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ICE-ing strategies & solutions

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JAR897

JAR897

Member
Jun 11, 2020
206
172
Nottingham
#1
Hi guys,

It's (thankfully) not happened to me, but I'm really keen to get opinions as well as proven solutions on how to deal with ICE-ing, both at dedicated charging locations (such as Tesla Superchargers, Public charge points, etc) as well as destination chargers (Supermarket car parks, Restaurants, Etc).

Short definition of 'ICE-ing' for those unaware: When an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE, ie. Petrol or Deisel) parks in a space designated for Electric Vehicle (EV) charging, restricting or obscuring the ability to charge.

Interesting to get opinions also on which side of the fence PHEV (Plug-in Hybrids) fall into? And what about EV's not on charge? Different strategies, or the same?

And do we think 'laws' would change this behaviour? Fines? Clamps? Towing? Etc?
 
#2
For me personally, I think fines for any vehicle not actively 'plugged in' would be the best route forwards... policed in the same way maximum-stay spaces are policed today (via traffic wardens).

This would mean if a car isn't plugged in, they're fined. If they're plugged in not charging, they're fined (via idle fees). And consequently, only those with a genuine need for the charging space would avoid a monetary fine.

I wouldn't go as far as penalty points... I have a M3P to ensure I get plenty of those already!
 
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#3
I think idle fees are a complexity and nuance that perhaps best saved for later/if at all. Not all people are bright enough to realise their car will stop charging while they're away, nor do all EVs get phone notifications when finishing/done either.

I think as you say parking penalties for incorrect parking for anything not plugged in. It would also make sense, if doing that to ensure that any "EV Parking" isn't called that, as it's misleading... "EV Charging" would be better. Otherwise those who are hard of thinking could rightly claim they're in an EV and it says EV Parking.
 
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#4
phil4 said:
I think as you say parking penalties for incorrect parking for anything not plugged in. It would also make sense, if doing that to ensure that any "EV Parking" isn't called that, as it's misleading... "EV Charging" would be better. Otherwise those who are hard of thinking could rightly claim they're in an EV and it says EV Parking.
Click to expand...
Like the logic on "EV Charging" terminology... I must admit, I've been guilty once or twice (in quiet car parks) to take advantage of an EV space without plugging in... but can imagine my own frustration if I needed to charge and saw myself in that situation... Especially as EV's increase in popularity!!
 
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#6
phil4 said:
I think idle fees are a complexity and nuance that perhaps best saved for later/if at all. Not all people are bright enough to realise their car will stop charging while they're away, nor do all EVs get phone notifications when finishing/done either.

I think as you say parking penalties for incorrect parking for anything not plugged in. It would also make sense, if doing that to ensure that any "EV Parking" isn't called that, as it's misleading... "EV Charging" would be better. Otherwise those who are hard of thinking could rightly claim they're in an EV and it says EV Parking.
Click to expand...

I agree on both points.

Whilst I appreciate the provision of spaces for EV charging it does nothing to help the 'cause' by labelling them as 'parking' spaces not 'charging' spaces. We are not special and neither need or deserve 'reserved' parking - IMO these should rightly be provisioned for disabled drivers, emergency vehicles, etc.
 
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#8
SLASH THEIR TYRES
SMASH THEIR WINDOWS
KICK THEIR DOORS IN....

That what you shouldn't do.

The problem with ev chargers at places like McDonald's, Lidl, Asda etc is that it's private land and only the occupiers or yourself that can ask for a person to move a car. Or if there is one of those private parking companies around they could issue one of those tickets that aren't real but just an invoice.

McDonald's you get the Deliveroo guys that pull up in them. Lidl is the person who just parks there as it's closest to the store entrance.

I have had a few occasions were someone was parked in a charger spot, I just asked if they could move and they did with no fuss. Once did I get a d1ck (young brainless yob) who did not move until his mate came back from the shop but other than that been fine.

If blocked just ask if they are present and you maybe granted access to the post that gives electrons :)
 
#9
The topic can quickly descend from "ICE'd" to "Not plugged in" to "plugged in but finished charging", "PHEVs shouldn't be allowed" and "people charging even though they don't need to".

