Personal safety while charging

[Unpilot]

Have there been any incidents of assault or other crimes at Superchargers? In other words, is there any data on how safe or dangerous they might be. Just asking.

I would bet close to zero reports...or a very, very low number relative to number of cars that use them.

 

[AZ Desert Driver]

Hah. If a car pulls up & that person in that car is overly interested in my vehicle I'm 1) not coming over, 2) would walk further away, and 3) calling 911. I lived for years in Death Valley & the reality is there are a lot of borderline folks out there (a couple former Manson family members lived next door, for instance). Staying aware of personal safety was paramount.

I have a few stories involving things like a security guard putting water in my gas tank so that I was stranded late at night on a desert road (guess who showed up to rescue! - too bad, I'd already gotten far away from my car), but bottom line for me was always removing myself from an unsafe situation - even if it meant sitting 20 yards away in the dark. As my dad used to tell me, "Don't be scared of the dark. Bad people can't see you, either."

Of course we can all come up with outlier situations. But I've been driving electric 7+ years, stopping to charge in the wild more than most & there isn't an epidemic of people hanging out at chargers to rob owners. Could we find a story about it? Probably. And we could find stories about all sorts of other places where someone was attacked or robbed. (I seem to recall a gas station or two being robbed ...) Common sense should prevail about where you stop.

Bonnie- you sound like a very smart cookie. Never thought of hiding in the dark. (never had to, hope to never need to) but THAT is a very smart thing.

 

[Az_Rael]

Have there been any incidents of assault or other crimes at Superchargers? In other words, is there any data on how safe or dangerous they might be. Just asking.

I think someone had their Tesla car jacked at Barstow a couple years ago. That same location was also subject to some theft of Teslas equipment a while back.

Tesla Model S Hijacked At Gunpoint, Suspects Now In Custody

Barstow, CA Tesla Supercharger Vandalized Before Thanksgiving Weekend (Update)

 

[AZ Desert Driver]

Yeah ... I like the comfort of the car. No doubt. You are the one who has to determine the safety of where you are at and decide to stay in your car, watch your car from a distance away, or just not stop there. There are variables for every situation. We all have to determine what is the safest option for us.

But I can tell you, with complete certainty, that getting out that first time was by far the best decision I could have made. That security guard story? There was a lot more to it, but it involves stalking, a gallon of water removed from my gas tank the next day, notes, the guard (Tom) waiting for me after work (I ran a bar then), etc. And I was out on the desert, well away from my car, when I saw his van pull up and eventually saw him take his flashlight out looking around the area. That was the first time I got out & it was probably because as my car started to sputter and lose power, I finally figured out that he was behind all the times my car wouldn't start & he was right there to help. And more. (Gaaah, I haven't thought about that night and that guy for years. Super creepy.)

I always listen to my gut & am really glad I did so that night. And it's always an option.

Ick - Kreepy people can be smart. Plan on putting water into the gas so he can "rescue" you 5 miles down the road. ick, ick, ick. Smart, evil and a planner. Glad you were a step or two ahead of him. I hope he got his chain yanked and cannot do this to the next "helpless" traveler.

 

[Jashev]

I regularly travel from PA to Texas. Most of the time I travel until very late in the evening with an occasional all night drive. At 65 years old, I know that my ability to defend myself has decreased dramatically and there have been quite a few SC's where I didn't feel comfortable. I know this isn't supposed to be about guns, but I would never make that trip without one. Especially if I was a woman.

 

[bonnie]

Ick - Kreepy people can be smart. Plan on putting water into the gas so he can "rescue" you 5 miles down the road. ick, ick, ick. Smart, evil and a planner. Glad you were a step or two ahead of him. I hope he got his chain yanked and cannot do this to the next "helpless" traveler.

Yeah, it was icky. Creepy. There's a lot more to the story. But mechanics at a nearby borate mine (where I eventually worked at) had picked up my car & drained the water. All the guys at the mine knew what happened - they took care of things. #DesertJustice

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Looks like gas stations are far more dangerous- I found hundreds of events like this across the country.

