Two million drivers at risk of being 'stranded' due to mobile phone rule

James Rodger
·2-min read
Two million drivers at risk of being 'stranded' due to mobile phone rule
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Two million drivers are at risk of "being left stranded" due to a little-known rule. Electric vehicle drivers could be left behind when looking to charge their vehicles in the future as a result of patchy phone signals, a new report has warned.

Marc Dal Cin, Founder of EV Charger Installation, has revealed many electric car charging plugs require some access to a “mobile connection" to be activated. Marc said: “Unlike petrol stations, which are fully accessible at any time, many EV chargers require a mobile connection to activate or process payments.

"For drivers in rural areas or even parts of cities where signal is unreliable, this can mean the difference between a successful charge and being left stranded." Marc added: “As more people choose electric, we need to ensure charging infrastructure keeps up—not just in terms of availability, but in accessibility too.”

READ MORE: DVLA to roll out massive driving licence shake-up 'next March'

READ MORE: Drivers in England face new charges for caravan use in 2025

READ MORE 29 parts of England set for snow on Tuesday and Wednesday according to Met Office

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, explained: “Drivers leaving busy, urban areas will have discovered that the nation’s charging infrastructure needs more investment in rural locations. Away from popular attractions, finding a chargepoint can be more challenging.”

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “Drivers of vehicles fuelled by petrol and diesel are used to reliable and hassle-free filling up at any of the 8,400 forecourts across Britain. The same cannot yet be said of topping up the battery of an electric car at a public chargepoint.

“Where signal connectivity at a chargepoint is a problem, drivers might conclude that the charger is at fault, hence undermining the confidence we should be building in the reliability of public charging options for electric vehicles.”

A spokesperson for the Government said: “We’ve invested £1billion to increase 4G coverage and are on track to have 95 per cent of the UK covered by the end of next year.

“The number of new electric vehicles and plug-ins sold overall is higher than last year thanks £2billion Government investment and we continue to help more people to make the switch to electric through schemes such as the £381million Local Electric Vehicle (LEVI) fund, helping to rollout charging infrastructure.”

Latest stories

  • Trump’s Bid to Rebrand Air Force One Comes Back to Bite Him

    President-elect Donald Trump probably won’t even get to fly on his improved Air Force One planes, and might have to reluctantly leave them to his successor, according to reports. In his first term Trump ordered two 747-8 jumbo jets to be heavily updated and they were slated for delivery in 2026 and 2027. However, the $3.9 billion deal with Boeing is reportedly so delayed that the models will be ready only after the 78-year-old leaves the White House. The MAGA chief reportedly made the deal his p

  • Electric cars in winter: How cold weather affects EV range and charge

    Like everything powered by lithium batteries, electric cars can perform less well in the cold. Here’s what that means for you, and how to work around it.

  • Air Canada ordered to pay $10K after couple endures 'horrendous experience'

    A small claims court has ordered Air Canada to pay a couple $10,000, after an overbooked flight resulted in the two being sent to multiple Canadian airports under the promise of a replacement flight that never materialized, ruining a vacation that had been planned for years. A blistering decision from the Small Claims Court of Yukon concluded that the couple were "treated shamefully" by the airline. Justice Katherine L. McLeod wrote that Air Canada had breached the Air Passenger Protection Regul

  • Six cars involved in crash that brought A19 to standstill this morning

    Six cars have been involved in a crash on the A19 near northbound this morning, police have confirmed.

  • 'Oh My Gosh!': Plane Crash That Injured 4 Caught on Dashcam

    Four people were injured after a small plane crashed onto a road and struck three vehicles at a busy intersection in Victoria, Texas, on Wednesday, December 11.The Victoria Police Department said officers responded to reports of a small plane crash at the intersection of Mockingbird Lane and Zac Lentz Parkway shortly after 3 pm.Police said five people were involved in the crash. Four people were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries while one person was transferred to a hospital outside of town. The pilot was being evaluated.The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). confirmed a twin-engine Piper PA-31 crashed in Victoria at about 3 pm.In an update on Wednesday evening, police said local traffic routes had been adjusted and the Mockingbird Lane and Zac Lentz Parkway intersection would remained closed until further noticeThis dashcam footage captured by Anthony Poynor shows the moments before and after the crash. Credit: Anthony Poynor via Storyful

  • Horror crash leaves trail of destruction with cars wrecked along street

    A driver ploughed into several cars and two houses

  • Christmas travel strikes: What trains and airports are affected by industrial action this winter?

    Walk-outs in the UK and continental Europe will disrupt millions of Christmas journeys

  • Ford Escort Mk1 returns with souped-up engine and £300k price tag

    The Ford Escort is to return with a souped-up engine delivering nearly three times the power of the original – and a £300,000 price tag.

