A few years later I stopped driving so much and my cycling reverted to ears-always-open without me even noticing.

Re: EV adoption in US is happening faster than predicted

#495

Post by usrusr »

rvense wrote: post #382
morjom wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in Finland and most bikes come with a bell attached to them. To me they kind of feel like a thing every bicycle should have, like cars have horns.

They're a legal requirement in Denmark. Some take them off, especially the Tour de France LARPers that go in groups in the countryside, and just shout at you instead. Everyone hates them.

Plenty of them do have bells, ring them a lot and only start shouting after the bell is repeatedly ignored. Stop pretending to be deaf and all will be fine.

Re: EV adoption in US is happening faster than predicted

#496

Post by usrusr »

P5fRxh5kUvp2th wrote: post #448
krisoft wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Even conscientious cyclists who call “on your left” or whatever routinely underestimate the necessary reaction time and overestimate how far their voice will carry. You are absolutely right. As a cyclist there isn’t really any good way to reliably avoid startling a pedestrian in a mixed environment. Even if you do the even more conscientious thing and you slow all the way down to match speed with them, and then “wa…

> As a cyclist there isn’t really any good way to reliably avoid startling a pedestrian in a mixed environment. Why couldn't you just ask (or require) bicyclists to use bells or horns of some sort? Pedestrians would get used to the noise after a while.

Bells have zero effect on pedestrians. Bells are required where I live and I repeat that experiment a lot.

Re: EV adoption in US is happening faster than predicted

#497

Post by renewiltord »

endisneigh wrote: post #101
renewiltord wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe the Smart EQ Fortwo? Hard to get in the US and out of your price point, but if you're more interested in the vehicle than the price.

Funny that you mention that, I had a Smart Fortwo EV. Got destroyed by a Ford truck. I loved that little car.

Bloody hell. Well I'm glad you're okay.

Re: EV adoption in US is happening faster than predicted

#498

Post by questiondev »

eyelidlessness wrote: post #137
snuxoll wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Bike infrastructure can be used for walking. Please, no more of this. Bicycles should be on their own dedicated right of way, mixing them with cars is dangerous for cyclists, but mixing bikes with pedestrians is dangerous for pedestrians. Multi-use paths are fine for recreation, but they are not transit infrastructure and should not be treated as such.

As both a cyclist and pedestrian, I definitely prefer bikes off the sidewalk. Even conscientious cyclists who call “on your left” or whatever routinely underestimate the necessary reaction time and overestimate how far their voice will carry. Even if they get both of those right, they’ve frequently terrified my pup by just being faster and louder and larger than anything on foot she’s ever met. I’ve had to return hom…

bikes honestly should follow pedestrians, a bike is not a car and the person who will be the most amount of injured will be the person on the bike over the person of the car. so maybe have both car and bike be able to see each other in bike lanes, and keep the sidewalks to the cars. there really should be an initiative to expand the shoulders in rural america. lost of places in america are not even walking friendly. america decided to be different and make cars the main focus which is killing us (toxic gas fumes everywhere)

Re: EV adoption in US is happening faster than predicted

#499

Post by usrusr »

Symbiote wrote: post #284
Scarblac wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And this is especially true for 30mph ebikes. Those really don't mix with pedestrians.

E-bikes in the EU are limited to 25km/h, 16mph. Faster vehicles exist, but they are no longer considered bicycles. In Copenhagen these vehicles (petrol or electric) are forbidden from the more pedestrian-proximate paths, like those going through parks.

Unassisted bicycles that are ridden faster than that certainly are bicycles. Which points out a huge problem with certain approaches to bike infrastructure: if you force everybody down to the speed of the slowest ones (usually small children) because there are no opportunities for safe passing, then bikes can't compete with cars for any distance beyond walking. having to go 12 km/h when you would do 30 is worse for your commute duration than having to go 25 when you would go 50.

Re: EV adoption in US is happening faster than predicted

#500

Post by ghaff »

usrusr wrote: post #494
ghaff wrote: post #457

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really get the AirPod proliferation. Even if I'm in the woods by myself, much less on a busy path, I can't stand the disconnection from my environment.

Do you drive a lot? Drivers are very used to the audio disconnect. Before I did my licence I was a firm believer in "no earbuds on the road", but after a few driving lessons I got so used to taking in the traffic situation with eyes only that I quickly converted to an earbuds all the time cyclist. A few years later I stopped driving so much and my cycling reverted to ears-always-open without me even noticing.

I drive regularly. Yes, there is some degree of audio disconnect in a car. I also have various mirrors and sensors of various types. And I'm hopefully paying more attention than if I'm just walking around.
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