Public EV points are getting busy. Apparently.

[RichR]

You've really got to try hard to ignore all the beeps and flashing warnings to run out of electricity in an EV. You get plenty of warnings when it gets low, and even when it shows zero on the instrument panel and goes into tortoise mode and get more beeps and warnings for at least 20 miles before finally actually grinding to a halt.

There's usually somewhere to pull over safely and consult the car's satnav (or Zap-Map/ABRP/PlugSurfing or some other app on your phone) to find the nearest public charger when you get the first warnings, and there'll be something even if it's a pub or hotel where you might need to get permission to use it.

But then I guess, some people manage to run out of petrol by ignoring the warning lights and beeps, and there are plenty of petrol stations

[Chris__M]

I read that a different way. Split the statement in two, and it becomes clearer....
And the reason for the 4% may well be not that people are more likely to run out of fuel in an EV, but that the rest of the EV - the motors and such - are more reliable that the mechanics of a petrol/diesel car.

Ah! You may be right, and if so, your second point makes a lot of sense. What we need is an Oxford comma. Cue more discussion.

I wouldn't be so hasty to say The Times wrote it that way on purpose, but their article was headlined "Spike In Mayday Calls As Electric Cars Run Out Of Juice"

[Chris__M]

But then I guess, some people manage to run out of petrol by ignoring the warning lights and beeps, and there are plenty of petrol stations

I've run out of petrol once in my life, when I thought I knew better than my dodgy fuel indicator, which was on zero.

I was right, for the first 15 miles. But a mile from the services I was aiming for, I realised I was wrong.

[Goaty]

I ran out of petrol in a 1983 Opel Ascona. The ‘posh’ CD model with a computer that said there was still something like 25kms left in the tank ! 80s junk !

[RichR]

When I was 18, a group of us went camping in Edale in the Peak District. Being poor A-level students we only put in a couple of litres of petrol in my mate's car. However four lads plus camping gear causes a 950cc Fiesta to use a lot of petrol going up Winnats Pass, so we didn't have enough fuel to get back to Bakewell (where we lived) afterward. Managed to make it to the top of the pass, and turned the engine off to coast most of the way to Castleton. Still had to push it the last 200m to the petrol station

But we consciously chose to ignore the warning light and gauge, and fully expected to run out as a result.