Electric vehicle owners are ‘more considerate drivers’
Almost three quarters of EV owners say they are more considerate drivers having made the switch to an electric car, according to a new survey.
New research from Love my EV has found that over two thirds of EV drivers have completely changed their driving style since moving away from fossil fuels, now less aggressive with their accelerating and braking.
In addition, almost nine per cent of EV drivers do not realise they can maximise each charge of their battery by driving less aggressively, reducing acceleration speed and using regenerative braking.
Eight in ten EV owners make use of regenerative braking, which turns wasted energy from braking into electricity to charge the battery and boost efficiency, with half of these drivers doing so frequently.
More than half of all drivers also admitted to competing with a partner to be the most efficient driver, by either using the momentum of the vehicle to recharge their battery and/or paying more attention to the road in order to avoid harsh braking.
Mat Thomson, co-founder of Love my EV, said: “Electric vehicles offer incredible environmental benefits in terms of lower emissions, but it is great to hear that they could also be positively impacting driver behaviour. Avoiding harsh braking and excessive acceleration not only saves drivers money by maximising the number of miles they can drive on each full charge, but it also makes for a nicer environment for all road users.”
“Higher efficiency per mile means the ‘all-in’ cost of driving an EV can be much lower than many people think. Love my EV matches people to an EV that is best suited to their unique needs, whilst also finding the best value and greenest home energy to power their car and home with.”
