Personal safety while charging

[trm2]

Or on the nav display along with the rest of the supercharger info. That is easier to update and more aesthetically pleasing. It could also provide one touch calling if a phone is paired.

Yes, and that would be the Tesla way, but it is less of a deterrent.

 

[mongo]

Yes, and that would be the Tesla way, but it is less of a deterrent.

My gut reaction is that having warning signs and police call numbers posted all over makes an area feel less safe. (plus, if we want to be paranoid, how do we know the publicly accessible non-911 phone number sign is correct?)

 

[trm2]

My gut reaction is that having warning signs and police call numbers posted all over makes an area feel less safe. (plus, if we want to be paranoid, how do we know the publicly accessible non-911 phone number sign is correct?)

Good points.

 

[SeminoleFSU]

As a woman, I have to consider my personal safety when traveling. If I am alone in an ICE vehicle and facing a threat, I can start the vehicle and drive away or use it as a weapon. If there were a threat while charging my Tesla at a Supercharger, it would be unsafe for me to get out of the Tesla to unplug, thereby trapping me inside the car without being able to drive away.

Has anyone else thought of this? Any solutions beyond knives and bear spray and 911? (please skip the gun debate here)

I would love to see Tesla come up with an "Emergency Charger Eject" feature.

I've never worried about it too much. Not because of my gender but because I do have lethal and non-lethal forms of self defense in the car. If you don't have anything to defend yourself with sorry, you are asking to be a victim... because you're right, you have to get out of the car to unplug and drive away. Plus you have a car a lot of bad guys can "pretend" they're just coming up to ask questions about, then boom... out comes a knife, etc... The answer is 1) try to not charge in bad areas especially if it's not lit up well at night. 2) STAY ALERT at all times. Enable backup cam if you can't see behind you. and 3) have the ability to defend yourself if needed.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

As a woman, I have to consider my personal safety when traveling. If I am alone in an ICE vehicle and facing a threat, I can start the vehicle and drive away or use it as a weapon. If there were a threat while charging my Tesla at a Supercharger, it would be unsafe for me to get out of the Tesla to unplug, thereby trapping me inside the car without being able to drive away.

Has anyone else thought of this? Any solutions beyond knives and bear spray and 911? (please skip the gun debate here)

I would love to see Tesla come up with an "Emergency Charger Eject" feature.

It's too bad there isn't an emergency feature whereby you can hit a button to electrify the outside of the vehicle, stunning the next person who touches it.

 

[wdolson]

Funny thing about Woodburn. It's the only SC at which I've been, um, interviewed by a LEO during my Tesla travels. Actually, I was one space adjacent to the SC, because I needed a few hours of sleep, it was close to midnight, and I don't make it a habit to park in SCs after charging is complete.

So there I am, one space adjacent, which is to say just on the other side of the grass/curb/tree that's there (for those who have been there). At what turned out to be 0130, I wake up out of a deep sleep due to a Very Bright Light shining through and around the edge of my sunshade. A second or two later, I notice a somewhat less bright light directly to port through the driver's side window. Now, as we Tesla owners know, once the car is asleep, ain't no way to roll down the window easily. Stepping on the brake does zero, and the buttons on the door are disabled. The only way to roll down the window is to open the door first. Which was not exactly the action expected by the kindly officer on the other side of the flashlight, so I accompanied that with as sunshiny a "Howdy" as I could muster at that hour.

Fortunately, we had a lovely conversation for about 20 minutes during which, in part, she recommended other chargers in the area and of course ran my license to ensure I wasn't one of those axe-murdering Tesla felon types. She also noted that my window tint seemed a tad dark (yep - Photosync 35, which is, by the way, just perfect) and that my car had no front plate. Ironically, had I been *in* a Supercharger space, she wouldn't have woken me up. Interesting, eh? And a tad unfortunate. Either wake everybody up or at minimum don't make it more ideal to park in an SC space, no matter what time it is.

I spent a fair bit of time using Woodburn as a central point - less important now since there are SCs along the coast. You're right about the darkness of the lot after hours. However, nice and quiet for sleeping and... evidently well-patrolled *chuckle*. So there's that.

The only time I've ever seen a supercharger ICEd was at the Woodburn SC. There was a Jeep Wrangler in the last SC spot with the driver asleep. There was only one other Tesla charging, so I didn't say or do anything, but I did have a moment's temptation. The guy was just looking for a shady spot for a nap on a long trip, though he could have parked on the other side of the tree and had just as much shade.

 

[Graffi]

If someone is waiting outside, and you do not know if they are a threat or not, but you are afraid to exit the vehicle, then say something like this, "Excuse me kind sir (or madam, as appropriate), could you do me a huge service and please press the button on top of the handle and unplug the cord from my car? That would be a big help to me and would be very much appreciated."

At least if they do unplug you then you know that they are a kind person and not a threat.

 

[jpaz]

not to be overly (or underly - if that's a word) concerned but maybe future SC's should be more of a "pull-through" design so it would take something both in front of and behind you to block you from driving off.

