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Comment by repsilat | Hacker News Reader

I'm really surprised no jurisdiction (California, probably...) has said, "by 2020 all new cars must fill on insert side for insert reason."

The problem would be quickly and cheaply resolved as a result.

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Why is it a good thing to standardise? Given that most petrol stations have equal access for both sides, you'd start losing efficiency once the number of standardised cars reached a certain proportion. I figure that by that point, electric cars will have rendered this obsolete. If the entire nature of transportation hasn't changed by that point. And civilisation as we know it still exists.

In California (at least), the pumps work regardless of which side the car is parked on. The hoses are longer and the hands free mechanism is very different from the east coast. Actually, I prefer to extend the hose over the car as it feels more sturdy. So, dictating which side the fuel door is on doesn't necessarily create gas pump asymmetry.

If that were the standard, it would no longer matter which side the hose is on. I'm from the midwest: If you pull into a gas station, it is highly unlikely that the hose will stretch across the car.

I'd report on the hoses here in Norway, but honestly I haven't driven since I moved here a few years back.

Norwegian hoses are, in general, too short to reach over the car. (If they're long enough, you've probably wound up at a truck pump, and had better think twice before pulling the trigger on the filler pistol...)

My filler cap is on the left (Toyota Land Cruiser); my wife cannot remember which side the cap is on, but she DOES remember that she can spot the lid using the mirrors, so we're both happy.

That is very very helpful, thank you! And I'll definitely try to avoid the truck fuel.

Well, it will be helpful once I am legal to drive. Both my spouse and I forgot about my driving - he didn't own a car when I moved (we own a cheap one now). Quite unfortunate, considering the cost of driving classes, but probably a plus considering winter driving seems a slightly different beast comparatively..

Winter driving is a slightly different beast indeed; however, a lot is achieved if one makes an effort to drive more passively - increasing the distance to the car in front, start braking early, &c.

Any driving school will be happy to give winter driving lessons even if you have a valid licence, by the way - and no, no matter what shenanigans you pull during the lesson, they cannot have your licence revoked.

So, if your spouse isn't too comfortable driving on the icy stuff[0], just get in touch with a driving school (preferably in winter, though we do have dedicated tracks with artificial cooling here and there - nothing like skidding around on half an inch of ice in July...)

[0] Here's me assuming he's !Norwegian, too...

I have a valid American licence for a while more, but I missed the window for taking only the written exam. Therefore, I am required to take the classes nevertheless. I understand that winter driving is part of the standard lessons, though I considered taking the class during the winter just for the experience. (Of course, if the winters have as little snow as this past one, it might not make a difference).

He's Norwegian, and very comfortable. The differences on his caution and mine is striking. He drives faster than I would, in mountains, with little to no sliding. Average "snow speeds" are faster here, but I'm sure some of that is because folks use snow tires instead of the "all weather" tires folks used in the states. But to be fair, I'm actually luckier than immigrants having no practical experience with snow and cold and I'm sure most of my previous caution will transfer over nicely.

Suggestion: If he's eligible for doing driving practice with you (Basically - older than 25 and has had his licence for more than five years uninterrupted), just find a large, open parking lot once some snow and ice is around.

Honestly, simply spending a few hours in an empty parking lot did more for whatever winter driving skills I may have picked up than any formal driving lesson did. There's a lot to be said for trying to maneuver the car and failing miserably to do so - repeatedly - without hitting anything. Most educational. (And fun! Just don't get too carried away, or the police will chew on you + spouse for reckless driving if they are bored.)

Proper winter tires helps a lot. As does a gentle right foot and slow, smooth operation of the steering wheel (And if you really want to go native - studded tires and 4x4)

(Not that I expect this to be news to you; I'm just making small talk, as it were. :))

The fuel fillers are different sizes so to put diesel into a gasoline car you'd have to stand there holding the fill over the fuel port.

