The Secret Pollution That All Cars Are Guilty Of | Fully Charged

[@fullychargedshow]

What do you think? Is it possible to re-invent the wheel and change these hidden emissions? Tell us below...

[@reshkumar]

Why keep using wheels? Isn't it about time for levitation?

[@julianshepherd2038]

No subsidy on ebikes

[@julianshepherd2038]

@@reshkumar maglev?

[@BixbyConsequence]

I wonder if rubber compounds can be modified so that wear favors the less-damaging particle sizes.

[@xxdAnxxwILliAmSxx]

Definitely worth looking at ways of not putting microplasics into water courses, maybe easier to skim rubber particulates out of road drains if they float rather than fit a four devices that need maintaining to every vehicle. And surely phasing out the ice vehicles will reduce old combustion/catalytic products being picked up off the road reducing rolling emissions further.

[@joules531]

One thing that wasn't covered was the fact that friction generated between tread block and tarmac (that consequently causes the creation of these micro particles) actually increases enormously as we drive faster, because the power needed to overcome air resistance actually increases at the cube of speed. This is why a Bugatti Veyron's tyres, for instance, will reportedly last for less than 20 miles at it's maximum speed. High speeds mean significantly faster wear rates, even if the driver is otherwise accelerating and braking very gently. In simple terms, each tread block on your tyre, scrabbling against the road surface to maintain forward momentum when it makes contact with the road, is working eight times harder at 80 mph, than at 40 mph. And I don't think many people, or indeed perhaps many KZbin EV channel presenters, understand this. We really need every "EV" youtube channel to avoid any encouragement or glorification of speed that will exacerbate this pollution problem.

[@tyrereviews]

Beautiful piece, great job. The tyre industry is slowly starting to talk about micro particulates, so it's really great people like you are making these respected documentaries to help push that message forward.

[@Milkshakman]

Just want to say I think it’s great that Fully Charged has always held the background recognition that individual humans propelling 3500lbs+ metal boxes is ridiculous regardless of how they’re powered. I’m really glad you made this video.

[@yodab.at1746]

I get pissed off by fast food delivery utilising cars. It's obvious there are better ways to deliver 500 grams of food than in a 3/4 ton metal box. I love my electric bike. Does your pizza cost the earth?

[@paladain55]

There are but we the public are spoiled. Cars used to weigh 1900-2100lb like the Honda civics in the 90s and get 40-50mpg, even back then! Now every thing must be a 3500lb cuv. Lol

[@hammedhaaret]

This is absolutely why fully charged deserves recognition and support. It's independent and speaks truth to power with a video that would be easy not to make.

[@kylequest]

How about buggering off, we're not going back to being pedestrians you loon.

[@HR15DE]

İm going to say that having your own personal car is night and day more luxurious experience than public transport most of the time. People are not livestock. People enjoy luxuries People want personal cars.

[@SimonAmazingClarke]

One if the biggest fixes for this would be less road miles per year per car. For companies that can, have people work from home. I drove 80,000 in three years in my last petrol car. I've driven 3,500 in the last 18 months in my EV due to working from homw.

[@orbitingganymede5403]

Expand passenger train infrastructure, reduce demand for private automobiles, kick them out of urban areas entirely and get rid of trucks/cargo trucks.

[@Mireaze]

The obvious answer is we all need to use solid steel wheels, solid steel roads. And maybe if we shared out vehicles and make sure they can carry a bus load of people. And if we only travel a well defined route it would be much easier to understand and control the surface. Aaaand.. I just invented the train again

[@TeaBreak.]

Isn't steel made from coal powered steelworks or something? 😂😉

[@vesawuoristo4162]

@@TeaBreak. doesn't have to be , all you need is electricity. There are steel mills that use electricity instead of coal , naturally that electricity needs to be produced without fossil fuels.

[@mickinmerton8053]

I understand that some of London's underground poor air quality is caused by steel train tyres wearing on steel rails. A minor point, I do agree with you.

[@eclecticcyclist]

Solid steel wheels and solid steel roads brings back memories of the famous railway 'leaves on the line' announcement. It would end up like a tramway system with the same flexibility.

[@TeaBreak.]

@@vesawuoristo4162 Doesn't electricity mainly come from gas, a fossil fuel? 😉

[@winc06]

Good focus on the macro. Another secret pollution, I believe, is the outgassing of interior plastics of new cars concentrated inside. Polymer deposits make inside glass very difficult to clean and I wonder how our lungs cope with breathing them.

[@deanfielding4411]

That’s another interesting one.

[@TheDeadMan3848]

Good point!

[@johnmcnulty6171]

Feedback I've seen from EV owners is that brake pad wear on EVs is significantly reduced compared to non-EVs due to regenerative braking, as the brakes aren't actually being used. Would be interested to see comments from EV owners who've also experienced this.

[@rickbelieves7652]

Brakes last longer, tires seem to at this point wear faster. Lots of ground, water, air pollution in mining for batteries.

[@AB-yt4hd]

The brakes on my 120000km Ioniq EV are still like new.

[@GregHassler]

5:43 I have 55,000 miles on my Model 3 and 42,000 miles on a Focus Electric and have never replaced a single brake pad in either vehicle, so for sure brake dust is significantly less of an issue for EVs. Probably close to an order of magnitude less.

