People just get in the car and go, treating superchargers like a gas station. There isn't any good "public awareness" or "driver training" for new EV drivers. Maybe it is somewhere in the manual if you read it or have a friend.
I don't think it even needs special "awareness" or "training". People just need to get over this allergy they have to taking a 15-20 minute stop once in a while.
I had another exchange of comments today with a friend of mine who is thinking about an electric car, but keeps coming up with worse and worse far-fetched excuses to avoid it. She started off with a post about how she wanted a car that can do 400 miles on a charge. Here it is, for your reading pleasure: (I am R, and she is M)
R: “The current Tesla Model S is EPA rated for 402 miles, but you know--that's EPA rating, so fairly granny-style. Normal people's highway speed driving will be less.”
M: “and I can’t afford an S.”
R: “I guess my comment was more general, that 400 miles is a thing that exists, but yeah, it's going to still take more time for it to be what is in the cheaper version of products. The Model 3 does have a 350 mile version. Honestly, it's kind of unusual for people's bladders to be able to hold for much more than about 300 miles at a time.”
M: “I would drive 8 hours without stopping from Ann Arbor to Washington DC on one tank of gas in my Prius. And, the only Tesla charging stations I’ve seen don’t have a bathroom or convenient store attached. If I could sit safely inside and have a cup of tea, I might budge on the miles needed before a charge.”
R: “I guess I'm confused by what you mean. Both of the Supercharger stations in Toledo are in Meijer grocery store parking lots. So are the ones in Dayton and Ann Arbor. They have bathrooms, and a grocery store is better than just a convenience store.”
M: “I don’t want to walk alone across a giant parking lot to have to buy something to use a Meijer bathroom. The one near me has a Five Guys next to it, so I could get inside fast and drink a milkshake, but I don’t think that’s the norm.”
I need to not respond any more, because I would start losing my temper from frustration and start getting snarky and sarcastic. I am thinking: “You know what’s not “the norm”? Driving 8 hours non-stop! Being unwilling to walk through a grocery store parking lot!