One Pedal Driving is nothing new to the Electric Vehicle (EV) world but it was totally unknown to me until I bought an EV. Here’s the  fancy explanation of OPD:

One-pedal driving uses regenerative braking to slow down the vehicle when you lift off the accelerator. This means you can accelerate, maintain speed, and brake all with a single pedal.

What I like about OPD – and I am an unrepentant fan of it – is that with one device (the accelerator) I control: reverse, go, slow and stop. The only required manipulation is depressing the gas pedal or raising my foot. On rare occasion – that is, when a hurried stop is required (such as when a truck ahead of you brakes more quickly than anticipated) – I have had to depress my own brake pedal for added force and urgency; but baring such unique or infrequent incidents, my right foot never wanders from the accelerator pedal.

I regularly travel along 4-lane highways. On these open, monotonous routes I as routinely use cruise control and Super Cruise which together control one’s speed and direction. The cruise control and Super Cruise are uninterrupted by OPD (which I am never required to engage or disengage for any reason – including after having stopped or reactivated the car). The automatic functionality of cruise control and Super Cruise operate entirely independently.

The regenerative feature of OPD is a mechanical mystery to me but I acknowledge that – apart from creating new energy – it spares the brake pads. I also like that the mere removal of one’s foot from the pedal literally slows the car rather than braking it – which affords a new driving experience (most notably when travelling downhill).

Aside from the novelty of OPD the more pressing issue surrounding EVs is recharging. Most drivers will be people who travel only short distances daily. That means they likely charge at home – so the cost and immediacy of recharging are not issues for them. But for vacationers – and those curious people who regularly travel long distances – the availability of EV charging stations is of concern.

Having said that that – and having just completed a 3,100 Km tour through the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island (not counting the 112 Km ferry ride from Digby, NS to Saint John, NB) – we encountered no issues of peril to recharge though we did face frustration with the use of the majority. These frustrations were partly due to our own inexperience. But some problems pertained to the charging unit itself. And – by way of example – the unit we tried to use at our Marriott Hotel (where we are located this evening) only works for Tesla – even though we have a brand new adapter from Cadillac – because the old Tesla pumps are now outdated and do not permit transition to other manufacturers of EVs.

By contrast we discovered that Google Maps (which our GPS  uses to direct our travel) has a feature to search for Charging Stations. And very cleverly Google locates primarily Fast Charging pumps which in my blissful ignorance I distinguish as 100 KwH, 250 KwH or 350 KwH – except maybe when using a (modern) Tesla pump that requires an adapter. You see how rapidly technology changes even within the boundaries of new invention. It is the inevitability of change which persuades me in this and any other technological matter to believe that EVs are thriving. As a confirmed passenger vehicle driver for five decades I am convinced of the power of the EV. I shall never return to fuel. Mine is not an environmental decision; it relates purely to the nature of the drive. There are naturally many other factors affecting the assessment of the driving conditions but for whatever reasons (including in particular the OPD) I am very happily driven by the EV.