[@justinstephenson9360]

The US has some useful long term data from Tesla on brake wear. It seems that Tesla brake pads last 5x-10x longer than the equivalent ICE car. The reality is that at best we are generation 2 of EVs. By the time we get to 2030 it would reasonable to expect that we will be at generation 4 of EVs: longer range, faster charge speed and crucially much lighter batteries which means that like for like models will be a lot lighter - sadly I suspect that vehicle manufacturers will produce heavier and heavier models, partly caused by improved safety regulations but mostly caused by customers wanting bigger and taller cars

[@Milkshakman]

I’ve heard rule of thumb is 4x as long for brake pads.

[@jontait2843]

Completely agree. I'm an EV driver and have worked in local air quality for local govt (Part IV Env Act 1995) for over 20yrs and it's about time we put some real thought into non-exhaust emissions. Glad to see that DEFRA and UKHSA are starting to shift focus from NO2 to PM with particular focus on non-exhaust emissions. EVs are certainly not zero-emission, despite the three badges on my Nissan Leaf saying so haha.

[@jontait2843]

@Graham Cook that's right they do. But the increased weight and torque are a significant factor. I'm all for an EV future, begone you ICE vehicles! But the answer to poor air quality is fewer vehicles not just different types of vehicles.

[@KRAFTiMAC]

Good point. Is it time to rephrase to “zero exhaust emissions?”

[@jontait2843]

@Graham Cook yes buy it's not just about tyre wear, there's road wear and resuspension too. It's a complex picture which is why I'm glad that Defra focus is shifting towards this topic.

[@BixbyConsequence]

One of the first things I did with our LEAFs was remove all of the "Zero Emissions" badges. Greatly reduces the "electricity has to come from somewhere" arguments in parking lots. Surprisingly to many, I already knew that.

[@BixbyConsequence]

@Graham Cook In my experience in 10 years of EV driving, the drive tires still do wear faster than non-drive tires. These were FWD cars though so I can't say how much of that is from steering wear as opposed to drive forces.

[@deanfielding4411]

Excellent advice at the end. I can vouch for a Zoe Michelin tyres. Well over 40k miles, never had tyres last so long. Cheap tyres are often a false economy. I’ll certainly be cycling more once I get my bike back from the repair shop! 😊

[@edenviews]

I have a Zoe too, and let the car do the driving and braking so i don't wear them too much. One other way is just having my car not driving so much...good for me even if i was working in the office and not at home, i would be walking, still breathing in all those fumes from all the folk rushing around!

[@t1n4444]

40k! Meh! I had 74k out of the back tyres on a Golf 1600 CL. Changed because of sidewall cracking. Rubber dust pollution and brake dust pollution from EVs a grave disappointment. Perhaps it's time to forget EVs being charged from the "mains" and do the hydrogen fuel cell thing? Might save a "lot" of cash and copper/aluminium cables. Perhaps HMG would have been better off investing in hydrogen production plants and improving efficiency of hydrogen fuel cells? They manage to use hydrogen technology in California so it might now be considered as a valid power source?

[@myblueheaven4424]

@@t1n4444 how would hydrogen vehicles result in fewer non exhaust emissions? They have tyres and brakes too.

[@t1n4444]

@@myblueheaven4424 You could have Googled this before asking questions. Perhaps that's what you must do, straight away. Saves me coming out with the science, which is "involved". Hopes that helps. Just keep in mind battery EVs are only a step on the way. Think electric propulsion, not the batteries and charging thereof. You'll get there.

[@eyeballengineering7007]

@@t1n4444 Hydrogen sucks. It'd be nice if it would liquify at ambient temp. But it doesn't. Here's a science project for you. Try building a 10,000 psi compressor and storage tank.

[@impuls60]

A recent Norwegian study showed that ALL road wear comes from heavy vehicles(like 2500Kg+). Under that limit the wear wasn't measureable. I'm sure this research is going to be used against EV cars somehow. Many people say that EVs wears the road more, and the (statensvegvesen) study properly showed that its only the lorries fault. Focusing on the rubber pollution is just going to create noise in the scheme of things. Its wood burning and lorries that creates air pollution that creates astma.

[@rp9674]

Yes, I've seen it already, but of course never any talk about driving smaller ICE car instead of a giant SUV. I think the particulates in diesel exhaust are exceptionally bad and get a undeserved pass from emissions standards.

[@Thoughmuchistaken]

Well in North America at least the 2500kg+ EVs are incoming, the F150 Lightning at 2950kg, Rivian R1T at 3200kg, and Hummer EV at 4000kg.

[@gonzo_the_great1675]

Electrostatic collection... Having worked on something related, I reckon that will be battling against water spray and a hell of a lot of debris and dirt, kicked up off the road. Will their collector be able to differentiate and reject that. Or will they just become matted chunks of mud, just like we see caked to mud flaps or under wheel arches. It isn't going to be a 6" box full of pure rubber dust, that will get emptied at service time. It will be a dyson vacuum full of mixed sludge, every day during winter. We will have to have specific wheelie bins for it. Though we will also have the best hoovered roads in the world.

[@greggrant4614]

Caution - electrostatic collection systems can create exhaust that includes a significant number of charged, smaller particles that result in even greater toxicity overall, even if the total mass of particles in the exhaust is reduced by 99%. The primary reason for this is that the smaller particles have far greater toxicity than the larger particles because the lungs can trap and eliminate the larger particles more readily than the smaller particles. So, if a particle 1/100th the diameter of the larger particle has 100 times the toxicity of the larger particle, then eliminating 99% of the combined weight of the particles would do next to nothing for reducing overall toxicity of the exhaust. The reason the remaining smaller particle could have much worse toxicity, by many times, is that once charged by the electrostatic filter's electrode, the charged smaller particle is much more difficult yet for our lungs to eliminate than the same particle would be if it were not charged.

