When planning a journey in an electric car, you need to consider the sites where you may need to stop and recharge or top-up your vehicle’s battery. Wherever you decide to stop, you will find that you’ll have more downtime than you would with a petrol car. While this might sound like an inconvenience, it can be a huge help when driving.
Use recharging to have a break
When driving on a long trip, it’s important that you take time to rest. For many people, this tends to be a quick stop, to refuel and maybe grab a quick snack in a service station. It’s recommended in the Highway Code that drivers stop every two hours, for at least 15 minutes. Not all motorists will follow this advice but the need to top up a vehicle’s battery forces you to have an actual break.
Topping up a battery does take longer than filling up at a petrol pump, which means that while the rest stop is longer, you’re able to enjoy more of a break, which means you’re in a much better state when you get back on the road.
This means better awareness on the road, less fatigue and feeling more refreshed, resulting in better driving. Doing this can take a lot of the stress out of a road trip, especially when covering a long distance.
Make recharging part of your journey
Breaks do not necessarily need to be at a service station. Remember, electric vehicles are not bound to forecourts. As long as chargers are available, your rest stop can be anywhere you like.
When you’re planning a road trip, look at attractions, shopping areas, places you might like to eat, find locations you would otherwise not visit on a journey. Use the need to top-up as an excuse to see more of what a route has to offer.
This allows you to turn a quick break into part of the trip, giving you another activity to do with the kids, a chance to take in new scenery or visit an attraction. This is a great way to recharge your car without watching the clock and waiting to get back on the road.
Making sure you can recharge
When you’re planning a rest stop to recharge, it’s worth noting, not just where the chargers are along your route, but if there are the tools in place to make sure that they are available.
There is nothing worse than struggling to find somewhere to charge, only to discover access to a charger obstructed by a petrol car in the wrong space.
Evology chargers help to eliminate this, ensuring that bays are readily available to park and plug-in at any time. By housing a camera within the charger or in a nearby monitoring bollard, we can make sure the only vehicles in those designated spaces are the ones that are supposed to be there, keeping those spaces free from abuse and waiting for the drivers who need them.
To find out more about Evology or our chargers and how we’re helping the UK’s motorists access quick and easy to use EV charging, click here.
