ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING ONLY
I live in an area with plenty of EV chargers, and typically I experience no charging problems due to lack of chargers. A few times, I’ve found gas cars in EV charging spaces. So I slowly moved on. The question arising: Why does a gas car park directly in front of a sign plainly stating ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING ONLY? More than once, there were other empty spaces in the parking garage — so why?
I wondered. Not a grand imposition as much as a “Why?“
Finally, one day I did have an out-of-town trip with a time issue. I needed to charge as much as possible before getting on the road into busy traffic. Congestion at all parking lots due to a downtown art show made this a chaotic day pedestrian- and traffic-wise. On busy days with festivals, the parking garage with chargers fills up. I went to the one lone charger not in a parking garage on my way out of town. I experienced my first more bothersome effort in search of an open EV station. A gas-guzzler (non-EV) was in one of my regular small charging spots — in a parking lot with only one EV spot. Rerouting inconveniently to find another, I was late, and yes, the blocking SUV contributed to my tardiness. The huge SUV was parked in a tiny space clearly meant for a moderate to small EV. The SUV sandwiched in dangerously close to any opening doors seemed ridiculous enough — let alone that the driver could not read.
A tightly bound huge GAS-ONLY SUV between two other cars in front of the sign ELECTRIC VEHICLE PARKING ONLY — societal unconsciousness?
Questioning again: Was this arrogance or ignorance toward EVs? What have you? There was no mistaking the sign in front of the SUV. ELECTRIC VEHICLE PARKING ONLY. I flash in my mind’s eye what would happen if a tidy Nissan LEAF sat in front of the gas station blocking cars in need of fuel.
A few days later, the same spot in a parking lot, there sits another gas car. This time, there are empty parking spots in the parking lot. I park a few spots away to see if I can stretch the plug to my EV — “no, not long enough.” As I return it to the charging port directly in front of the unplugged car minus an EV plug-in spot, I look at the sign directly in front of the driver’s window: ELECTRIC VEHICLE PARKING ONLY.
The driver must think the attendant does not know the difference between a gas car and an electric car. My LEAF three spots down is a bit too far for the plug to reach. Mr. or Ms. blue gas-only car probably could have parked here — not an EV spot. Even with an EV, I only park when charging in an EV parking spot.
Why do they do this? Do they think EVs are non-existent?
Perhaps this is why some spots are also painted on the ground beneath — as the spot pictured below is. So if the driver somehow misses the sign in front of their window, they may notice the road underneath. EV. Compact Car Only. ELECTRIC VEHICLE PARKING.
Well, that’s the end of my rant.
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They probably give some excuse about only being there briefly and never seeing an EV parked there. Additionally they’d probably act all offended as if you were at fault for challenging them for their inconsideration.
Clamp, tow and/or crush. No mercy 🙂
Why give them the choice of Clamp or tow?
Leave that to the discretion of the enforcer.
Well some places in the world; if you are illegally you will have you car towed and crushed, it does not matter if it is an old one or a $ 1 million one.
Results: people offend only one time.
There should be a phone number and email address to report violators on the sign.
I think that is the best idea. As it will discourage more people from risking a ticket.
It is total arrogance and hatred. We live in a society which is full of hate of anything different. I hang out on a number of car forums and there are occasional rants about the liberals and their coal burning electric cars. I have spoken to people that park in charging spots only and most of them spout hate about ‘the stupid cars and no one uses these spots anyway’. Slowly legislation is making it’s way across the country and there are now over ten states where EV only is enforced by ticketing and towing.
I suspect this is Trump like hippy punching more than not seeing the signs.
For starters I’d prefer we start with ticketing -not towing, unless it is a known repeat offender. No need to tick these people off any more than necessary.
I can even see a ‘one warning’ approach. With today’s computers it should be very easy to keep a record of warnings and offenses.
Put a warning ticket on the windshield that
‘This is your only warning to not park in an EV charging spot. Your license plate number is now entered into the … database.
The next offense will result in a $100/whatever fine.
Subsequent offenses could result in your vehicle being towed and a $500/whatever fine plus expenses.’
And add a notice on the parking place sign with the telephone number where people can email a picture of the car/truck. If the local police are not responsive then that’s a political problem.
One warning. For a second offence, execution by firing squad.
I agree with PA Teich. If you drive an EV the Limbaugh worshipers immediately assume you must be a rich, snooty, tree hugging, pot smoking, liberal hippy who’s not going to be satisfied taking just their guns. They see EV drivers as a threat to their ICE loving way of life and their God given American right of freedom to choose to waste petrol and pollute all they want. On top of that EV drivers are all eco-hipocrites because we all are powered by coal, which everyone knows is a worse polluter than gasoline. The bottom line is the people who park in EV charging spots don’t just make fun of you and go out of their way to inconvenience you. They hate you (US/EV drivers) and they hate you and I even exist.
How do I know this to be true? First, I live in the land of Bubba, better known far & wide as Nashville Tennessee. Here, if a charging spot isn’t ICEd, it’s full of broken glass, or vandalized in some way. Second, I’ve had more than one heated exchange with my former fascist Republican father-in-law and Tea Party brother-in-law. They and their like are incapable of comprehending that a charging station for us is like a gas station for them. The relationship is completely lost on them. Their kind’s favorite argument is “my tax dollars helped pay for it, I have just as much right as anyone else to park there”. Granted that may be true at the city owned lot and garage and city parks, but NOT the dozens of other privately owned parking garages & other locations in front of stores and restaurants or at the mall. Here, as in most places, parking an ICE vehicle in a EV charger spot isn’t illegal. Even if it were, my disabled mother & friend will quickly tell you the spots reserved for the disabled that carry a $100 fine are very rarely enforced.