[@brendandennis5868]

Living on a main road i've seen the build up of this stuff on my balcony and plants, noticable after only a few days. The plants suffer when their leaves are covered with it. Definitely worthy of attention. Thanks FC.

[@ciberiada01]

How do you know it's tyre and brake particles and not just the widespread exhaust sooth?

[@mickinmerton8053]

The only good thing to come out of recent lockdown experiences is that some of use now have a choice to work from home at least part of the time which will reduce some of the pollution.

[@ChrisBigBad]

It will be an enormous reduction! Doing 1 day at home per week, every week, reduces the commute-pollution by 20%.

[@jrisner6535]

Cycle

[@ianjames3078]

@@jrisner6535 not everyone works in a single city location. Too simplistic.

[@jrisner6535]

@@ianjames3078"single city situation" what does that even mean?

[@ChrisBigBad]

@@jrisner6535 I got 40km round-trip. going by bike will be 2-ish hours. car is 40 minutes :(

[@bibliotek42]

The really heavy vehicles are the trucks. More use of rail for transport would help on many fronts.

[@bobthebarsteward]

The government and councils can do something too. For years they've pushed policies to discourage motorists from using their cars by introducing bus lanes, cycle lanes, speed humps, extra traffic lights and so on. A lot of these measures encourage a bad driving style, foot down (exhaust pollution) to avoid being stopped at lights or after a speed hump, then foot on the brakes for the next red light or speed hump, thus doubling the problem. They need to help smooth traffic flow, not proliferate the stop-start state of the roads we're forced to endure in towns and cities at the moment.

[@CausticLemons7]

I really love that Fully Charged is not just a full on EVs all the way channel but are much more concerned about problem solving. Especially the big problems that affect humanity, the planet, and more than just ourselves.

[@waynethefridgemanosborne8984]

Great information that is truly important. For years now as part of my work I wash out refrigeration cooling radiators originally in my home town of London and now in Australia and have found the amount that is washed out each time is amazing. This blocks these radiators so what does it do to us. Keep smiling everyone we know that we will get there .

[@ciberiada01]

So, is it all tyre and break particles, or is it most an exhaust sooth? 😉

[@examinerian]

Tyre manufacturers are continually improving their products. It used to be that there was a direct correlation between high grip and high wear - the extremes are still there, but the line is not as distinct nearer the centre. Other emissions that affect us include sound - cutting out the ICE helps hugely, though there's still tyre noise. An Audi E-tron GT RS passed me on the A1 the other day, and that was not quiet at all. Lighter cars, smaller width tyres, less rolling resistance and aerodynamic drag - and less road noise. Doesn't mean sacrificing fun, just look at the Alpine A110 or Lotus Elise, for example!

[@garenson]

My previous ICE vehicle was 1450kg Megane. My Model 3 is 1890kg and has way more hp. Both of those should result in more tire wear. After almost 3 years I am still astonished though that tire wear is definitively less. If I'd be forced to give a number, I'd say 25-30% less. Tire size and even the tire brand is the same and I do not really drive "tamer". Being very surprised I tried to think why this might be the case, until it one day at a traffic light hit me. I was first in line at a traffic light and wanted to get in front of the car to my right so I hit the accellarator really hard and for the first time conciously noticed that even with a 3.1s 0-60mph acceleration there was no squeaking and tires loosing grip, just brutal acceleration. Accelerating like that with the Megane would have left black marks on the road and made a lot of noise, but because the electric motors can adjust power and torque way faster there is no dicernable tire slip and therefore less tirewear. Did anyone have similar observations?

[@sandersson2813]

AWD v FWD. Spreads the wear more evenly.

[@sandersson2813]

AWD v FWD, Spreads wear better

[@garenson]

@@sandersson2813 Even with rotating tires every 10,000km after about 25,000km tires were close to the legal limit on the Megane and had to be replaced. You are right, with the AWD Model 3 tire wear is more even. Rear achsle wears a bit more. After about 20,000km the rear was a bit more than half, front a bit less than half gone (on it way to the legal limit) and I rotated the tires. I expect this tire set to last something between 35,000 and 40,000km, which is way more than the 25k on the Megane. When calculating cost, before buying the M3, I had calculated for more tire wear. It's not the only cost factor that I overestimated though, fuel cost and maintenance were lower too. All in all only positive surprises so far.

[@unerbittlich]

That is quiet a Amazing observation! And i think you are right

[@stevezodiac491]

My Nissan leaf wore the first pair of front tyres out much faster than my previous ice car, probably because I liked trying out the torque from zero a lot. My pocket dictated with their replacements that I didn't press the accelerator pedal so hard. Conclusion, it doesn't matter if it is ice or EV your, right foot dictates tyre wear.

