Five ways electric cars will RUIN Britain – including making pavements an obstacle course & creating even more potholes

EXPERTS have revealed five ways that electric cars could RUIN Britain.

From making pavements an obstacle course to creating even more potholes, experts claim the surge in popularity of EVs in the UK could wreak havoc on Brits’ lives.

Mult-storey car parks could collapse

Electric cars are becoming increasingly popular – and some experts are worried that the weight of these vehicles could cause multi-level parking spaces in the UK to collapse.

Electric vehicle batteries can weigh about 500kg – meaning they can be a lot heavier than their petrol counterparts.

For example, according to the Times, an electric Peugeot 206 weighs 1,530kg – compared with the 1,153kg petrol version.

Similarly, the average weight of a Volkswagen ID.3 is 1,830kg – much heavier than the petrol Volkswagen Golf at 1,388kg.

And due to the ageing infrastructure of many parking garages in the UK, engineers believe that the amount of weight the buildings can hold should be raised and that maintenance of car parks should be improved.

Chris Whapples, a structural engineer and parking consultant, told the Times: “I don’t want to be too alarmist, but there definitely is the potential for some of the early car parks in poor condition to collapse.”

Speed limited could be reduced

Because EVs are heavier, some experts believe it could mean more people could be killed on our roads.

Raul Arbelaez, vice president at  the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says the heavy weight of the batteries protect its drivers – but are killers for everyone else.

He explained: “Unfortunately, given the way these vehicles are currently designed, this increased protection comes at the expense of people in other vehicles.

‘It’s not clear that all EVs have braking performance that matches their additional mass. If the extra weight leads to longer stopping distances, that will likely lead to an increase in pedestrian and cyclist deaths, which already have been on the rise in recent years.”

If crashes increase it means that the speed limits could be reduced on Briain’s roads.

Potholes could get worse

Analysis has shown that the average electric car more than doubles the wear on road surfaces, which could lead to an increase in potholes.

Currently, the UK is suffering a pothole crisis – with half as many repaired last year compared to a decade ago.

And the AIA’S annual Alarm survey found out that it would now cost £12.6billion to fix all the potholes in England‘s local roads.

This comes after numerous experts have raised concerns about the capacity of the current road infrastructure to handle the increase in EVs.

According to the Government’s most optimistic forecast, electric vehicles will account for four out of every five miles travelled by 2035.

An average electric car puts 2.24 times more stress on roads than its petrol equivalent – and 1.95 more than diesel, The Telegraph reports.

And larger electric cars weighing over 2,000kg cause the most damage, with 2.32 times more wear applied to the roads.

Chargers could turn pavements into ‘obstacle courses’

Charities fear pavements could be turned into a “minefield” for pedestrians – with cables wreaking havoc for those with disabilities.

The National Federation of the Blind UK (NFBUK) and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (Rospa) are calling on the Government to find a solution.

Sarah Gayton of NFBUK said: “It will turn pavements into a minefield – blind and visually impaired people can get their white cane tangled or trip over cables, with the potential for them to be seriously injured or even killed.”

A Department for Transport spokesman said local authorities are responsible for trip hazards, reports MailOnline.

EV fires could increase

Fire chiefs are worried about a potential increase in electric car blazes.

London Fire Brigade’s (LFB) deputy commissioner, Dom Ellis, told the Mail: “Over the past year, the number of fires involving lithium batteries has risen frighteningly fast.

“E-bikes and e-scooters are becoming increasingly popular and the risk of significant fires is rising too.”