Ronald Morales, 43, killed in Elmwood Park shootout

"There are hunters and there are victims. By your discipline, cunning, obedience and alertness, you will decide if you are a hunter or a victim." General "Mad Dog" Mattias USMC

 

[bonnie]

Looks like gas stations are far more dangerous- I found hundreds of events like this across the country.

Ronald Morales, 43, killed in Elmwood Park shootout

"There are hunters and there are victims. By your discipline, cunning, obedience and alertness, you will decide if you are a hunter or a victim." General "Mad Dog" Mattias USMC

That was kind of a point I was making in an earlier post. Even though this isn't the first time that people have brought up safety at a Supercharger, the evidence doesn't support being any more worried about charging than other places. Common sense should prevail, whether at a Supercharger or gas station or a mall parking garage. It makes me uncomfortable to see us overly worrying about this, because someone new to the community might conclude this is a problem. And it isn't.

Pay attention, trust your gut, be smart. If you're in your car and you're too scared to get out to unplug, then call 911. If you feel like you're a sitting duck in your car, don't stay.

 

[510Red]

That was kind of a point I was making in an earlier post. Even though this isn't the first time that people have brought up safety at a Supercharger, the evidence doesn't support being any more worried about charging than other places. Common sense should prevail, whether at a Supercharger or gas station or a mall parking garage. It makes me uncomfortable to see us overly worrying about this, because someone new to the community might conclude this is a problem. And it isn't.

Pay attention, trust your gut, be smart. If you're in your car and you're too scared to get out to unplug, then call 911. If you feel like you're a sitting duck in your car, don't stay.

I agree. I do not think that SC stations are less safe than other places. In fact, overall, I think the chargers are safer because of the lighting and busy locations. The reason for the thread is the variable we have here with not being able to disconnect and drive off. A lot of people have offered good ideas to compensate for not being able to drive away.

 

[bmah]

Moderator note: Moved 9 posts to Snippiness. Some of them made for a hostile environment, which we do not tolerate on TMC. There were some other, non-snippy posts that got moved as well, only because they were responses to the posts in question.

Bruce.

 

[bonnie]

Moderator note: Moved 9 posts to Snippiness. Some of them made for a hostile environment, which we do not tolerate on TMC. There were some other, non-snippy posts that got moved as well, only because they were responses to the posts in question.

Bruce.

Thanks

 

[The Duke]

Maybe HD cameras scanning the SC sites?

Tesla already knows you are there and who you are by your car.

 

[NCAviator]

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.

Why do we always look for a technical solution to our human problems.

If you will not defend yourself; why don't you call law enforcement. You don't have to wait for a crime to be committed to ask for their support. If they are not actively responding to an event; they would be happy to come keep you company for a bit of time late at night. Have someone to talk to for a bit. You can call the 911 non-emergency number.

For the few number of times you don't feel safe, it is not out of line.

I would expect that as the Supercharger network matures; they will have more surveillance and services 24/7.

 

[Graffi]

To add to my previous post, anyone worried should also install a dashcam that will record all around. May never be needed, but could prove that someone was "not nice" toward you when it is word vs. word.

 

[Mediocrates]

If I have to strike at an attacker I plan to only be able to do that once, so it must be a strike that will either kill or seriously disable my attacker.

I would suggest that any of you who are concerned with your personal safety train yourself in multiple ways to be able to kill or disable an attacker with one strike. Many of them are not that difficult to learn and use. Remember, you are not sparing or training to fight. You are learning to deliver a single killing strike.