[@greggrant4614]

Lots of good points. The expert interviewed started to explain, but stopped short explaining, that it isn't just the sum total of mass of the particles that matters, because the smaller the particle size, the more toxic it tends to be, because these smaller particles are more difficult for our lungs to eliminate - basically, the smaller the particle size, the worse their impact on our health. This is why there are 3 size categorizes for the particulates we do our best to measure. In actuality, a large number of ultra-smaller particles can weigh less than a batch of larger particles, but these smaller particles can have a much worse impact on our health. So, it's not helpful to just reduce the mass or weight of the emissions from our vehicles and powerplants, if we're basically letting all of the smaller, most toxic/dangerous particles slip right on through or possibly even get increased by the process we use to trap or burn up the particulates. The expert could have gone further in his pointing out that not all particles are equally toxic - by stating, instead, that the smaller the size of the particle, the more toxic it tends to be, so many of our emissions reduction techniques and technologies are far less effective than we assume when we measure only the % reduction based on total mass or weight of the particles, when we should be looking at the overall toxicity of the particles that are exhausted or otherwise thrown into the air we breath.

[@antoineparmentier3319]

You are 100% correct. And particules coming from fuel combustion are far smaller thant brake particules, with tyre particules being the largest, and therefore both the most present by weight, and the least dangerous

[@DanAbbott-SMCC]

Excellent work and much needed. I hope that most of us electric vehicle owners are well aware that we are still contributing to environmental problems by driving a vehicle at all, including the mining and reuse of metals needed for batteries. Electric vehicles are no panacea, for sure, and the more information we have about other areas that need to be attacked, the better. And, by the way, if you drive an electric car, consider replacing any ICE lawn appliances as well. Our lawnmowers, string trimmers, snow blowers, and leaf blowers have horrible "tailpipe" emissions and excellent versions of all of them are available now while we wait for the development of alternatives to tires.

[@randolphtorres4172]

That particulate collection device is a ridiculous invention. The tire industry should take a stand and fix this issue at the source.

[@charlestaliaferro6896]

Swear if we go back to the riding horses they're going to stay this farts too much and call it a gross polluter.

[@shavian208]

Helen, there’s a much simpler way of reducing the effects of tyre-based pollution: reduce tyre wear by up to 20% by adding Graphene to the rubber compound. Go speak with ENSO tyres who just won Start-up of the Year award at the LA Expo for their tyre enhanced with Versarien’s Graphene. An all-U.K. effort too!

[@mockingspongebob773]

or make tire compounds bio degradable, make asphalt not harmful, reduce break wear with regenerative braking... etc etc there are lots of solutions out there, if we look at bigger picture - for example using trains... or fully electric or hydrogen airplanes or flying vehicles would fix lots of problems like crashes and road kill of animals and humans that happens with transportation on the surface that go fast... even boats in canals are better in lots of ways

[@sneaky_krait7271]

@@mockingspongebob773 with flying you can still bump into birds. Also it costs a lot more energy to make something fly rather than roll. Same with boats, the water takes more power to go trough

[@williamarmstrong7199]

Flying cars in London would save a fortune in cleaning buildings by making cat food out of all the pigeons!

[@ciberiada01]

OK, startup of the year, 👍 but aren't graphene micro/nanoparticles also bad for health?

[@scarlett_manuka]

Nice work Helen. A great episode. One thing to touch on in the future would be the actual composition of tyres. The video mentoned "rubber" and I feel most folks think tyre are made from "natural" rubber when they mainly comprise of plastics. Tyre dust (fine plastics) then get mixed into the ecosytem. Gah!

[@steffenfrost995]

I was thinking the same when watching this

[@rngalston]

I concur. The synthetic rubber in all it's different compositions just running around in our environment adding to the pollution problem. Can you say "plastic rain"?!

[@dougjinks9328]

@@rngalston no, thats a song by Prince that never made the cut!

[@dougjinks9328]

Yep, be interesting to hear about the addition of other elements in the tyre to either reduce wear, and/or make the worn particulates more 'safe', whilst not detrimentally affecting road surface grip! Too much to ask!?

[@bubba842]

You mean synthetic rubber. Yeah the vast majority of rubber is synthetic.

[@deanfielding4411]

As far as I know, humans are yet to invent a dust that is good for us.

[@ninj4geek]

Cocaine.

[@onetwothreefour-s1n]

@@ninj4geek 😆 🤣

[@Smidge204]

This scheme seems like it will fail as soon as there's the slightest bit of snow or heavy rain. Anyone who's driven in the snow knows how the inside of the wheel wells get absolutely packed with gritty slush, and this electrostatic scoop will be clogged solid within minutes. Wet conditions in general will disperse any electrostatic charge and render it inoperable. While it might not be practical on personal vehicles, perhaps we can just fit standard air filters to municipal buses and have them filter city air as they drive around. This would also help clean up other non-vehicle emissions, like smoke and odors from buildings, construction, and businesses.

[@2nd3rd1st]

"We envision this device to be installed in all future cars like catalytic inverters." Mate, future cars don't need catalytic converters.

[@Michi542]

After nearly 200.000 EV km with Leaf, Zoe, Teslas and eGolf I can believe electric vehicles produce much less tyres polution. You just drive smoother, no gear change and with regenrative breaking less brake dust on the aloy wheels.

[@Neilhuny]

I wish Helen Czerski was our Primeminister! She is indeed an awesome person

[@bumblebee9337]

When cycling in cold weather, it seems that pollution along the road is worse. On top of car exhaust, is smoke from wood stoves.

[@ma40]

I have a special hatred for the pollution from wood and multi-fuel burners. They are absolutely filthy!

[@sandersson2813]

Wood stoves are cracking.

[@ma40]

@@sandersson2813 Might be romantic and aesthetically pleasing, but they are an absolute menace to anyone with respiratory problems and should be banned.

