My second car (Rover 2000) had a reserve petrol tank. A reserve battery would be a sensible idea.

First Bob Carter and now Peter Ridd is there any academic freedom left ?

http://www.thegwpf.com/reef-row-scientist-peter-ridd-snubs-university-gag-order/

Pcar, the number of people running out of fuel every year is substantial, so manufacturers have to assume at least the same number running out of electrical juice. But they should also factor in both new tehnology stupidity and the more complex calculation of how long the car will last, age deterioration, plus no jerry can of electricity. So yes, drivers of electric cars are significantly more vulnerable than those of conventional vehicles. The current crop of electrical cars will be being used by two groups, those seeking to get in and out of cities cheaper, including fleet vehicles and those who have them as little runabouts, often not the primary vehicle in the household. Those people will have less problems than the general run of the mill traffic. Many of them will have a garage to keep them and charge overnight.

Many cars like mine live outside in the cold and wet. The batteries have short lives in those conditions and while I've never run out of fuel, I have been stranded due to a dead battery. I've been deeply relieved on a snowy night in a deserted hospital carpark that the newer car I was driving had no trouble with the battery. I certainly didn't have to worry that after I'd set off it would die on me.

So if manufacturers don't properly warn drivers of the downsides of their expensive white elephants, I think that they should be responsible for the consequences.

golf charlie
In three of four of thousand years the "Time Team" of the day will dig up these caches of batteries and wonder about the reasons for storing them in the same way the archeologists today puzzle over caches of copper axe heads.

Pcar
It is not just women who run out of fuel when driving. I knew an allegedly intelligent man who ran his petrol car on less than a quarter of a tank virtually all the time. His argument was why carry the extra weight when you pass a filling station twice a day on your short commute. It didn't stop him running out of petrol several times in the year.I worked with him. There was a theory he was a closet adrenaline junky and liked the excitement of driving on the edge.

In the case of electric vehicles I reckon there are people of all 47 genders who don't understand that the battery is the sole source of energy for an EV and 22 mile range might not be the actuality of the situation, it's just the output from a model.

Prince Charles has spoken about his deep frustration at the world ignoring plastic waste in the ocean. He speaks from personal experience as you can see here