Top 5 Unexpected Bonuses of Driving an EV

1. Designated Park Spot

This is hands down one of the sweetest things about having an Electric Vehicle. My two favorite charging spots are at Dan & Whit’s in Norwich where for a 15 minutes charge up I snag myself a solid location to park. This lets me get a little juice and I do not need to worry about finding a spot during the lunch rush. 

2. Sneaking up on people

My EV is sooo quiet that it has become a family joke. I glide up silently behind folks I know in parking lots and get to spook them a little bit as I pull up beside them. I even have to wave and shout at my cat occasionally when I pull into the driveway because Ms. Kitty will lounge about unperturbed by my car.

The best “scare” I pulled was on my own mother who didn’t hear me when I pulled in until I rolled my window down and shouted “Boo!” at her. 

It goes without saying that with this great power comes great responsibility though. I do drive very carefully when I am in a neighborhood or near pedestrians because although it is fun to prank the ones you love, it is no fun at all to potentially injure someone who was relying on hearing your car for safety. 

3. Brag-factor

It has to be said, I know the brag-factor of driving an Electric Vehicle is huge. I love when I park my bright blue and green Chevy Bolt and go to plug it in, all to the astonishment of passer-bys. Getting to explain how much I save, and the incredible GMP Program where I only pay $30 a month for unlimited charging is pretty cool.

I feel like a mini-celebrity when I get a small crowd of folks who want to see me pop the hood and show off the unique motor. I even get to show my dashboard and how my good-or-bad driving habits save electricity while I’m on the road.

You can get a pre-EV brag high by slapping on one of the Drive Electric Vermont bumper stickers on your current fossil fuel burners.

Another fun thing in this category is the “EV nod.” I noticed shortly after getting my Bolt that  I was getting nods and sometimes a little friendly wave from my fellow EV drivers. Sort of like the coveted motorcycle wave from one biker to another, this gesture is a small way of saying hey I see you and we are in this cool club together. Gives you a real sense of community.

4. You explore more

My husband and I were visiting some friends down in Boston one weekend and in preparation for our drive down, we looked out for a half-way point to charge on our Drive Electric Vermont charger map.  We saw that the stop in Brattleboro was perfect for us to fast charge at the level three charger for 30 minutes, then to hop back on the highway and go on our way. Planning the stop we easily found the charging station and since it was right in downtown Brattleboro we got the chance to do some quick exploring.

We stopped at the Coop and grabbed the much needed “wine and cheese” gift for our hosts, a nice healthy lunch for us, a bathroom break and on our way back to the car we stopped in a bookstore. It was fun to have enough time to do some exploring and we ended up having a nice brisk walk and seeing the sights longer than the needed charge time.

On our return trip we stopped at the Hermit Thrush micro-brewery while charging and even got a stamp on our “beer passports” from sampling some flavorful flutes of ale.

5. Eating Less Junk Food

It is a little known fact that when you stop at a gas station to fill up, you are then enticed with many bad for you goodies. I personally have an addiction to Reese’s Cups and Sour Cream & Cheddar chips, so every time I would fill up my old gas guzzling car I would be tempted to fill up on snacks too. 

Driving an Electric Vehicle means that I cruise right by those sugar, salt and fat factories because I just charge at my home! While I can’t say that I NEVER eat junk food now as an EV driver, I do know my convenience store purchases have dropped waaayyy down. My waistline and my wallet are very happy with that fact.

Funny story my dentist’s office has FOUR solar homeowners, and I think I could convince some of those folks to go electric with their vehicles just based on the cavity reducing correlation with not stopping at the gas station.