[@sandersson2813]

@@ma40 Bullshit. Theres nothing wrong with them provided you burn DRY wood. Furthermore, considering that the fumes come out of a chimney, how often are you cycling at chimney height? Most of the time there's sufficient enough wind that it wont drop to street level.

[@ma40]

@@sandersson2813 You are still wrong. Inside and outside the home they produce substantial amounts of NOx, methane, VOCs, various sizes of particulate matter such as those discussed in the video. True, the level of pollution depends on the fuel burned. Defra’s Clean Air Strategy 2019 cites that an eco design stove will still produce 336g per mWh of PM2.5 compared to 0.72g per mWh of a gas boiler. It’s not true that it just simply lingers at chimney height or above and it often combines with ozone etc to cause real problems at ground level. It’s well documented that it’s particularly problematic for young children, the elderly, those with COPD etc.

[@StephenHay]

Good to see some balance in this discussion. This channel is very pro EV, which is important for those who have no choice but to drive, but there are millions of people who could switch to dramatically cleaner modes such as e-bikes for daily trips and commuting. This will have a much greater impact than everyone eventually switching to EVs, and has lots of other benefits too such as health and social

[@Swiv2020]

I couldn’t agree more but our priority as a country should be to cut Diesel / Petrol usage by 15% - 20% every single year. Riding an e-bike behind a bus is a great way to tar your lungs 😖.

[@JackFeelsNerves]

Excellent video. Helen's talk at Fully Charged Live 2019 first opened my eyes and ears to this problem, and I have thought about it a lot since then. Thank you very much for this update, and for the suggestions for changing our behaviour.

[@dewiz9596]

In North America, a favourite tool to control traffic speeds are four-way stop signs. If we eliminated those, we’d reduce a lot of the brake dust and tire fragment pollution.

[@crackedemerald4930]

But then you'd have vehicle fragment polution

[@deanfielding4411]

@@crackedemerald4930 at least it would reduce the number of vehicles on the road too…

[@MihneaStoian]

The added accidents from ppl not knowing what to do will negate any improvement in wear, unfortunately.

[@crackedemerald4930]

@@deanfielding4411 and would reduce the amount of mobile vehicles in the road

[@whattheschmidt]

More roundabouts with yields! less stop signs/lights.

[@neillgatley8770]

Well researched, easy to understand and well communicated. That was excellent, thank you fully charged and Dr Helen.

[@SimonHollandfilms]

no it wasn't...this is a distraction by fossil fuel lobby groups.....shocking selective journalism.

[@Neilhuny]

​@@SimonHollandfilms Given that the video obviously is well researched and communicated, I guess your objection is to promoting the idea that EVs have negative effects, just like ICEs, and that Fully Charged shouldn't make anything of that? Maybe you think EV pollution is far lower than that portrayed here? It's hard to guess what you find selective journalism or a fossil fuel lobby distraction. I have looked at your channel and can't see anything that would cause you to make your comment... unless of course, you wanted controversy? What is better research, what is better journalism?

[@SimonHollandfilms]

@@Neilhuny yes... ignoring the big picture and focusing on tyre ablation is pandering to the fosil fuel lobby groups who want to distract folk from the big issue.....burning stuff.

[@neillgatley8770]

@@SimonHollandfilms I took from it that cars have tyres and Brakes. They are responsible for some particulates. Getting rid of fossil fuels solves the majority of our local air pollution problems. New solutions will be needed for the remainder. I think in some articles can rightly be accused of doing the bidding of the oil lobby. In this case I don't see that as fair criticism. Personally I would like the Colin chapman approach of add lightness to be adopted by the next generation of EV's. The mix of improvement battery chemistry, lower drag and light weighting would be lovely. What would you like to see from future fully charged videos?

[@DSTWizz]

If only tyre wear could be considered by the authorities who resurface our roads! When I drive the 20 miles or so to my nearest city along a dual carriageway, I can hear the difference in road surfaces; some (where grit has been used as a short term solution on a stretch of road) are noisy, others are very quiet. All this would appear to show that more consideration needs to be put into the construction of smoother roads, thus minimising tyre wear.

[@stephenholland5930]

Exactly!

[@kinross24]

I remember an episode of FC where you guys on a panel at FC Live also talked about this and had a guy there from a tyre manufacturer that was making tyres for EV’s that didn’t pollute and obviously would mean we didn’t buy tyres as often but was the only way to go with tyre pollution. All these ‘wear’ items can be made better but the motor industry relying on built in obsolescence.

[@ShawnSonnentag]

Brake usage on an EV is nearly zero though, so tailpipe and brake pollution greatly favors the EV.

[@stevezodiac491]

It takes more carbon emissions than an internal combustion engined car to manufacture though. Get yourself a push bike, do yourself and the environment a real favour.

[@myblueheaven4424]

@@stevezodiac491 it does your right but an EV has lower lifetime emissions. Plus the technology for producing EVs is still relatively young so has potential to reduce production emissions further. Fully charged podcast mentioned a study that concluded that the worst EV scenario of charging with the dirtiest coal power plant and the worst production methods would still be better than an ICE vehicle. I’m an avid cyclist and bmxer… so push bikes will always win.