(Or have outdated/non standard equipment)

-Oh, I wasn't concerned about accidentally filling diesel on a gas powered car; more that the truck diesel comes gushing out much faster than it would from a 'normal' pump. (Though I have to admit, having never tried, I don't know whether the truck diesel nozzles are even larger than the regular diesel ones. (that would make sense, though.)

In Australia at least, truck diesel nozzles are in fact larger than car diesel, and won't fit. I know from having tried to make one fit :(

I don't think I've ever come across a hose that doesn't stretch to the opposite side of the car here in the UK. It always makes me laugh to see people queuing for a particular side when the pumps on the other side are all vacant.

The hose would stretch, but it could touch the body of the car and filling on the other side isn't as convenient because the hose gets bent near the handle.

A similar number of cars with LHS/RHS filler caps would make for some nice load balancing at the pumps, but the problem is that most European and American manufacturers put it on the right side, regardless of vehicle model. Japanese cars sold in the US and Europe mostly have it on the left because the cars were originally designed for LHT and the engineers didn't bother to switch it. Many Nissans also have the dials of the dashboard in the center in order to cut some expenditure in producing LHT/RHT cars.

Why don't they just drive in from the other direction?

UK petrol stations usually have a marked entrance and exit giving an implicit one-way system. Along with the quite tight dimensions, it's quite tricky to approach the pump from the other direction.

That's something that never occurred to me. Even in cities, US gas stations have plenty of room to turn around if you need to approach a pump from the other side.

There's also usually a good distribution of cars approaching the pumps from opposite directions.

I'm seeing most stations attempting to have a single directional flow. Doesn't stop people going against it, mind you, but the intention is there.

At this point we should be thinking bigger and saying something like "by 2025 all new cars must not fill up at all because they must not use carbon-emitting fuel".

The problem persists with which side of the electric car gets the SAE J1772 receptacle? Of course because the only think more fun than one standard, is two standards, and that increments inductively, so universal charging stations are not only going to have cable side problems, but they're going to have a lot of cables to choose from.

There is a UI problem for EV in that we're culturally programmed to get our energy from 80s style chrome and plastic R2D2 sized monoliths that plug into the side of our vehicles, whereas technologically theres no reason an overhead retractable cord or ground mounted cord couldn't work as well or better.

Because the charging receptacle isn't a safety hazard in an impact, it can be placed in a central location, such as the middle of the front or rear.

Speaking of which, do electric vehicles even have a hood?

EVs do have a hood. Most of them use it to hold drivetrain and various other equipment just like a traditional car. Teslas have enough surplus volume to provide a cargo area under it.

Charging cables are more flexible than gasoline hoses, so they're easier to manage. They tend to be pretty long, so you don't usually have to park any particular way. If the charger is on the wrong side, you can easily plug in anyway.

An exception to this is Tesla Superchargers, where the cable is just barely long enough to reach the charge port when you park the way you're intended to. But since all Supercharger-capable vehicles have the charge port in the same location, it's not an issue.

Regarding the original comment's proposal to standardize this stuff, I can only imagine that California would mandate it on one side, New York would mandate it on the other side, and then we'd be even more doomed than we are already.

The Tesla "Frunk".

You just described the Nissan Leaf. And, yes, it has a hood. That's where the accessory battery and wiper fluid live (and some other stuff that needs access).

Is it really a "problem"?

Are most laws addressing things that are "really a problem"?

No offense, but I would like to see other global automotive standards addressed first - primarily "safety related". Differences between Euro and US standards mean the same exact car can't be sold in the two markets, so they have to make at least 2 versions of every car. Ridiculous.

A lot of vehicles meet both US and European standards for safety out of the factory now. It was was my understanding that there are two versions due to fuel economy restrictions (and fuel type differences).

There are several small differences. I can't find an exhaustive list, but windshield material, bumper height, headlights, and taillights are some that come to mind immediately. Yes, it's the same platform, but the vehicles are "tweaked" for each market safety regulation.

It's not that US is "safer" than EU or vice-versa, it's that the standards are different.

EDIT: http://jalopnik.com/a-simple-explanation-why-america-doesnt-...

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