 

[clevertaco]

Yeah, cause men never have to worry about their safety. It's not like they're far more likely to be the victims of violent crime or anything. It's really just women that have to worry.

Tired of this sexist crap. It's a human thing, not a gender thing. Everyone should be able to feel safe charging their car. My penis doesn't keep anyone from stabbing me.

 

[bonnie]

Yeah, cause men never have to worry about their safety. It's not like they're far more likely to be the victims of violent crime or anything. It's really just women that have to worry.

Tired of this sexist crap. It's a human thing, not a gender thing. Everyone should be able to feel safe charging their car. My penis doesn't keep anyone from stabbing me.

I think the conversation quickly turned to everyone's safety. (In fact, Post #2.) Relax.

 

[caps04]

Yeah, cause men never have to worry about their safety. It's not like they're far more likely to be the victims of violent crime or anything. It's really just women that have to worry.

Tired of this sexist crap. It's a human thing, not a gender thing. Everyone should be able to feel safe charging their car. My penis doesn't keep anyone from stabbing me.

Sigh. Women are targeted for everything men are + rapists + taking advantage of size/strength. It's reasonable for women to feel more vulnerable than men.

If you, as a man, were an attacker and there were two targets: one man and one woman, it's clear who you would choose.

 

[clevertaco]

Sigh. Women are targeted for everything men are + rapists + taking advantage of size/strength. It's reasonable for women to feel more vulnerable than men.

If you, as a man, were an attacker and there were two targets: one man and one woman, it's clear who you would choose.

No, it isn't. Especially given the actual real-world statistics, which show that men are significantly more likely to be the victims of all violent crime, including rape.

 

[caps04]

Some short term solutions:

• Big Red Panic button on touchscreen when supercharging is enabled - It would work like iPhone's emergency mode. Keep it pressed for ~5 seconds and it will blare the horns, lights and dial 911 or whatever local police number is configured for the supercharger
• Enable AP cameras when supercharging and allow friends/family to have access to that feed via app or website

Some long term solutions:

• Prominent cameras on top of each charger with a "I am watching you" blinking lights.
• Wireless charging pads - Drive up to it and escape when needed without delay

 

[caps04]

No, it isn't. Especially given the actual real-world statistics, which show that men are significantly more likely to be the victims of all violent crime, including rape.

That's because men are more employed in outdoors jobs.

 

[clevertaco]

That's because men are more employed in outdoors jobs.

Men are universally employed in more dangerous jobs. They're also more likely to be incacerated and server harsher, longer prison terms, resulting in a very high proportion of national prison violence and rape. Far from defying my point though, this reinforces it.

 

[Earth Angel]

As a woman, I have to consider my personal safety when traveling. If I am alone in an ICE vehicle and facing a threat, I can start the vehicle and drive away or use it as a weapon. If there were a threat while charging my Tesla at a Supercharger, it would be unsafe for me to get out of the Tesla to unplug, thereby trapping me inside the car without being able to drive away.

Has anyone else thought of this? Any solutions beyond knives and bear spray and 911? (please skip the gun debate here)

I would love to see Tesla come up with an "Emergency Charger Eject" feature.

Not a bad idea. But staying in the car while supercharging is not advisable. The still largely unknown impacts of Low Frequency Electromagnetic Radiation and Magnetic Field exposure are reason enough for us to take a walk while charging...
https://interferencetechnology.com/...ld-exposure-in-hybrid-and-electric-vehicles/#

 

[bmah]

I think the conversation quickly turned to everyone's safety. (In fact, Post #2.) Relax.

In fact I'm going to edit the thread title slightly to reflect this.

Not a bad idea. But staying in the car while supercharging is not advisable. The still largely unknown impacts of Low Frequency Electromagnetic Radiation and Magnetic Field exposure are reason enough for us to take a walk while charging...

There's another thread to discuss that.

Bruce.

 

[bonnie]

Yeah, cause men never have to worry about their safety. It's not like they're far more likely to be the victims of violent crime or anything. It's really just women that have to worry.

Tired of this sexist crap. It's a human thing, not a gender thing. Everyone should be able to feel safe charging their car. My penis doesn't keep anyone from stabbing me.

And congrats! You've turned the conversation to be about gender.

 

[Electric700]

When the Superchargers are upgraded to use wireless technology (hopefully), it will be simple to just drive away. There's already a wireless charging solution for the home available from Plugless Power.

 

[RaeW]

As a woman, I have to consider my personal safety when traveling. If I am alone in an ICE vehicle and facing a threat, I can start the vehicle and drive away or use it as a weapon. If there were a threat while charging my Tesla at a Supercharger, it would be unsafe for me to get out of the Tesla to unplug, thereby trapping me inside the car without being able to drive away.

Has anyone else thought of this? Any solutions beyond knives and bear spray and 911? (please skip the gun debate here)

I would love to see Tesla come up with an "Emergency Charger Eject" feature.