I had some business cards printed on grasshopper green, water resistant stock. 500 cost about $20 bucks. I leave one any time I encounter an ICEd charging station. Printed on the business card: ” Parking Your Oil Burner At A Electric Vehicle Charging Station Is Like Abandoning A Horse & Buggy In Front Of The Pumps At A Gas Station. In The Future Try Being Considerate Of Others Who May NEED The Charger You Blocked To Get Home “. My hope is to force them to think about what they have done.
Don’t waste your time trying to understand jerks. I promise they will never give your desperate need to charge any thought whatsoever. Plan ahead and always have a plan B,C & D.
It’s definitely not accidental. They know what they’re doing.
Until our city started enforcing the towing laws, these spots were always taken by ICE cars when they were close to the building (but never when they are far away). People see these as prime spots taken up by “cars that no one drives”.
So, basically, if they think they can get away with it, they’ll do it. They would never park in a handicapped spot (because those tow laws have been enforced forever), but If no one enforces the EV only spots, jerks will park in them.
I don’t know which drives me crazier, inconsiderate ice drivers or inconsiderate EV drivers. I saw a Nissan Leaf in an electric charging space, actually the only electric car charging space, and not plugged in. I happened to see the driver and asked him what’s going on, and he replied this was the closest spot and he was late for work. The summit of inconsideration.
I agree. As i said in my post I never park in the spots longer than a charge takes. For that very reason. I never even park there if charged.
This is a first to hear of in my experience — and one worse below whereas an EV driver unplugged a charging car to use in his own. My god. I would think he is asking for trouble.
I have to acknowledge, that the frequency of occurrence of being Iced Out in Sacramento is very low. I see perhaps 1 in 300 ev parking occurrences.
Thanks for continuing my rant. Sadly some of what I read from all of you is just that a sad sign of our time.
To be an inconvenience is one thing — but if it is intentional harassment — because we are trying to clean up the environment — by those who seem immune to the air pollution issues and more — it is very disturbing. Well in each case I could have called and had them ticketed. My friend does this. He did this recently when he found a large trunk in an EV spot. The ticket the truck got was expensive. He stayed around long enough to see it ticketed. In each case I decided fist — there is another option to charge (or perhaps I would be more inclined to call the traffic cop). 2. I do not want to polarize or inflame the situation anymore. I have found through experience — it best for me to avoid a bully if possible, and this might be the issue rather that sightlessness.
Confronting them directly is definitely not for everyone, or maybe anyone.
But having them ticketed and towed absolutely everyone should do, or at least not afraid to do.
Okay I will call the traffic cop next time a gas car is in front of an EV charger.
Don’t forget alot of ev and hybrid drivers don’t give a grasp about the environment either. They bought one purely to save money.
People are aholes…period. What bothers me even mite are the douche bags with hybrids who park their cars there when they know they don’t need to and leave them there or even order ev drivers who just leave their cars there knowing full well others may need a charge.
I even had a douche in a Fiat ev take my plug out and plug their car in WHILE my car was charging. That’s what aholes people are. This is what happens in a self righteous, entitled culture.
Until gas vehicles aren’t ticketed or towed, nothing will come of it. Same goes for hybrids and other ev vehicles who hog the spots.
Now that is weird and incredibly rude and arrogant. There should be a ticket for that one. Yikes. That seems very pathological.
Okay I will call the traffic cop next time a gas car is in front of an EV charger.
Yes, that may work much better!
The EV signs should include a minimum fine and towing warning. But most importantly they should include very detailed information on who to call when somebody notices an ICE vehicle in the spot. Perhaps a phone number and email address where pics can be sent. If all that is needed is a pic for the fine, hopefully around $400, these aholes will probably decide to get EVs for themselves. If they don’t they’ll be fined $400 repeatedly even if they are only there for a minute. Hopefully they’ll hang around long enough for the tow truck to haul them away. I would love to see them get a $400 ticket and their FUV towed.
So the signs need immediate actions people can take.
I wish ICEing was illegal where I live. I and several others have asked for consideration at various council meetings over the years but are always told it’s not a priority. We have been told law enforcement is already spread too thin. We are always promised the problem will be addressed when there is more money in the budget. I suspect if EVs were blocking gas pumps there would be an ordinance against it tomorrow.
A fine is all that should be required. And as long as the fine is more than what it costs to place a ticket, it should more than pay for itself. Here parking tickets are not something the police does. We use parking inspectors, either on foot or electric motorbikes, which works out a fair bit cheaper.
And the fine shouldn’t need to be that big. After being ticketed once most people aren’t likely to do it again.
It may not always be possible or at least easy but where it is EV spots should not be placed close to the entrance of a shopping centre etc because the very people who ICE these spaces feel entitled to minimum walking distance spots.
Also it is not always deliberate, with the appropriate signs and painting the space bright green seems to help put the point across that this is no ordinary parking space and actually does help keep those spaces clear.
This! An EV charging spot should be well away from the entrance so that it’s necessary to walk some distance.
The warning has already been issued by the sign. “EV CHARGING ONLY” violators will be fined or towed. The excuse of it being unoccupied is lame. Would you park in a handicapped space because it is presently unoccupied? This issue needs to be enforced. Unfortunately, with a lot of people, it only sinks in after it cost them money.
This is called “ICEing” (or “Getting ICEd”) by the EV community. When an ICE car parks in the charging spot.
The two electric chargeing point whare I stay in prestwick scotland are in car park of a round150 spaces and have always seen the places available to be used even when car are parked on the road across from the car park