[@richysee]

Very interesting. I used to live on a major peak hour highway in a 3 x 1 brick and tile cottage which was built right on the braking and accelerating zone for traffic lights. I bought the house during a major depression so there wasn't too much traffic or noise. After the economy began to recover so did the traffic and the noise. The house exterior when I bought it was newly painted with nice manganese bricks and orange coloured roof tiles. Well, after just 12 years the manganese bricks had turned black, the orange roof had turned black, and, wait for it, the grass and soil and also pretty much everything else in the garden was covered in the same coating of a particular kind. It was brake dust and lots of it, so much so that I recognised the familiar smell from having worked on my brakes. The brake dust and other pollutants had rendered everything literally untouchable to my bare hands which stung so badly that I was unable to pick up *any object* in the front yard of the house. I sold the house asap after realising the pollution I was living amongst.

[@adamlytle2615]

Fantastic video and a great job by Helen. This is the type of video I truly love seeing on Fully Charged.

[@marcsimmonds7814]

Some bright spark here in New Zealand decided that we needed really coarse chip on our road surfaces to reduce the effects of frost. Which is relevant for maybe 50 days a year ( and falling). And leads to tyres rarely lasting more than 40,000 km. And worse fuel economy. Nobody wants to put their hand up and acknowledge this.

[@stephenholland5930]

We have those kind of idiots in the UK too.

[@tonystanley5337]

I work with Reach compliance, it seems to me that tyres and diesel soot are related in the potential PAHs in the carbon black used in the tyres (mainly to make them black or possible conductive as far as I know). This is created from burning diesel, and can be highly carcinogenic if its not burnt correctly. As for comparing with exhaust emission, they are measured in tons per year per car. You don't use tons of tyres per year.

[@Naultarous]

Very good video. I like that it's not about EV vs ICE. It's just a realization that as we make stuff that some of it can be harmful. And all products need just a small amount of care to make it even better. TY

[@crankcase75]

What I took away from this is if you want to save the planet, drive a Caterham. Not only are they super light, but I mean think about it, cars are far too cosy, make everyone drive one of those as their only car and annual mileages would plummet rapidly and you'd show cyclists a bit of respect when they can easily slap you on the back of the head while passing you in traffic.

[@chrisandclaremoore6472]

My goodness “secret” we all know that the black in tyres is carbon, and they produce huge amounts of carbon particulates.

[@enriquedominguez3963]

Love it. Especially the last two minutes.. an honest and practical solution that we all are part of it. Thank you.

[@lasseblomqvist9378]

Choose your brakepads carefully would probably have a positive affect too. Already today there are models with less toxic materials, and also models that produce less dust. They are often slightly more expensive but on the other hand often have longer lifespan.

[@KenHeslip]

Bike/walk...way to go.

[@Universal.G]

Totally makes sense. Tires and brakes wear out, where does everyone think the rubber and metals go? All over the roadway, in the water, and in the air.

[@Telcontarnz]

Much less brake wear. No clutch wear. Others sound like they would be worse…1st time I’ve thought of it!

[@honesty_-no9he]

Brakes ? One pedal driving REGEN 90% less use of brakes ! The professor is denying to me in an email correspondence what he said referring me instead to their research paper in which apparently Regen is mentioned. But you watch here from 2:30 to 3:32 he is blatant in saying there is no difference on ALL 4 issues between ICE and EV with no slack for single pedal Regen driving/braking. Now he is denying it to me in his emails.

[@caryoutismusic4515]

Very much anecdotal, but my e-golf got an irreparable puncture at 30000 miles ‘ life. The people in the know at the tyre centre were very impressed with the low level of wear. Regen braking and cruise control, along with that smooth transmission of power to the road , seem to slow tyre degradation down considerably. That has to help surely?

[@Leo99929]

I think that context is necessary for statistics to have relevance: Saying that EV's don't have zero *emissions* is a fair point, but the total are minuscule when compared to an ICE vehicle. Another important distinction is the effect of those emissions: fossil fuel combustion emissions effectively constitute the entirety of the extinction threat to humanity. Where as the physical particle emissions impact health is comparatively negligible offering some limited deleterious impact to health only in areas with abnormally high traffic density and pedestrian proximity: Cities. To which the solution is probably better public transport and bike/scooter infrastructure. Cities are designed for cars, not for public transport, pedestrians, and cyclists. That means that people use cars as they are the most convenient option.

[@BartelMeijers]

Never thought of this form of pollution. What a enormous change can be made if someone can find the golden egg. Great documentary!

[@jimboswe]

When it comes to recycling of tires, Scandinavian enviro systems have promising technology for separating the elements a tire is made of and reuse for new tires. Much better than building huge piles or burn them. Around 30% of a tire is carbon black, a very fine grain carbon powder produced by simply burning oil in a specific process. This can be replaced to 100% by recycled carbon black, saving around 80% co2 emissions at the same time. Michelin is working with them too, so we can hopefully start using tires made of mostly recycled materials in the near future.

[@bellshooter]

Good video, there must be a legislative hierarchy in the future to deal with these less easy pollutants to assess and capture. HGV>Bus>Van>Car>City Car>Motorbike>Bike.....at least we don't have the horse pollution problem now.

[@deanfielding4411]

Depends where you live, but at least it can be useful on the roses.

[@Swiv2020]

Over 75% of PM2.5 in Londons Air comes from Diesel exhaust fumes. If we really cared about pollution we would have banned Diesel cars already ! Trains and buses produce pollution at the wheels, but again it’s a small percentage.

[@SimonHollandfilms]

totally agree Will, focusing on EV tyre ablation ignores the big problem .... its a stupid distraction made by fossil fuel lobby groups.