  • Trump team aligns with Tesla in looking to end required crash reporting

    STORY: President-elect Donald Trump's transition team wants to scrap a federal rule for automakers, a move that would benefit Elon Musk's Tesla.That's according to a document seen by Reuters, in which Trump's team recommended doing away with a requirement to report car crashes.Removing the rule could cripple the government’s ability to investigate and regulate the safety of vehicles with automated-driving systems. Under the program, Tesla has reported most of the crashes – more than 1,500 – to federal safety regulators.The automaker has also been targeted in investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, including three stemming from the crash-disclosure data.Sources told Reuters that Tesla despises the rule, as it believes NHTSA presents the data in ways that mislead consumers about the automaker's safety.Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the world's richest person, spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars helping Trump get elected president in November, and has been promised a post in the new administration.The Trump transition team, Musk and Tesla did not respond to requests for comment.According to the document seen by Reuters, Trump's team called the car-crash reporting measure a mandate for "excessive" data collection.Reuters could not determine what role, if any, Musk may have played in crafting the recommendations or the likelihood that the administration would enact them. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group representing most major automakers except Tesla, has also criticized the crash reporting requirement as burdensome.In addition to ditching the reporting rule, Trump's team recommended the incoming administration "liberalize" autonomous-vehicle regulation and enact "basic regulations to enable development" of the industry.

  • Security Camera Captures Moment Car Flipped, School Bus Hit in Boston

    A vehicle was flipped on its side and a school bus was hit in a multi-vehicle crash in Boston, Massachusetts, on the evening of December 10.Security camera footage captured by a local business shows a school bus waiting to turn left across traffic at the three-way intersection of Warren, Waverly, and Copeland in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood. A car in the left-turn lane can be seen attempting to quickly move into the right-hand lane, but does so at the moment another vehicle is passing on the right. The passing vehicle was flipped onto its side on impact and a third vehicle was rear-ended into the school bus.Two children were on board the bus at the time of the crash, reports said.According to local news reports citing officials, no one was taken to the hospital following the incident. Credit: Cesar Rivera via Storyful

  • Wreckage From Plane Crash Seen Scattered Across Texas Intersection

    Four people were injured after a small plane crashed onto a road and struck three vehicles at a busy intersection in Victoria, Texas, on Wednesday, December 11.Footage from Anthony Poynor shows the wreckage of the crash scattered across the intersection of Mockingbird Lane and Zac Lentz Parkway.The Victoria Police Department said officers responded to reports of a small plane crash at the intersection shortly after 3 pm.Police said five people were involved in the crash. Four people were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries while one person was transferred to a hospital outside of town. The pilot was being evaluated.The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed a twin-engine Piper PA-31 crashed in Victoria at about 3 pm.In an update on Wednesday evening, police said local traffic routes had been adjusted and the Mockingbird Lane and Zac Lentz Parkway intersection would remained closed until further notice Credit: Anthony Poynor via Storyful

  • Overweight lorry breaches traffic restrictions in town centre

    A lorry driver was issued with a Traffic Offence Report after driving through Leiston despite the 7.5 tonne weight limit.

  • Cherry Hill, leading model engineer who made working steam-powered locomotives at 1:16 scale

    Cherry Hill, who has died aged 93, was one of the world’s foremost scale model engineers, outshining her mostly male competitors to win numerous awards including nine gold medals at the annual Model Engineer Exhibition in London, and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, the top prize for model engineering – also nine times; some called her the Fabergé of model engineering.

  • Emergency services rush to Greenock Central Station after passengers take ill

    Train services have been disrupted after passengers became unwell on a train at Greenock Central Station.

  • First responders flee from out-of-control truck in Michigan highway crash

    A terrifying moment for first responders at the scene of a crash on the I-94 in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, on Thursday: deputies and firefighters had to flee for their lives after an out-of-control box truck jackknifed and violently smashed into a firetruck. Shocking dashcam captured the horror rollover crash, but luckily no one was seriously injured.

  • Bird strike forces jetliner to make an emergency landing in New York

    A bird strike involving an American Airlines jetliner disabled one of the plane’s two engines shortly after takeoff from New York’s LaGuardia Airport Thursday night. The plane with almost 200 passengers and crew landed safely.

  • 2025 Lexus GX Overtrail Is up to $3680 More Expensive Than Last Year

    The GX has a slightly higher $65,285 base price, but the off-road-oriented trims receive notable price hikes.

  • Pedestrian seriously injured in car collision at zebra crossing

    The incident happened in Sea Road, near the junction with Endwell Road in Bexhill, at about 7.20pm on December 11

  • M25 and M26 closed after pedestrian hit by car and lorry fire

    Long traffic jams build up, causing delays of at least an hour

  • Main road closed both ways due to police incident

    A main road is closed this morning due to a police incident.