Graham Butcher

Have electric cars increased their numbers by 133% in 3 years? According to QBE Insurance, the number of electric cars catching fire has increased 133% in the last 3 years. Can that be true? Number of electric car blazes attended by fire brigades up 133% in three years | This is Money Is it an excuse for increasing the insurance premiums? Or is it that as the cars mature, the problems begin to develop, and the fires are as a result of this ageing? Which would kind of make sense, the same as it is more likely that ICE cars will also become more prone to problems and possible fires as they age.

@lol-lol Yes, that stars Steve Coogan; I heard him talking about this programme on the radio the other day.

I know; I have had my tank checked at roadside checkpoints on many occasions before.

I thought farmers used red diesel, which is not road legal; road vehicles have to use white diesel, which is significantly more expensive. Farmers are, however, struggling with higher costs of red diesel, as the current Iran/US/Israel war has dramatically increased their overheads, just as it has for all oil burners.

No, it was not meant to be clickbaity scaremongering but a real, genuine question. Had I not been retired, I would have known the answer to the question, as I would still be a company car user and getting a new car every three years. My son has an Audi A5 which has a phone app to control certain aspects of his car, and he has to pay an annual subscription, and that car is 6 years old. So, therefore, a good indication that, as the video stated, the European makers were going down that route. My current car is of 2019 vintage, and what was fitted to the car at the time of 1st sale is still there and working, and I'm the 2nd owner and just about to enter my 2nd year of ownership of it. The people in Covid masks are in keeping with the time scale, as many things were introduced from 2020 onwards, including Covid being declared a global pandemic, and my son's A5 could be a testament to that, it would seem.

What are your thoughts and feelings about this new twist in modern cars, and especially on the electric cars which are ripe for this kind of extortion? It just shows another side of this push towards electric cars. Once enabled, it only requires a server glitch or a company going out of business, etc., and the car could/would be permanently disabled to some sort of degree. To my mind, it's akin to having many of the car's main functions controlled via the central touch screen, which can and does at times become frozen, rendering the system inoperable. I have just purchased a new aftermarket satnav from the biggest name in these devices, TomTom. And it has already managed to completely break the BT connection to my phone, thus losing live traffic, camera, and speed limit data. Another time it lost and still has managed to completely wipe all of my saved data, so it has none of the saved destinations or any POI stored within it. Software-driven systems are becoming a real liability and are heading into life-threatening territory here. With the old-fashioned systems, workarounds can be found for things such as a particular switch, etc., no longer being available; they are replaced with another type, even if it means drilling more holes in the dashboard and physically moving the switch. The older ones among us must have already come across this before.

Oh, now I understand, but that wouldn't make any difference to how it works. I have a Nextbase 622GW which also has a socket on the mount to which the power lead plugs into and the dashcam then has a multipad magnetic connection to the mount and picks power up via this connection, enabling the dashcam to be taken of the mount. But the camera can also be fed directly via its USB connection, it just makes in slightly harder to remove the camera and plug into your PC.

All dashcams that I have had and seen are powered via a USB lead that plugs into the dashcam itself. Is the USB that you're seeing? I have had mine hardwired into the car's electrical system so that it automatically switches on when the ignition is powered up, but the cable running to the dashcam is always a USB and, depending on the make and age of the dashcam, will be micro, mini or USB-C. The other end of the power cable terminates into a power adaptor that converts the 12V to 5V for the dashcam, and the wires are normally connected into the car's fuse box.

Well with the current situation with USA v Iran, it is going to be far easier to hit the target this year, and the longer the uncertainty goes on for in this conflict, the greater the chance of hitting it is.

Maybe its all down to weight and energy efficiency? I should imagine that a heavy Taycan would take a reasonable amount of power to get rolling when compared to your R5?

The McMaster has just posted a new interesting video where he drove his car till it reached 0% charge and charged it to 100% at a hub. Now he claimed that his car was in limp mode, and he drove around the hub until it reached 0% at which point the car stopped and would not move any further. As it was he was stopped alongside and across 2 chargers blocking 2 bays. The lead only just reached his car but it did charge fully to 100% in around 50 minutes but the cooling fans on his car were screaming, trying to cool the battery. Wonder what would happen if they were to fail? Anyway his total cost (subsidised) was £42.02 for 107KW and 362 mile range and at todays cost for dino juice that is good, but most EVs cannot charge as fast as his Taycan, so that is a factor. However as a comparison at todays price for diesel, than for the same 362 miles, my cost would be £68.43, but at the prices before Trump went to war, it would have been £52.27, so yes, it would have been more expensive, but I have a normal range for full a tank of 500-590 miles and recharge/refuel time of around 5 minutes. This is where home charging really pays huge dividends if you can do it.