[@davidperry7676]

Best fully charged ever. Addressing a real life issue. Good job

[@micheltebraake7915]

Finally, these problems of pollution are also being addressed, good job.

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

Great show, very thorough. I've seen several of Helen's videos and she does a great job.

[@nicolascontentin4611]

It makes you wonder how much of these particles hits our water streams once washed away by the rain.

[@nashbeuh]

Great journalism! Thank you so much.

[@YounesLayachi]

I see Helen (and important caveats of current technologies) I click :D

[@TomSnyder--theJaz]

Well done, Helen. I never thought about tyre and brake pollution -- I learned something today. Cheers!

[@SimonHollandfilms]

no you didn't....what you did learn was clever lobbying

[@TomSnyder--theJaz]

@@SimonHollandfilms, Did I miss something? Please clue me in. Thanks

[@GrahamRead101]

@@SimonHollandfilms you seem to have a bee in a proverbial bonnet over this. It’s one aspect of many that are sources of pollution - and I’m all the better for learning something about it.

[@jedics1]

Nice to see a segment that goes a layer deeper than 99% of what is available, we have health problems that just didn't exist even 50 years ago and it seems obvious there are new things we are exposed to causing them, studies like this will help uncover the causes.

[@daviddenley3512]

Funnily enough folk don't associate wearing shoes out as pollution either but when the sole wears out and leaves holes they still say to them selves "They've worn out"'!

[@ObiePaddles]

Love a Helen video. The main reason I’m still subscribed.

[@Shew0000]

We love you Helen ❤️, Please do some more stories 🙂.

[@roberttugwell4756]

Brilliant video, would like more videos from you so much good information, this government in Australia believes if you cannot see pollution then the air we breath can't be bad, They see the red sunrises and sunsets, as beautiful, we just dig up resources send them oversees, not our problem.

[@coffeepot3123]

Love her passion on this!, seems like someone that actually care about the topic they are presenting.

[@jsponson]

We need to have small and light “low occupancy” vehicles. Leave the regular cars for family outings and group travels but one person should not be driving around a car that weighs 20+ times their body weight. It’s just absurd.

[@BMWHP2]

Heavy 2.000 kg Tesla's pollute a lot more than a 850kg light EV. So why are these huge heavy vehicles subsidiced in the EU and the Light EV class, like the Xbus not?

[@thomtheunissen5827]

There is no co2 emmissions with tyre/brake wear only particles that are bad for health.

[@Dudleymiddleton]

A good example of tyre emissions are the black dust on warehouse items - fork lift tyre dust, gets everywhere even top shelves!

[@rtfazeberdee3519]

Great info , Helen. Always worth watching your videos

[@spikerello1]

There is a massive difference in tyre wear between the best performing tyres and the cheapest on the market. A regulatory intervention by the Government to ban the worst performing tyres would be the 'low hanging fruit' (as much as I dislike that phrase!) Doesn't need any new tech or change in people's behaviour.

[@richardryderleese]

Time to reset what a car is. Limit car dimensions and weight, we are resetting to electric anyway so fold in other constraints. Cars need to fit on the roads and some are just rediculous.

[@Simon-nx1sc]

I love the conclusions/main takeaways at the end! It structures the video and makes it more usefull :)

[@randellhayes6686]

40 years ago when I was at school they where saying they could make tyres that did not wear out , but there is no profit in that.

[@williamarmstrong7199]

Ok. As a Taxi driver who's vehicle usually covers 50,000 miles a year or so i can give some detailed answers here. 1/. Phev ( Misubishi outlander) 2,400ish kilos front brake pads last approximately 150,000 miles and are replaced due to being weathered mire than worn out. Disks show no wear at all. Tyres no difference i.e 40,000 miles to a set. 2/. Full EV MG5 EV owned just over 12 months, 45,000 miles ( reduced due to Covid) Front tyres spin a lot on wet roads, 30,000 miles a set. Front brakes at 44,000 miles have worn less than 1mm from new. Disks show no sign of wear at all. 3/. Fiat Doblo 1.6 7 seater MyLife. Tyres 40,000 at best. Front pads 24000 miles 1st set 20,000 2nd set due to wear on disks. Disks replaced after 44,000 miles due to being at or close to minimum legal thickness. The Fiat has now done 298900 miles and the data has been stable all these miles. All vehicles are (were) driven hard, perhaps the PHEV & MG5 slightly less so than the Doblo, but not much. So the tyre emissions are slightly higher in the MG5 because it's traction control & abs system is slower reacting than the Phev or Doblo allowing more slip and wheel spin. On both the Phev and MG5 the rear pads wear at a similar rate. Even though the PHEV is much heavier it is 4x wheel drive and regen. I would expect rear wheel drive only EV's to have much higher wear on front pads and disks due to most braking force is on the front wheels. I would also expect front wheel drive EV's to be slightly more efficient due to better regen possibilities than RWD cars. Anyone able to confirm / disprove this theory?

[@blobstrom]

Where I used to work in East London near the Woolwich Ferry, our site used to have Large articulated lorries doing sharp turns going around it all day.. One damp day one of our electronic uninterruptible power supplies failed and on investigation we found a black slime over the components, this was analysed as tyre film..

[@jeangreenfield5993]

I first heard about the issue of tyre particle pollution on Twitter. There is a problem with the particles washing into fresh ground water and into fish species , being monitored in Canada.

