The electric vehicle: A new driving experience involving specific skills and rules

• Self-reported behaviour modifications engaged in by drivers during daily use of an electric vehicle are reported.
• Driving at the strategic level is enhanced by the establishment of rules in order to optimize range management.
• At the tactical level adaptive driving behaviours arise to compensate for the lack of vehicle noise.
• Optimal driving styles arise at the operational level by mastering the regenerative braking function.
• Dynamic interactions between the three levels of driving activity are highlighted.

The arrival of the electric vehicle (EV) on the market is one consequence of government measures to improve air quality and reduce CO2 emissions. However, the EV has specific properties of use associated with its limited range and relative silence compared to normal vehicles, influencing the mobility behaviours of drivers and requiring them to develop some new driving abilities. This paper examines the behavioural modifications brought about by daily use of an electric vehicle at three different levels of driving activity: strategic, tactical and operational. The study collected and analyzed the self-reported behaviours (via questionnaires and travels dairies) of 36 Parisian private drivers, each of whom drove for six months an electric MINI E prototype. The results of the study show that driving an EV requires a learning phase to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to operate the vehicle. At the strategic level of driving, drivers take into account the restricted range of the EV, implement a daily charge process, and develop new behaviours related to trip planning. The study also examines driver behaviour at the tactical level, in terms of driver interactions with other road users to deal with the silent nature of the EV, and at the operational level of driving, in terms of braking behaviour to master the regenerative braking function of the EV. The paper discusses the interactions between these three levels of driving activity.