EV’s Make Me Sick (Literally)
As a child I suffered terribly with travel sickness. Luckily for me, many of our relatives lived miles away, so I was never short of an opportunity to feel unwell in a car as weekends were spent cramped up in the back of a car travelling cross-country. These were in the days when there was no air conditioning in cars, poor ventilation was the norm and there was no Wi-Fi to connect a device keep my mind occupied. My dad also refused to believe the condition was real and whenever nature took its course was always quick to tell me it was my fault!
As I grew up this complaint fell away and I never felt the familiar unpleasant feeling I used to dread as a kid in the back of a Ford Capri.
Then I had the misfortune to ride in a Tesla. I wish I hadn’t.
I’m a life long petrolhead, drive old cars every day and don’t like EVs on any level. Nevertheless, when a pal offered to drive me to an event in a town about fifteen miles away in his Tesla, I never gave car sickness a second thought.
By the time we got to the end of my road the childhood feeling had already reared its ugly head and when we stopped just three miles away to collect another person, I was only too happy to get out and knock on his door, despite the heavy rain! I already felt terrible and there were twelve miles of country roads between us and the venue that evening.
Luckily traffic was heavy and we crawled along. I still felt awful by the time we arrived.
Three hours later we left and returned home. This time there was no traffic and the constant stop/start, the on-and-off power of the EV was too much for me and I had to ask the driver to allow me out of the car for air.
I’ll spare you, dear reader, the full details. It was horrific as I spent the next five minutes emptying myself. I made a vow that evening never to travel as a passenger in a Tesla as long as I live.
Let me also point out I don’t drink alcohol so the feeling of being worse for wear wasn’t self-inflicted.
The next day my daughter asked about my evening and when I informed her of my plight, she immediately replied that this was a thing. A quick Google later and sure enough it is!
Due to the lack of vibrations as there is no engine, no gear changes coupled with the on or off power delivery typical of EVs, this can induce a sickly feeling for passengers.
Many of my classic car pals dislike EVs in general out of principle, as do I. But now I can say that EVs make me sick and proudly tell them I’ll never drive in one again.
If like me, you spent car journeys as a child sitting on newspaper, or with a sick lead hanging off the back bumper of your dad’s mark three Escort and haven’t had the misfortune to travel in an EV, I suggest you turn down the offer of a lift. You can thank me later.
Maximilan James.
Maximilian James is a Carcadia contributor, podcaster, Youtuber and collector of classic cars.