[@gazgrob]

I think it’s time manufacturers start looking at either developing eco friendly materials in brake pads and tyres or develop software to fully utilise the “regen” braking capacity of the electric drive motors .This should in theory remove the need for use of mechanical braking systems.

[@yodab.at1746]

If as much research and development had gone into energy recovery Tec as has gone into eaking as much horse power out of reciprocating engines, we'd be in a slightly better place. Turning all that kinetic energy into heat to simply disappate into the air is frankly stupid. I suspect oil companies have shelves of energy recovery patents stashed away in dark places.

[@davidboskett5581]

There always will be some pollution -anything we do as humans causes pollution -lets just concentrate on the big stuff

[@buzzofftoxicblog791]

30 years on thank you as a sculpture I talked about this but the nobody listing non toxic tyres been around long time big thank you time to ban toxic fossil products

[@chrisstearns10]

I have been saying tires and break dust from vehicles are huge polluting problems for many many years. And I do drive electric vehicles and I know they do pollute also, just way less than combustion.

[@mycosys]

That dust collector was a ridiculous fail. One wet day and it will be coated in mud. Anything it did recover would be hopelessly contaminated, certainly little hope of recycling. Funny though nobody mentioned trams & trains....... Steel on steel doesnt do much wearing.

[@GreenJimll]

Steel wheel on a steel rail does have a lower friction than rubber on tarmac, but there's still material worn off during use. Especially on older trains with brake shoes that rub on the wheel surfaces. Having helped to change those brake shoes and cleaned the oily iron mess on some old locomotives I can definitely confirm that they wear down!

[@AnonYmous-rw6un]

And yet the Tube is heavily polluted due to braking.

[@jamesdubben3687]

Thanks, very good to see some clever work going into reducing (and reusing!) some of our tire waste.

[@kampkrieger]

Break emissions are greatly reduced with electric (not with synthetic fuels btw) look how clean every EVs rims are :)

[@kampkrieger]

@@nicomarino96 Yeah, and after watching the whole segment I am really confused, in 4 years I used my friction brakes like 5 times or the whereabouts, and mine is only a PHEV

[@mike-papag]

Top work! We love innovation that comes out of EVs but this indicates that EVs is but a small part of the big picture. Keep it up and keep diversifying focus!!

[@xzamclp]

Really liking these scientifically based documentaries from Fully Charged, like the Urine based fuel cell one or this one. Keep those coming 👍

[@rich81090]

A question I have always had is how much of the micro rubber washes into the waterways.

[@deanfielding4411]

A lot! Helen did a brilliant programme on how plastic pollution is getting into our seas and is probably causing infertility in fish and mammals and toxins in the food we eat. It was on the BBC

[@petercandlish4398]

Another case for a simple tax escalator to encourage longer lasting tyres. We know how do it, we just need the (price) incentive in place to encourage positive innovation. The industry is big and concentrated to manage it and imports would be easy to manage.

[@ptviwatcher]

Tyre pollution will be greatly reduced by autonomous driving. Harder compounds can be used, with less wear and much better longevity, since autonomous cars will always drive at a safe distance from other vehicles and will never brake or corner harshly. We need high grip tires because we like to corner harder and brake at the limit. "Sporty" driving is fun and most users and car manufacturers aim for that. But that's not gonna be a thing with autonomous driving. High grip tires will only be needed for track or car sport events, not daily use.

[@crackedemerald4930]

Autonomous driving isn't gonna be the norm. Unless they go in predetermined routes with steel rails and steel wheels with a ton of people.

[@ptviwatcher]

@@crackedemerald4930 ever heard of autonomous ride hailing? Several companies are aiming for that, and if you look at the economics of it, owning a car is not going to make economic sense anymore. So, yes, autonomous cars will be the norm, with 100% certainty. If it's going to happen in 2, 5 or 10 years that's the only thing open for debate.

[@kelindrawn]

​@@crackedemerald4930 If it can be done, it will be done. And yes, it can be done. Software has changed all our lives; it will also free us from having to drive ourselves.

[@crackedemerald4930]

@@kelindrawn you don't need to drive a train or a bus or any other available public transport

[@GreenJimll]

I admit to producing some terrible emissions. And I don't even drive - these emissions tend to happen most often after a particularly good curry the night before. :-)

[@VerilogTutor]

Wonderful insights into the pollution challenges faced by all vehicles.

[@deanfielding4411]

This issue is important, and leaves my patience wearing thin, goes round and round, and ultimately leaves me let down and deflated. All very tiring.

[@dereknicol5284]

Nice 69 Dodge!.. it would be reckless to try a 1/4 mile pass on cold tyres. Fortunately my rwd Teslas traction control doesnt allow me to indulge in such 'reckless behaviour'.

[@gonzo_the_great1675]

Still very glad to see this being discussed, finally.

[@frankstocker5475]

Helen, thank you.

[@slash196]

I straight up did not understand the What About EVs chart. What is pile size? Are EVs producing less or more particulates than combustion vehicles? And what are the sizes of those particulates? What does "pile size" represent, particles by weight or by volume? How dense is the pile? I appreciate the difficulty in boiling down a complex subject but I watched it twice and I still don't have the foggiest idea what this chart was trying to convey about driving EVs. Fully Charged is normally great about communications but this was clear as mud.

[@myblueheaven4424]

The EV pile is how much extra EV’s emit on top of the ICE pile