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I learned recently that road wear varies as the 4th power of vehicle weight. This means that every 20% increase in weight doubles the amount of damage that vehi
by jewayne 3y ago
I learned recently that road wear varies as the 4th power of vehicle weight. This means that every 20% increase in weight doubles the amount of damage that vehicle does to the road/street. This means the absolute vast majority of road wear is caused by the largest vehicles -- tractor-trailers, large box trucks, etc. Yes, personal electric vehicles weigh a lot more than their ICE equivalents, but they're still only going to cause a small fraction of the road damage.
What we'll need to worry about and plan for are these electric semis that are rolling out. They will almost certainly cause noticeably more road damage than their ICE peers.
- datavirtue 3y agoI think a swell of EVs are going to far outweigh the semis and box trucks. I agree, they are the largest impact but the scale of EV ownership that is being promoted will result in an insane increase in road wear.
- jewayne 3y ago> I agree, they are the largest impact but the scale of EV ownership that is being promoted will result in an insane increase in road wear. I mean, I just explained why it won't.
- datavirtue 3y agoBy comparing one vehicle to another in a static state? More EVs weighing significantly more than equivalent ICE vehicles actually moving across the roads doesn't have a increased wear affect? Ford Ranger 4200lbs Rivian R1T 7200lbs I believe by your stated calculation that the Rivian is more than two Ford Rangers worth of wear. Subtract the big trucks from all this, to avoid getting caught up in relative comparisons, and there is going to be more net road wear.