Unarmed single-strike death blows do not exist in any kind of practical/trainable sense. This is a long-running martial arts myth that tends to be perpetuated in martial arts circles that do not practice routine sparring. These sorts of "techniques" are, at best, a waste of time. At worst, their ineffectual results will leave the attemped user open to serious harm. Even from a conceptual standpoint, these "techniques" do not stand up to intellectual scrutiny. If someone has told you of (or showed you) such "techniques" as being able to fairly consistently and reliably cause death (and I would say even 1 in 10 attempts to be a high percentage claim), we can speak privately about how such things would never work.

There are techniques that can be identified and employed for doing enough immediate damage to at least deter an attacker, if not cause significant disability. Such training is not particularly different than effective martial arts training though.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

I thought more about this topic and realized why so many attacks happen at gas stations - cash, gas, cigs and beer. All staples for most of the USA, add in the Redneck 401K (aka the lottery) and you attract every dude that needs cash and desires any of the other items. Even at our local gas stations in a pretty wealthy county, we have issues with this.

Oakton Gas Station Robbery Tied To 18 Regional Crimes

Moral of the story, don't sit in your Tesla with your cash register open (purse/murse), smoking a cigarette and drinking a beer while scratching off your lottery tickets, if you do be willing to share all the above with your neighbors and or the local criminal element. I know I will personally struggle with this having been guilty of doing all the above (maybe not the cigs and beer in the last 3.5 decades), but pretty much everything else.

 

[510Red]

Everyone, thank you again for your input. I have found this to be informative, entertaining, and some ideas quite useful. Let's back up a step and start again with the premise that a woman is sitting inside her Tesla while the car is charging. A troublemaker comes along and would be presumed to be standing outside the car because it is doubtful he/she (we cannot presume that all troublemakers are male) brought their own chair. This clearly puts the troublemaker at a distinct advantage if the woman were to open the door an an attempt to "deliver a single killing strike". It is highly unlikely her attempt would be successful by the simple fact that she is starting from a sitting position, with her feet tucked behind the door frame, and possibly wearing her favorite ever-so-adorable shoes. Let's say that she is a confident women, well practiced in traveling alone by car, rail, jet, motorcycle, bicycle, and foot. Let's also say that she is older. Let's say 58 years. (I would go on to describe how youthful and vibrant she looks, but that is irrelevant to the premise.) She has basic skills for self defense and is constantly aware of her surroundings. She has a cool head, can produce a withering stare, and is armed with bear spray, a brand new big flashlight, a handheld stun gun, and knows how to dial 911. Being an intelligent woman and knowing her limitations, she is also more likely to avoid a physical altercation than to face it head on. We haven't discussed the one other effective tool she and most women possess. Words. She has used that tool in the form of rhetoric or humor to disarm or diffuse many a situation. In that time between the window being rolled down a crack and the perpetrator being blasted with said bear spray, what might this woman say to diffuse the situation?

 

[trm2]

Maybe we could get Tesla to put the phone number for the local police on every supercharger in nice big numbers. Everyone knows the emergency (911 or equivalent in other countries) but not necessarily the local number. One may hesitate to call 911 if it isn't a clear danger, but calling the local number is easier. Just having the phone number everywhere may serve as a deterrent as well.

 

[510Red]

Maybe we could get Tesla to put the phone number for the local police on every supercharger in nice big numbers. Everyone knows the emergency (911 or equivalent in other countries) but not necessarily the local number. One may hesitate to call 911 if it isn't a clear danger, but calling the local number is easier. Just having the phone number everywhere may serve as a deterrent as well.

Thank you for sharing this idea. Until those numbers are posted, I am going to start my charging sessions with looking up the local police number and keeping a log for each location. My father was a dispatcher and I know they encourage people to call in any situation or perceived threat, and they prefer that people use the non-emergency number if it is not an immediate threat.

 

[mongo]

Maybe we could get Tesla to put the phone number for the local police on every supercharger in nice big numbers. Everyone knows the emergency (911 or equivalent in other countries) but not necessarily the local number. One may hesitate to call 911 if it isn't a clear danger, but calling the local number is easier. Just having the phone number everywhere may serve as a deterrent as well.

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.