Women don't feel safe charging their electric cars at night

Electric cars are the future of driving but, as with many things, the safety of women has been overlooked.

As they’re not yet entirely mainstream, electric charging points aren’t always in the most public of places.

So, for a woman driving alone waiting for her car to recharge, it can feel dangerous to be in a secluded spot solo.

Speaking to Metro.co.uk, Becky – who drives an electric car (and has done so for four years) – has felt vulnerable using charging points alone – especially at night.

‘My most frightening experience was almost running out of battery while 37 weeks pregnant on a rural road,’ she says.

‘I only had 10% battery left and had a good 15 miles to reach my destination down the motorway trying to get to a country hotel.

‘I didn’t feel comfortable using one of the chargers I passed as it was very remote with no one around.

‘I then learned that the hotel I was staying at didn’t have a charge point either so I had to struggle to make it to a nearby pub, which the hotel advised me was the only other option available at that time.’

The time it takes an electric car to charge varies, but it can be anywhere from 30 minutes to half a day.

Being alone for half an hour is a scary enough window of time for anyone feeling vulnerable – not to mention the possibility of the charging point not working, leaving someone stranded.

In Becky’s eyes, all of her options in that moment in the remote location were dangerous: wait at the rural charging point by herself, or drive in the pitch black with lights off following a car ahead of her.

When looking at the two, she decided continuing to drive was the less risky, which speaks to just how fearful women can be at electric charging points and how dire the options are.

When women are being killed on their walks home at night, it’s no wonder women are scared to wait for their cars to charge up in these circumstances.

‘By this stage it was pitch black and I had to drive with the lights off and closely follow a member of staff from the hotel in a petrol car to lead the way for me,’ Becky says.

‘When I arrived, fitting the charge point’s cable into my car was a terrifying moment as it wasn’t one I had used before and I didn’t know if it would work and I would have been stranded.

‘Luckily it worked but the experience has put me off ever charging at night.’

Becky isn’t the only one with a story like this.

Currently there are 33,000 public chargers in the UK, and online car marketplace Heycar is campaigning for safety standards to be introduced at charging locations.

They’re asking for areas to be well-lit, have monitored CCTV cameras and emergency contact buttons as a minimum – as this is not in practice at the moment.

Heycar hope that these standards would instil more confidence in vulnerable electric car users, and that any points which meet the requirements would be marked up so people know they’re at a safer spot in which to stop.

The campaign follows a survey of drivers that found 80.3% feel vulnerable when charging their electric car, 62.9% don’t think security measures are adequate and 88.5% have chosen not to use a charge point because they felt unsafe at the location.

Karina, a 41-year-old who drives an electric car, says the level of safety at charge points is simply not comparable to regular petrol stations.

She says: ‘I used to stop at petrol stations at 2am and although it would be quiet, the forecourt would be well-lit and there would be a cashier so at least one other person.

‘You just don’t have that with all EV charging sites.’

Now, she always plans her journeys in advance, identifies three potential charging sites on route, and never lets her car’s estimated remaining range go below 15% – in case a charging point isn’t working.

It’s a lot of labour to go through every time she gets in the car.

‘It’s a whole new way of thinking and planning your work and it’s another layer of stress,’ Karina adds.

Recently she decided to have a home charger fitted, which is extremely costly.

She adds: ‘We’re borrowing money to get this work done but safety is paramount.’

Research from Keele University found that most women surveyed were concerned about charging late at night in dark, poorly-lit, unsheltered, and relatively isolated areas.

Many felt ‘trapped’ inside their vehicles while charging, due to the lack of amenities nearby, and disabled women were considered ‘doubly vulnerable’.

Professor Simon Pemberton, a member of the research team at Keele University, says: ‘To date, most of the focus around public EV charging has been on the nature of chargers and charging capacity rather than the actual needs and experiences of different user groups – such as women – in relation to public EV charging.’

While these cars come with great environmental benefits, the welfare of the people using them need to be considered too.

Sarah Tooze at Heycar, added: ‘Personal safety at public EV charging points […] can feel like playing roulette – drivers don’t know what they’ll find when they arrive.

‘The issue is particularly pressing given that the clocks go back at the end of this month meaning that more women are likely to find themselves charging in the dark.’

Heycar’s campaign for change is backed by Volkswagen Financial Services and ChargeSafe, an independent, five-star rating system for public charging, based on personal safety and accessibility.

Kate Tyrrell, co-founder of ChargeSafe, says: ‘Ultimately, with the Government’s 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars we are all going to end up driving electric.

‘But right now there is an opportunity to make sure that women are protected when charging their cars before the infrastructure is even built out.

‘There are currently about 33,000 public chargers – about 10% of the 300,000 we need in the UK by 2030 – so if we can create a standard within the next two years, before the installation of chargers really takes off, then we can make a very positive impact on women’s safety on a nationwide scale.’

Government intervention to ensure standards are set is needed – and the clock is ticking.

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