Horse Jam

I don't really like horror films.  Especially ones that are not advertised as horror films.  I started watching a film once - it started with a group of motorists stuck in a traffic jam.  If that wasn't bad enough, a large number of vandals suddenly appeared and started to damage the bonnets and roof panels of the stranded cars.  And to make it worse, there was plinky, jolly music being played over it all.

I switched channels and vowed never to watch any of La La Land again.

This photo reminded me of that:

It is from this BBC story about a traffic jam in North Wales caused by a horse on the carriageway.

It is a bit misleading in that it makes it look like a major incident with an escaped horse although in reality, the traffic was stopped briefly by the Police so that the horse could be moved from a broken-down horsebox to a non-broken-down horsebox.  Even if the horseboxes had rear doors, (which they don't appear to) getting a horse that is already nervous about vandals on the roof safely along the roadside would be a nightmare - ha "mare" - geddit!?

What are you supposed to do when your horsebox breaks down anyway?

I've just renewed my breakdown recovery.  I was with AutoAid - not one of the big four - AA/RAC/National Breakdown/Green Flag but good value and they are big enough to sponsor BTCC cars:

So I was surprised to see I could be with Green Flag for 40p less.  I signed up for Green Flag and it's a good job there is a cooling off period because my wife spotted a bit about Excesses on the Policy Document - they wanted to charge me £40 for every call-out!  Bloody cheek!

I'm back with AutoAid.

I don't know if AutoAid cover horseboxes - if not, they may get saddled with a Green Flag policy.

Trailing Sockets

Car+Driver have raised an interesting question today:

How do you charge a electric truck that happens to be towing a trailer?

Gosh that looks strange.

 

Is it a horsebox?  Is it a caravan for shy people?

 

Just two of the many more questions that the article throws up.

 

Such as:

 

How much weight can an electric vehicle tow?

 

What does it do to the range? Can you trust the range computer on your dashboard?

 

Are caravan sites going to have to have extra charging sockets next to where you connect your caravan to the mains electricity?  Or will you have a cable running from your electric car or truck through your caravan window and plugged in next to the TV?

 

Car+Driver's main concern though is, given that charging point bays are designed to be driven into by cars, do you have to unhitch a trailer and leave it somewhere?  That trailer in the picture looks a bit hefty to be manhandled.

 

It looks like the manufacturers of electric trucks haven't thought that one through either - apart from Rivian - their agreements with charging companies specify that they will need space to accommodate vehicles that are towing trailers. They say that they will also make sure there is room for this type of charging in its own charging network.

 

Final question:

 

What is the best thing to carry in a trailer pulled by an electric vehicle?

 

Answer: