CuriousG
Active Member
And how do you propose the tow company will remove the car with the charger still locked?
Supercharging Etiquette (or a complete lack thereof)
- Thread starter rpo
- Start date
Regarding ICE cars/trucks parked in SC spots . . . . .
Just completed our first road trip (DC to Pittsburgh). Stopped at the Hagerstown, MD SC. The spots clearly had "Tesla parking only. All others towed". There was even a number to call to get a car towed. As this was my first SC experience, I am not sure if this exists at all Tesla SC stations.
Just completed our first road trip (DC to Pittsburgh). Stopped at the Hagerstown, MD SC. The spots clearly had "Tesla parking only. All others towed". There was even a number to call to get a car towed. As this was my first SC experience, I am not sure if this exists at all Tesla SC stations.
You can also shame them at EV-HOLE - EV Drivers who Park in EV spots but are not Charging! #EVHOLE Public Group | Facebook.
youlikeadajuice
P 9130
Exactly right. Leaving your car all night just so you don't have to go out and move it is making it all about you. Selfish. As others have mentioned, it's a charging space, not a parking space.
Print one of these and keep in your glove box; from a DC area Tesla enthusiast. http://pluginsites.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/PlugInSites_org_NeedtoChargeCard-1.pdf
4SUPER9
Active Member
Just read through this thread. A couple of points:
1) There is no law in California that allows for towing of a vehicle parked in an EV space on private property, nor is there a law that allows ticketing on private property. There has to be explicit signage stating the ability to tow, showing the city code, and providing the name and phone number of the towing company. To date, and to my knowledge, Tesla has not implemented such language at any SC.
2) @HankLloydRight : I fail to see how you did anything wrong. If you took the last spot, or there was any reasonable chance someone could have needed your spot, then maybe. That was not the case. Any objections on this forum to what you did are based on hypothetical situations that do not exist, so I see no reason for anyone to get their panties all tied up. Had the situation been different, you would have not left your car parked there.
3) Yes, the people inconvenienced should have notified Tesla. In fact, I would have called roadside assistance and asked them to call the owners right there and then.
1) There is no law in California that allows for towing of a vehicle parked in an EV space on private property, nor is there a law that allows ticketing on private property. There has to be explicit signage stating the ability to tow, showing the city code, and providing the name and phone number of the towing company. To date, and to my knowledge, Tesla has not implemented such language at any SC.
2) @HankLloydRight : I fail to see how you did anything wrong. If you took the last spot, or there was any reasonable chance someone could have needed your spot, then maybe. That was not the case. Any objections on this forum to what you did are based on hypothetical situations that do not exist, so I see no reason for anyone to get their panties all tied up. Had the situation been different, you would have not left your car parked there.
3) Yes, the people inconvenienced should have notified Tesla. In fact, I would have called roadside assistance and asked them to call the owners right there and then.
SDRick
Active Member
I agree with 4super9. Hank Boyd Rights' actions at a lightly traveled rural supercharger were reasonable and rational.
youlikeadajuice
P 9130
This whole thread is based on the OP's experience where this scenario did happen at a supercharger by a hotel. You're right, it did not happen in Hank's exact experiences, but it is already happening at superchargers and L2 chargers and will happen more in the future. There is nothing hypothetical about that.
4SUPER9
Active Member
Agreed. In a situation where there is even a slight chance of this happening, this would not be acceptable. In regards to what the OP experienced, there was not only a high chance of it happening, it was 100%. Not acceptable. I would have done the same thing as Hank given his situation. Had I been one of the drivers in the Mt Shasta scenario, I would have plugged in, charged to get what I needed, then moved. Tesla has their phone numbers and could have tracked them down. They simply have not taken an aggressive posture on this behavior to date. I hope they at least send a letter to those violators.
ohmman
Plaid-ish Moderator
My only issue with your post is this sentence. Maybe doesn't apply here. If he took the last spot, or there was a reasonable chance someone could have needed that spot, then absolutely he would be in the wrong.
I'm not judging @HankLloydRight aka "Boyd" since I wasn't around when he overnighted. What I know is that he's a Tesla enthusiast, a valuable TMC member, and he's pretty aware of how this is all supposed to work. I trust that he made a reasonable decision given the particulars of his situation. Nice job, Boyd!
David99
Active Member
Tesla could solve this problem very nicely. The know exactly how long a car is plugged in and where. When they see a car plugged in overnight at a Supercharger, they could give the driver a pop up warning, saying it's not cool to use a Supercharger to park overnight. Make it polite but clear. I think just the fact that the owner knows their behaviour is monitored would most likely have a great impact.
Unfortunately I have seen people plug in overnight at many superchargers. It's not uncommon. I understand why people are doing it and having normal L2 charger at hotels would eliminate the problem. I once stayed at a hotel with a Supercharger. I needed a full charge, but I felt it was not OK to leave the car plugged in. So I charged to 85% and then topped off in the morning. What a waste of time. It took extra long as it was cold and the charge rate was reduced. I really wanted to just plug in and have the timer start the charge so it would be done just when I want to leave and have the battery warm.
Unfortunately I have seen people plug in overnight at many superchargers. It's not uncommon. I understand why people are doing it and having normal L2 charger at hotels would eliminate the problem. I once stayed at a hotel with a Supercharger. I needed a full charge, but I felt it was not OK to leave the car plugged in. So I charged to 85% and then topped off in the morning. What a waste of time. It took extra long as it was cold and the charge rate was reduced. I really wanted to just plug in and have the timer start the charge so it would be done just when I want to leave and have the battery warm.
Garlan Garner
Banned
brucet999
Active Member
Seems to me that you and TaoJones have invested a good deal more than the disputed 12 minutes of time in this back-and-forth.
bkp_duke
Active Member
ShotgunF15E
Member
Why not just use the app PlugShare ?
Main problem is, you can do all you can, but rude people will always be rude people....
Main problem is, you can do all you can, but rude people will always be rude people....
Camera-Cruiser
Fully Charged
Just park in handicap spaces and leave your phone number... Right, I didn't think so.
I brought up the point about Super Chargers being electron pumps, not parking spaces, and that makes sense to most everyone. But you actually have to think about this like handicap spaces.
This whole thread/issue made me realize something that people with disabilities having been saying for years. Handicap spaces, ramps etc. are all about enabling people and affecting behavior. Thirty years ago there were hardly any handicap spaces and I never saw disabled people out and about enjoying the things I do, or just going to the store.
Through legislation, those spaces/ramps increased and 30 years later I see people using those spaces daily, unloading their scooters, or taking extra time with their oxygen tanks, walkers and canes. It took years and years of seeing those spaces empty for those who now use them to feel that they could trust in their availability. They became enabled.
The positive flip side, is that the rest of the population has become more accepting too. So you can see the analogy here for us in the EV community.
As a community, we have to enable others to trust that Super Chargers are going to be available and used as they are intended. The easiest way to do this is to move your car out of a space as soon as you have what you need.
Remember, we all bought the car knowing it's wonderful benefits and its limitations.
I just took took a trip with the family in our ICE car because I did not want to deal with the anxiety of Super Charging with 5 of us in the car. Had nothing to do with range, and everything to do with being worried about having to jostle SC spots, the locals, SC valets, etc. In essence, I felt disabled by my perception of having limited choices. The only way to fix this is by better SC etiquette, so when we drive around town, or cross country we see that Super Chargers (or other types) are readily available.
I brought up the point about Super Chargers being electron pumps, not parking spaces, and that makes sense to most everyone. But you actually have to think about this like handicap spaces.
This whole thread/issue made me realize something that people with disabilities having been saying for years. Handicap spaces, ramps etc. are all about enabling people and affecting behavior. Thirty years ago there were hardly any handicap spaces and I never saw disabled people out and about enjoying the things I do, or just going to the store.
Through legislation, those spaces/ramps increased and 30 years later I see people using those spaces daily, unloading their scooters, or taking extra time with their oxygen tanks, walkers and canes. It took years and years of seeing those spaces empty for those who now use them to feel that they could trust in their availability. They became enabled.
The positive flip side, is that the rest of the population has become more accepting too. So you can see the analogy here for us in the EV community.
As a community, we have to enable others to trust that Super Chargers are going to be available and used as they are intended. The easiest way to do this is to move your car out of a space as soon as you have what you need.
Remember, we all bought the car knowing it's wonderful benefits and its limitations.
I just took took a trip with the family in our ICE car because I did not want to deal with the anxiety of Super Charging with 5 of us in the car. Had nothing to do with range, and everything to do with being worried about having to jostle SC spots, the locals, SC valets, etc. In essence, I felt disabled by my perception of having limited choices. The only way to fix this is by better SC etiquette, so when we drive around town, or cross country we see that Super Chargers (or other types) are readily available.
really? why not firebomb the car?Just let the air out of their tires next time.
HankLloydRight
No Roads
Absolutely. If there was only one open spot left, and everyone else was "parking" at the SC overnight, OF COURSE I wouldn't take up the last spot any more than I needed to charge. I think I made that point earlier that I wasn't making a blanket policy statement that many of you THINK I was making ("I'll park anywhere I damn please and screw everyone else"), but rather, assess the situation and act ACCORDINGLY.
You realize these problems are mostly limited to California, right? I've taken more than a dozen 1k+ mile road trips in my Model S on the east coast and midland, and have never seen any of those issues*.. and at least 50% of the time on these trips, I was the only car at the superchargers. I do understand that these issues are huge problems at some CA superchargers, but I just don't want new people reading this thread to think it's a system-wide, nation-wide problem.
* Oops.. not entirely true - Once I did see Newark, DE fill up and a line form, but that was when there were only four stalls.. there are now 12 stalls there alleviating the issue.
bkp_duke
Active Member
Someone else suggested keying it, at least my proposal doesn't do lasting damage.
Lloyd
Well-Known Member
Did you call Tesla and advise them. They will take Vin Numbers and call the owners if they are misbehaving.
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