Electric Wheelchairs: A Cautionary Tale to Those Hyping Electric Vehicles

People who depend on electric wheelchairs have a unique perspective as to the challenges that will face a nation that becomes increasingly tied to electric vehicles (EVs).

Recently the EPA announced new emissions rules designed to aggressively push the country toward EVs. While some Americans may prefer EVs, these vehicles are not a good fit for many Americans — for many reasons, but especially those related to cost, human rights and unreliability.

Melissa Ortiz

Melissa Ortiz of the National Center’s Able Americans Project can speak authoritatively to the latter.  In an American Thinker commentary, she writes:

People with disabilities who use wheelchairs could technically be called the first drivers of electric vehicles.  Electric wheelchairs have been in wide use since the 1950s.  Users know firsthand the blessings and hazards of anything that runs on a battery.  Being able to go where one wishes regardless of physical ability is a true blessing.  But getting stuck in the cold or rain when a battery will not operate at full power is a hazard….

What’s going to happen in the coming summer, when predicted brownouts occur because the existing grid cannot handle the needed electricity to power homes and offices, let alone electric vehicles?  It will be a telling vision of the future when the proposed transition to electric is complete.  Not everyone owns his own generator to charge vehicles when solar and wind can’t produce the necessary energy.

Read Melissa’s entire commentary here.