Electric vehicle owners struggling to their charge cars | news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site

2022-09-23 22:52:21 By : Ms. tenen glass

An issue with a popular new car is an “accident waiting to happen” as bizarre scenes continue to emerge.

The issue of on-street electrical vehicle charging is becoming more prevalent as bizarre scenes continue to emerge throughout Sydney.

A photo shared by 2GB on Tuesday morning showed the extreme lengths an electric vehicle owner has gone to at their Millers Point townhouse.

A long yellow extension cord extends from their second storey home, across the balcony and into a tree.

The cable is wrapped around the tree’s branches and nearby bushes before ending at a power board hanging loosely in the air.

From that power board, a black charger snakes its way down the tree trunk, through the gutter and into the car.

2GB breakfast show host Ben Fordham called it an “accident waiting to happen”.

“The man who took the photo says to us, ‘I was walking down the street to go into work. I couldn‘t believe my eyes,’” he said.

“He said, ‘It looked like a street in Vietnam; how it’s legal is beyond me.’”

It comes after 2GB shared images and vision of a similar scene on a suburban Manly street on Friday morning.

A long orange power cable snaked its way all the way down from a home to a car parked out on the street.

The cord was long enough that it stretched from the house, down the front steps, along the driveway, across the fence and onto the footpath before reaching the road and car.

A cable protector was placed on the footpath to shield the cord, while it appears it is looped around the fence when it is not in use.

Fordham said the issue needed to be addressed, with electric vehicles only becoming more popular.

“There‘s a bit of a pattern emerging here,” he said.

“People are trying to get involved in the electric car revolution, but they’re running into roadblocks.

“I’m hoping the electric car revolution is going to be a raging success, but those behind it may need a few reality checks.

“Small problems are going to become larger ones when we have millions of electric cars on the roads and there‘s no bigger issue than charging.”

Australia’s peak parking body has called for more electric charging stations on streets.

Parking Australia chief executive Stuart Norman said it was a serious issue impacting millions across the country.

“We know that on-street charging is an issue for about three million Australian households,” he told NCA NewsWire last week.

“People plug-in their car in the same way they plug their phone in. We know from people who have a driveway and garage that’s exactly what they do.

“But people who don’t have a driveway can’t do that.”

Mr Norman said situations like the ones seen in Manly and Millers Point can be “solved and it can be solved quite well”.

He called for public electric charging stations to be set up on streets across the country, which would run like parking meters because “effectively, that’s what it is”.

“You put a charger on the street, very much like a parking meter,” Mr Norman said.

“You then have software for people to pay. It can’t be free; people pay for petrol.

“You have a number of them in streets, you don’t just have one in someone’s house. And it must be a public asset; it can’t be private.

“Link it to enforcement; if someone stays too long, the council will have to fine them.”

Mr Norman has tried to raise his ideas and concerns with strategy makers and politicians, such as Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Teal MP Monique Ryan.

Mr Norman openly said “most of them are gonna get it wrong; we’ve tried to engage with political leaders on this and we’ve had several that are just too busy to even meet with us”.

“We want to engage with political leaders to tell them how it can be done; otherwise they’re gonna make mistakes.

“There’s a lack of understanding of the electrical distribution network and a lack of understanding of people’s habits.”

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The school involved in the sickening bus crash that injured dozens of students and staff has issued a statement – and a warning.

An Australian council worker has been slapped with a $100 fine after a photo of his park was shared in a community Facebook page.