Electric vehicles are increasingly present on our roads, and its presence would continually grow in years to come toppling the mechanical vehicles dominance in our present day world. The truth of this technological development is the need of the Roadside Assistance Industry’s adaptation to this technological reality. How do we face this challenge technology has posed to the Roadside Assistance Industry?
The electric vehicle has come to stay. However, real growth is yet to come, it would most definitely pose a challenge to humanity as it will require a change in almost every sphere of life, the Roadside Assistance Industry. How they would deal with the flux of electric vehicles is apparent in the little changes they have made in so far in accepting the budding modern technology.
Roadside assistance providers basically service electric vehicle owners when they run out of range. How? These providers send a charging unit on a service van to charge the vehicle quickly and easily. Most importantly, helping electric vehicle owners save time by skipping a trip to a charging station.
Why roadside assistance?
- Cost Effectiveness: It is cost effective. Asides the cost effectiveness, it also saves time, money, and manpower.
- Convenience: It is convenient. It provides a better roadside solution for Electrical Vehicle drivers.
- Reliability: It is highly reliable. Ran out of range during your trip? No more waiting to be towed except in highly peculiar cases. Sadly, it’s eventually taking over tow service Industry. Although, some tow service companies have incorporated road assistance provision into their services.
- Flexibility: It is highly flexible. No more planning around when or where your next charge will be.
- Portability: It is portable. It increases your freedom to charge wherever and whenever you want.
The nexus of electric vehicles and road assistance providers is highly dependent on the range. What about range?
There are a few factors to consider in your available electric vehicle range:
- Battery Size: The bigger the battery, the more range. There are exceptions though.
- Weather: warmer weather allows for more range than colder weather.
- Terrain: A road with hills will naturally use up more energy than a flat road. As the vehicle driver accelerates, the speed increases and more power is consumed and made us of to put the vehicle in motion to climb the hill which has a resultant effect of consuming power from the battery. At this, the range of your electrical vehicle matters.
- Battery life: the more a battery is used, the less charge it will eventually be able to hold.
- Aerodynamics: this has to do with the size and shape of the vehicle, how it would impact how much wind is travelling across the vehicle versus at the Aerodynamic vehicle will enable you to get more mileage per charge.
Battery Electric Vehicles come with various/ different levels of electrical vehicle charging you should be highly knowledgeable about. These can be broken down into levels 1, 2 and 3.
- Level 1 Charging: it is the charger from the initial vehicle cable supplied at purchase. It plugs into 120v outlet. It charges at a rate of 5miles of range per hour. It takes 20hours to fully charge. This is most commonly found in electrical vehicle owners’ homes.
- Level 2 Charging: the charger is sold separately from the initial electric vehicle purchase. It pugs into 240v outlet. It charges at a rate of 12miles of range per hour. It takes 8hours to fully charge. It is most commonly found in electrical owners’ homes, places of employments, and public and commercial settings.
- Level 3 Charging: the charger is installed publicly and not often brought for personal use. It runs through a 480v DC plug. It takes 1hour to fully charge. It is only found in public or commercial settings. Also known as DCFC or DC Fast Charge, is the quickest way to juice up your electrical vehicle.
Why would electric vehicles breakdown?
- Broken or decayed battery: if you have had access to an early model electric vehicle, then you would know how terrible their batteries are. You need to regularly replace these batteries because they breakdown and decay a lot faster than the newer electric vehicle batteries. This doesn’t mean the newer brands are free from decay. The worst thing to ever experience is having your vehicle battery break down while you’re on the road. In this case you have no other choice than to call a roadside assistance provider to come to your aid.
- Flat Tyre: electric vehicles have rubber tyres which means your electric vehicle tyres can go flat or wear out just the same. Electric vehicles are worse off in this regards as the electric engines and batteries weigh more than standard internal combustion engines and batteries, this extra weight puts more pressure on the tyres as it also increases the regular load of the vehicle. As a result, your tyres are more susceptible to more wear and tear.
- Brake Problems: There are special braking systems in electric vehicle which manage their own level of brake degradation. Due to this, most drivers tend to think it is okay to never maintain their braking system with an occasional tune-up. Never take chances when it comes to malfunctioning brakes. Pull your vehicle over and call a Tow Service Company for some roadside assistance.
- Low or Dead Battery: Electric vehicle run on batteries and like all batteries, van lose their power eventually. If your electric vehicle battery goes dead while you’re on the road, then it will cause a breakdown. That is why if your electric vehicle breaks down because of a dead battery, then you can only depend on roadside assistance providers to save you.
- Accidents: Electric vehicles can still get into accidents just like any other vehicle. If your electric vehicle has been involve in an accident, even if it is a minor accident, the vehicle should be towed to prevent further damage to the electrical components of the vehicle.
Keep the contact of a roadside assistance provider in your wallet or on your smartphone for unexpected situations like the above. Thus, the nexus between electrical vehicles and roadside assistance cannot be ignored as they both go hand-in-hand. There are situations whereby electric vehicle owners will be left stranded and with no other option but to get a professional, certified and expert roadside assistance provider to help deal with their problems at that instance. You’ve got no other company to help fix this other than, Ultimate Reflections Towing!