Trip hazard fear over EV charging cables
Questions over street safety as electric vehicles become more popular in West Berkshire
A POTENTIAL row is brewing over electric vehicle (EV) owners trailing charging cables across the public pavement.
And the issue is expected to become increasingly common, with four in five EV owners having to charge up at home.
A concerned Newbury Weekly News reader sent this photograph, which was taken in a West Berkshire village.
He said: “This is 50 yards from a care home for old folks and right on the corner of the junction in the High Street.
“So: Do you unplug it and walk past?
“Or walk into the road, around the car and into the traffic?
“It seems now even the pavements aren’t safe to walk on.
“Something needs to be done because it’s going to get worse and tempers will flare.”
As well as a potential trip hazard, EV cable manufacturers warn that they can eventually become worn enough to expose the wiring.
Wiring can also be made bare in cases of vandalism.
One manufacturer warns that even Residual Current Device (RCD) breaker technology, designed to prevent electrocution in such cases “has a minor risk of failing, making it vital to find a means of ensuring no pedestrian or animal walking along the kerb comes in contact with your cable”.
The company goes on to recommend using hard plastic cable protectors with flourescent markings.
But it concedes that, even when lying flush on the pavement, these can pose a trip hazard, particularly after dark.
It concludes its advice by warning: “Having an EV cable run across the pavement and someone being injured could result in a claim.
“Take necessary precautions against this risk and ensure you are properly covered to avoid the risk of a financial hit.”
The issue is expected to get more common; battery-powered car sales outstripped sales of diesel engines in Europe at the end of last year.
According to national consumer organisation This is Money, a third of households in England do not have off-street parking.
Four in five EV owners charge their cars at home – the rest using public or workplace devices, industry figures show.
West Berkshire Council has developed an Ultra Low Emission Strategy as part of its response to the climate crisis.
So far, however, it has only installed seven public charging points, all in Newbury town centre locations. n Continued on page 3 n Continued from front page