Sorry to go back to the Wakefield electric rubbish trucks, but it seems that there really is an issue with electric rubbish trucks. Other councils are on record with issues with them and are either staying with diesel or going back to diesel again. On the other hand, the internet is awash with other councils claiming that they are going to or have started trialling them. It will be interesting to see just what happens in a couple of years time, but as it stands, it is looking like some form of pressure to pursue this ideology of net zero may have been exerted. At the end of the day, are we being gaslighted? Nottingham City councillor admits buying electric bin lorries was a mistake Electric bin lorries offered 'no savings over diesel' says city councillor | West Bridgford Wire Trial of electric bin lorries in Somerset produces "poor" results as vehicle keeps breaking down, By local democracy reporter Daniel Mumby - Frome Times Fife's lack of charging infrastructure rules out roll out of electric bin lorries Electric Bin Lorries for North Yorkshire? - This is the Coast Depot needs power supply boost before council buys more electric bin lorries – Brighton and Hove News Electric refuse truck idea binned for now as Walsall trial fails - Birmingham Live Electric bin lorry keeps breaking down during Somerset trials | Somerset Live £500,000 electric bin wagons off the road for almost 26 days a month due to 'technical issues' Cardiff council considers diesel bin lorries over grid concerns - BBC News

I hate working on a bleeding mobile phone; the above just highlights the problems when pop-ups keep appearing on the screen. We need a delete button on this forum so you can clear a post and start again. On a separate note but remotely linked to the topic of the thread, I have just been to my local Morrisons shop and purchased some what I thought were spring onions for lunch. While preparing them I noticed that the label said "Salad Onions". Then I noticed the source of them: produce of Egypt. WTF, is the only thing that we grow these days solar farms? All in the name of net zero, no doubt. How on God's green earth is that either economical or indeed green if we are shipping in stuff that we could very easily grow in this country? It's madness. Back to normal programming, rant over.

Well hopefully others will watch it as he describes in pretty terms exactly how type operates and their advantages and disadvantages. Also goes on to explain if choosing one for its green credentials people could be doing precisely the opposite without knowing the full facts. It is, and especially so if relying on the sales persons advice, a minefield.

I posted that as what I thought was genuine helpful consumer advice for anyone, it was not targeted at anyone specifically. I did already know that you had a dirty diesel, nothing at all wrong with that, I've had them for years and never regretted it once. 👍

Sound advice for anyone thinking about buying a hybrid. Yes, I know that he is talking about Australia, but the same principles apply anywhere. The term 'hybrid' can mean many variants and complexities, and choosing the wrong one would be bad. Warning, the video is long, but the topic is a complex one and is one that many are confused about or have the wrong impression about, so it is worth a watch in my view.

Yes, it is very quiet I agree, it's quiet on all types of car fires. Is it because they think it is no longer of interest is reporting of any car fires being suppressed? Or it could just be that there is so much other news worthy events happening, war, political sleaze, and other stuff keeping them out of the news, who knows?

While I agree with the first part of what you said, I actually do care enough to want those that follow me when I pop my clogs to be able to determine for themselves if they want to live in an all-electric future or not. That decision is not mine to make. You know I have spent most of my working life (over 45 years) driving all over the British Isles in a variety of roles here on the mainland and all over both parts of Ireland, and I have myself only ever actually seen firsthand one car on fire, right here in Chelmsford a few years ago, and that was a VW split-screen microbus. But you know what, I'm not going to speculate what was the cause of the fire, as I simply don't know. That said, however, I have seen a few heavy goods vehicles on fire along our motorways, and it appears the fire has always started in the rear, where the payload is. Again, I don't actually know if it was the brakes overheating or something in the cargo, so again, no speculation. If you're anything like me, you have more than likely seen plenty of burnt-out cars, but that was at a time when joyriding was a popular craze, and they were common in fields, woods, etc. to destroy any evidence of who took the car. One thing that I do not need to see is a BEV on fire to believe that they do pose a far greater risk to both life and limb and the environment when they catch fire. There is plenty of video footage around these days, so loads of such incidents are caught on camera, and the scientific analysis highlights the problems that they cause when they do catch fire.

