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Single photo exposes main problem with electric cars amid fears they could become a ‘lawyer’s picnic’
- Images of Sydney street show bizarre electric car charging setup
- Issue raised about dangers that can pose dilemmas to neighborhoods
- Some streets don’t have garages, while municipalities want to abolish driveways
- Ben Fordham says authorities need to figure out how electric cars will be charged
- Do you know more? Email tips@dailymail.com
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Astonishing images have spotlighted the potential dangers of electric vehicles, fearing they could become a “lawyer’s picnic.”
An electric car parked on a street in Manly, on Sydney’s northern beaches, was spotted charging through a long cord.
The cable runs over the front gate, which winds from the road into a driveway and into a house nearby.
The owner was even kind enough to install a hazard cover over the portion of the cord that runs over the public footpath so locals don’t trip over the cord as they walk by.
Residents told Ben Fordham that the extension cords (pictured) will remain on the road and walkway even if the electric vehicle is not parked there
A close-up photo shows the car surrounded by electrical cables.
Residents sent photos and footage to 2GB breakfast host Ben Fordham, who was left ‘astonished’.
He fears the issue could soon become a major dilemma for neighborhoods where electric vehicle owners, who don’t have a garage or driveway, must park on the street.
“It’s strange, you have to see it to believe it, it’s one of the longest extension cords I’ve ever seen,” Fordham told listeners Friday.
The person was lucky enough to find a park outside their home. What if the only parking space you can find is on the other side of the street?
“Will you put the extension cord across the street with a piece of tape over it?”
‘What happens if there are 10 electric cars in the street?’
Fordham said he’s also gotten more images of the long cord trail that remains there even when the car isn’t there.
Local resident Mark thinks it’s waiting for an accident.
“It’s both a tripping hazard and an electrical hazard for children,” he told the program.
The car owner has to run power cables from his house to the street to charge his vehicle
“If someone stumbles, what are they going to do. Are they going to sue the homeowner because their contents will probably be covered by civil liability, but insurance companies will say ‘it’s outside your house, we don’t cover’.
“The council will say it’s not their problem, so it’s going to be a lawyer’s picnic.”
“The electricity cables are going to get wet one day.”
‘I think some municipality wanted to run the cables through poles, but it’s going to be a spaghetti junction. It’s going to look terrible.’
The Electric Vehicle Council is urging every state and territory to set targets for electric car sales after the ACT recently became the first Australian jurisdiction to ban new and diesel vehicles from 2035.
Depending on the battery, charging electric cars takes between 15 minutes and 20 hours.
The car owner has installed a cover over the extension cord that crosses the footpath so passers-by don’t trip over it
Fordham called on authorities in Australia to find out how electric cars will be charged in the future, with at least one council on Sydney’s north coast planning to remove ramps.
“I think only 30 percent of the people on my street have garages and a lot of municipalities are getting rid of driveways,” Fordham said.
“They claim that if you have a driveway, you endanger school children because you reverse down the driveway while children are walking on the sidewalk.”
‘We are reducing driveways and garages, so that there are fewer charging points for your electric car, so that they take to the streets.
‘Then you have to get the power from the house to the car on the street and that involves a lot of extension cords.’
The power cables that charge the electric car extend from the road to the property and run over the front fence