Is somebody charging who doesn't really need to because they have a home charger, they live 5 miles away, but its a free one at a supermarket/railway station/gym so they use it anyway better than somebody not charging and blocking the charge point? Both are potentially preventing someone from charging who needs a charge.
 
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#10
dedicated charge points away from main amenities should arguably have penalties, but if they clamp them that just makes it worse.

supermarkets are tricky as they're often close to the store because of costs of cabling etc. My local tesco has 4 pod points but they're right in the middle of the parent/child spaces and I'd bet on them being ICEd pretty often. I don't know what you'd do in that situation - up to the supermarket to enforce any action if they feel the need (I doubt it)
 
#12
Envchem said:
Just carry a long extension lead; park in front of them so they cant move and charge for a couple of hours 🤣
Click to expand...
I almost did this when I was test driving a leaf a few years ago. Had it for a week, so being a Rev 1 leaf I had to charge it every 3.2 miles or so it seemed. Pulled up to a set of chargers to find 3 in use, one free and one ICEd. I was going to use the free one but then another Leaf pulled up. We conspired to practically wedge the ICE car in. He had enough space to get out, we aren't monsters, but it would have been awkward and a decent lesson.

Re Idle fees: My worry would be on the slower chargers. I have had three of them stop charging for no reason at all since I got the car. When you're on a 7 KW you can happily go a good few hours away and indeed I was one of those times, so I couldn't exactly head back to fix the issue. If they had charged idle fees per minute I would have had a huge bill
 
#15
The selling point of being able to charge while doing other things clearly causes an issue in that in order for this to be true the chargers need to be near amenities/services you need to use on a regular basis, however, I would say that rapid chargers should generally be located away from things, therefore, ensuring that they're less likely to be blocked by people not staying in the immediate vicinity of their car and only stopping there to charge (and potentially grab a quick coffee).

IMO:

Rapid Chargers: Should have penalties associated with remaining connected but not charging - charged on a per-minute basis with say a 10-15 minute leeway - you'll only have to be stung with the overstay fees a few times to get you out of the habit of hanging around longer than needed; of course situating them in areas where you wouldn't normally park to do something else would help and ones located in these locations seem to be ok - it's the ones that are located in parks or shopping centres which seem to be worse affected by ICING / staying connected when not charging (which is essentially the same as ICING just doesn't fit the definition :p)

Destination / Fast Chargers / Etc: Have two issues - one is the speed of them and the other is location. For instance, there's a lot of "fast chargers" installed at train station car parks near here - people are clearly plugging in all day thus blocking them all day (despite the car finishing charging within an hour or two) - can't blame them, the entire point of them in the car park is so you can charge while at work - in these cases it would be better if they were slower chargers but then is it really a massive cost difference between the two.

The only other issue I have come across personally with these, is when they're located at supermarkets or shopping centres they do tend to be near the store entrance and thus encouraging people to park there "cause its closer" - I understand that it's obviously easier for the installation if it's near the power supply but I do feel that if they were at say the opposite end of the car park from the supermarket a lot fewer people would be parking in them / using them.

General Issue / small rant: Some of them are placed in car parks that are always busy, and generally overflowing on normal days - I can give a prime example of poor planning with the ones installed at Strathclyde Park by Charge Place Scotland. They installed their lovely charging hub in one of the busiest car parks next to a play park and a beach. They then proceeded to close the only other large car park at that end of the park (it's 20m away across a road) for some reason and since doing so - arrive after 11 am on any day where it's not pouring and generally you find the car park full and the EV bays ICEd.
 
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#16
Hugely emotive subject init!

Until vehicle uptake swings in favour of EV and the charging infrastructure improves this problem will not go away. It seems to me that the only real way to deal with this is via confrontation, I choose this word deliberately as anecdotally, the number of friendly exchanges are limited, So I'll be going out of my way to give an ICEd spot a miss thank you, by trying to avoid the public infrastructure and using SuC's; I realise that these too can be ICEd but (again anecdotally) you hear this less.
 
#17
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