Stuck on I-95 in EV: What Safety Requirements/Guidelines?

[Dan Dan]

This from Charles Lane, published in the Washington Post: Imagine Virginia’s icy traffic catastrophe — but with only electric vehicles

To avoid common discourse traps, I don't want to villanize Charles Lane and I don't want to turn this into an ICE vs EV conversation with "what abouts" (what about carbon monoxide?).

Instead, I come to you with honest questions as someone who wants his next car purchase to be electric.

What guidelines specific to EVs would you have when driving into dangerously cold (or hot) situations?
To be clear: some guidelines apply to any car. Like don't drive into a snowstorm if you don't have to and bring a blanket and snow gear if you drive into a snowstorm so that you can stay or walk out (that one from my dad when I was learning to drive in the late 80's in Western PA). I'm more interested in EV-specific advice.

What features would you look for to help your EV perform in the 1% like the I-95 case?
I'm thinking that I would want seat heaters for the front and back seats so that my kids would have a heat source. Camp Mode?

 

[Almost Green]

A full battery charge plus the extra clothes, snacks, water.

 

[davidtm]

In my Kia Niro EV, sitting in the car in ready mode shows HVAC (I have the heat pump) using only 1-2 kW in this cold weather. So, the math can show you how long that lasts, depending on the state of charge (kWh) available (kWh available/kW usage = hrs).

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

 

[Dan Dan]

In my Kia Niro EV, sitting in the car in ready mode shows HVAC (I have the heat pump) using only 1-2 kW in this cold weather. So, the math can show you how long that lasts, depending on the state of charge (kWh) available (kWh available/kW usage = hrs).

Super helpful, thanks. In some ways, that sort of transparency (how long can I run this heater?) could be unique to an EV.

 

[Almost Green]

A full battery charge plus the extra clothes, snacks, water.

I also would add toilet paper. Never want to be without this stuff.

 

[Bruce M.]

My chosen alternative is just to live in places where snow doesn't mess up the roads.

 

[e-dude]

I would do what I used to do when I lived in N. New England: Make sure I'm gassed (charged) up--at least 80% SOC. Clothing and snacks for if your crash and can't use the car heat. Cell phone charged. Decent rubber on the car.

 

[Jim Matthews]

Two words: camp mode.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

A heat pump helps for sure. And heated seats. The key though is to charge your car every night during the winter. That way you will always have the most energy possible for emergencies like this one.

The good news is that plugging in an EV every night is far easier than topping off your gas tank every night! Can you imagine?


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs

 

[electriceddy]

This report from a Model 3 SR+ owner who got stuck in the I-95 jam for 14 hours.
"I am especially grateful that I was driving my EV when I got stuck on I-95. I watched countless vehicles slide across the road, but my EV expertly navigated the ice. While fellow drivers burned gasoline running their engines to stay warm, my EV intelligently directed power solely to temperature regulation—I did not have to inefficiently burn fuel to power my entire engine in order to keep us safe...
When the traffic nightmare finally ended, gas-powered vehicle drivers scrambled to wait in long lines at snowed-in and overwhelmed gas stations, but my EV’s navigation system directed me to a nearby open charger; these charging stations were conveniently installed every ten miles along the traffic corridor. Despite the extreme conditions my EV endured that day, I nevertheless made it to the charger with a fifty-mile range surplus...
Unsurprisingly, my EV performed admirably during this particular crisis...
The traffic disaster on I-95 was precipitated by icy conditions and exacerbated by poor management, not EVs. And let’s not forget that pollution from gas-powered vehicles is intensifying all this extreme weather, too. So in fact, if everyone regularly drove EVs instead of gas-powered vehicles, perhaps we would have mitigated the severity of this debacle in the first place."

Dan Kanninen
Source:
https://www.zeta2030.org/insights/im-grateful-that-i-was-driving-my-ev-when-i-got-stuck-on-i-95

 

[turtleturtle]

This report from a Model 3 SR+ owner who got stuck in the I-95 jam for 14 hours.
"I am especially grateful that I was driving my EV when I got stuck on I-95. I watched countless vehicles slide across the road, but my EV expertly navigated the ice. While fellow drivers burned gasoline running their engines to stay warm, my EV intelligently directed power solely to temperature regulation—I did not have to inefficiently burn fuel to power my entire engine in order to keep us safe...
When the traffic nightmare finally ended, gas-powered vehicle drivers scrambled to wait in long lines at snowed-in and overwhelmed gas stations, but my EV’s navigation system directed me to a nearby open charger; these charging stations were conveniently installed every ten miles along the traffic corridor. Despite the extreme conditions my EV endured that day, I nevertheless made it to the charger with a fifty-mile range surplus...
Unsurprisingly, my EV performed admirably during this particular crisis...
The traffic disaster on I-95 was precipitated by icy conditions and exacerbated by poor management, not EVs. And let’s not forget that pollution from gas-powered vehicles is intensifying all this extreme weather, too. So in fact, if everyone regularly drove EVs instead of gas-powered vehicles, perhaps we would have mitigated the severity of this debacle in the first place."

Dan Kanninen
Source:
https://www.zeta2030.org/insights/im-grateful-that-i-was-driving-my-ev-when-i-got-stuck-on-i-95

Okay, that sounds nice and all, but it also sounds too nice. Like the author is going out of his/her way to make it sound perfect.

 

[bwilson4web]

Okay, that sounds nice and all, but it also sounds too nice. Like the author is going out of his/her way to make it sound perfect.

My 2019 Tesla Model 3 Std Rng has run hours in "dog mode" with barely a decrease in the traction battery charge. IMHO, @electriceddy did the experiment and you have not. I'll go with @electriceddy before someone who makes obvious false claims.

Bob Wilson

 

[turtleturtle]

My 2019 Tesla Model 3 Std Rng has run hours in "dog mode" with barely a decrease in the traction battery charge. IMHO, @electriceddy did the experiment and you have not. I'll go with @electriceddy before someone who makes obvious false claims.

Bob Wilson

No, I haven’t been stuck on a highway for 24 hours in an electric car. Point I’m trying to make is that the author makes it sound like it was a walk in the park compare to ICE vehicles. We’re not helping people adopt EVs if we aren’t real about the limitations. The same bottleneck issues that applied to the ICE vehicles (fuel supply) can also happen to EVs. I was hoping the article would balance more the good and the bad.

 

[bwilson4web]

With no precipitation including both heat and vehicle overhead:


Also:

• (2.2 kWh / (60+50 minutes) ) * 60 minutes = 1.2 kWh / hr
• 1.2 kW in this segment

Bob Wilson

 

[bwilson4web]

An additional data point for two different cabin temperatures:


Bob Wilson