Can you not foresee a time when those will eventually be banned so that when a car fails, the owner will not be allowed to source another old ICE vehicle but be forced into an old EV if they can't afford a new one?

Agreed, but much of the weight gain of these cars is down to legislation about crash protection and survivability. Cars have to grow in size and weight to accommodate crumple zones, side impact beams, rigid passenger cages, etc. Granted, there are also certain cars that are bigger and heavier than they need to be, just so the owners can be different from the rest of us and draw attention to themselves or, as in the case of certain people, for their own safety, requiring armour-plated transport.

@Trickiejohn You are correct. A quick glance on Google Earth, where most of the images are now 2026, shows the extent of people opting for solar panels on their roofs, etc., and it is a poor take-up. This is down to many factors: cost; many think they are ugly; others can't have them because they live in social housing and the local councils, HAs, etc. are concerned about the cost of maintenance of the roofs, etc., or they live in high-rise dwellings. It is almost the same argument for the take-up of EVs. Lack of off-road parking, cost of installing a charge point, and, in some cases, upgrading the supply to the property. Some property owners will no longer allow EVs in their underground car parks or allow charging to be done in them for fear of an incident. Some will cite LFP batteries that do not catch fire as easily as LMC ones, and while this is true, they do, however, apparently, to some experts studying these batteries, offer other equally undesirable side effects, significantly more off-gassing which creates a far greater risk of explosions, and the off-gassing is also even more deadly if exposed to it, with a far greater amount of it being fatal. Also because they do not burn as hot as LMC batteries, they burn less cleanly and thus produce more lethal fumes. These are serious issues that governments need to tackle head-on and resolve completely before they even think about the banning of new ICE vehicles. God forbid that they should ever think about banning old existing ICE vehicles and historic ones. EVs do have a role to play, and I'm convinced that they will become the dominant means of transportation, but before that happens, we need to address the current issues with them and the power generation, distribution and charging side of things and stop burying our heads in the sand like an ostrich and pretending that they are perfectly fine as they are and that more of us petrol heads should be switching over. Once the consumer is convinced in their own minds that they do make more sense, then they will buy them, without the need for grants, tax cuts, etc., in the same way all other products have become standard and are in almost every household in the world, mobile phones, for example.

Ouch, sounds like a very expensive repair.

@Evolution13 Yes, of course I've seen those electric vans making regular drop-offs by companies like Amazon, etc., and I don't understand why it is that everyone is so wound up by the fact that currently I'm not also as besotted by the electric revolution. It is so evident that some people will be like yourself, Lol-Lol etc. and are very passionate about electric transport, and there will always be the "early adopters" in any new emerging technologies. As I have repeatedly said, I'm not anti-EV at all; I have always said that they currently do have their advantages and they also have disadvantages for many more users. However, I really do believe that the technology is still way too young to be having governments mandating its adoption globally and banning ICE power. It's about freedom of choice. And once the tipping point is reached where the public can see that there are no disadvantages, only advantages for everyone, and the price of them and the running costs, etc., are favourable, there will be a natural consumer-led movement to electric, and ICE will be left and will eventually be virtually nonexistent. There is still so much about them that we need to learn and develop to the point that anyone can switch to electric and they become no more restrictive in any sense of the word to any current ICE vehicle, regardless of its type, bike, car, van, bus, heavy goods truck, etc., and that also goes for their known hazards and other pitfalls that many seem to gloss over. Harry makes some very good points in this video, although it is 2 years old, the salient points he raises are still very much with us and so many more that he does not mention. This video also makes some sense; it shows that regulation gets it wrong but does agree that emissions still need to be addressed, and rightly so. Again which I have said that research was continuing at a pace to make engines more efficent and at the same time reduce the emmissions.

Well last mile delivery vans don't get multiple stops in the same road after 100 metres, in all the roads on their route. Also not carrying the same weight, speaking of which, they get lighter as the day progress so need less energy towards the end. The reverse is true with the bin lorries which are very heavy at the end.

Or could it be that other authorities are being less truthful and not wanting to be seen climbing down from their green image and admitting that they have spent masses of public money on something that is not ideal for the job? Remember these are trucks that are by their very nature going to be doing a massive amount of stop/start driving; depending on the road, it might be many such cycles per road. Then there is the extra muscle that needs to be addressed, all the compacting, etc. that these trucks have to do. These trucks weigh far more than a BEV car does, and they have to get that weight moving again from a dead stop and move maybe 100 metres down the road and stop and repeat all that many times on some roads.