A clueless electric vehicle owner’s efforts to charge his car have left stunned Australians shaking their heads in disbelief.
A photo of the ‘bizarre’ setup in Newcastle, in the Hunter region of New South Wales, has emerged, leaving 2GB morning show host Ray Hadley speechless.
The photo submitted by a radio show listener showed a green electric vehicle parked on a street being charged, but the electrical cord that was plugged in came from the storm pipe in the sewer.
A shocked Hadley described it as “the most extraordinary photo I think I’ve ever seen.”
“You have your electric vehicle with an extension cord that goes through the stormwater pipe,” he told listeners.
‘I don’t think you know that water and electricity don’t mix and could cause you some kind of problem.
‘This is priceless. You, an idiot, can’t believe it.
Listeners took to the station’s Facebook page to criticize the setup as “unbelievable” and “dumb.”
“That’s the intelligence of EV owners,” one commented.
The owner of this electric vehicle in Newcastle ran a charging cable through a stormwater pipe in the gutter to his vehicle (pictured)
A second added: “Well that’s a disaster waiting to happen, some people lack good common sense these days,” said a second.
A third joked: “They’re a bit stupid!”
But some Australians hailed the idea as “genius”.
“At least he won’t trip over the cord,” one wrote.
Another added: “Great idea – not all pipes that reach the sidewalk are necessarily active stormwater and no one is going to trip.”
The efforts of the electric vehicle owner are not and will not be the last
This is despite the fact that many city councils have taken strong measures and have even gone so far as to prohibit electric vehicle owners from having charging cables on sidewalks.
Cables are considered a tripping hazard, but as more Australians purchase electric vehicles, the number of motorists who do not have a garage or land to park their vehicle to charge it is increasing.
Electric vehicle owners have become more creative when it comes to charging their car, as cables on sidewalks are considered dangerous (file image)
Keith Bensley was out for his morning walk in Sawtell on the New South Wales north coast earlier this year when he came across this extension cord crossing a footpath (pictured).
Earlier this year, Keith Bensley, from the New South Wales north coast, told Daily Mail Australia how he came across a rope on his morning walk in Sawtell.
The extension cord snaked from the sewer to the top floor of a nearby apartment block.
The electrical engineer noted that the unorthodox charging method not only posed a trip hazard, but also a serious fire risk.
“There was no attempt to put anything over the cable and it had rained the night before so it was nice and wet,” Mr Bensley said.
Mosman Council on Sydney’s north shore required electric vehicle owners to stop running electric cables on public footpaths as it poses a risk to pedestrians (pictured, a Volvo XC90 recharging in the luxury Mosman).
‘If (water) had gotten between the plug and the outlet. “In fact, it can burn and cause a fire if it were on dry grass,” he said.
Sydney’s Mosman Council a year ago required electric vehicle owners to stop running power cables on public footpaths to charge their vehicles on the street, as it was “potentially unsafe” for pedestrians.
The stern warning comes after photos circulated of drivers getting creative with charging solutions, with some forced to run extension cords over fences, trees and walkways to charge their vehicles.