Supercharging location safety

[Nocturnal]

I stopped at a charger while traveling last week and it reminded me of this topic. This location (in Omaha) is behind a TJ Max. The shopping center is relatively busy but the actual charging location is pretty dark. Doesn't bother me really because I'm a guy and this is in the suburbs of Omaha but I do Tesla can improve this aspect a bit. I can't help but imagine that this is or will be a deterrent when trying to get more women to buy Teslas.

I think the biggest issue is inability to release the charging cable from inside the car. A guy was robbed at gunpoint not too far from where I live at an SC (one that is well lit by a busy road etc.) If you are in this situation there is nothing you can do expect try to hide inside your car.

I tweeted a suggestion on this out to Tesla/Elon before. During charging (or just parked I suppose)it would be nice to see an emergency button right on the screen. Perhaps it would automatically dial local police and ideally release the charging cable in case you needed to drive off.

 

[640k]

also you can't speed off with the cable still connected. the car is immobilized.

 

[SDKoala]

I understand the need for this from a safety point of view I agree the car should have it. The problem is that you'll have people out there pushing the button for emergency disconnect and driving away because they are lazy and don't want to get out of the car. To think that all Tesla drivers are going to be good citizens and do what they are supposed to do all the time would be foolish.

 

[rhaekar]

You could unlock it from your phone but there's no way to get the cable out from your car.

 

[Phlier]

I understand the need for this from a safety point of view I agree the car should have it. The problem is that you'll have people out there pushing the button for emergency disconnect and driving away because they are lazy and don't want to get out of the car. To think that all Tesla drivers are going to be good citizens and do what they are supposed to do all the time would be foolish.

A valid viewpoint, for sure. But even still, the OP is right; there really needs to be an option to allow you to do a quick get away.

 

[jerry33]

I stopped at a charger while traveling last week and it reminded me of this topic. This location (in Omaha) is behind a TJ Max. The shopping center is relatively busy but the actual charging location is pretty dark. Doesn't bother me really because I'm a guy and this is in the suburbs of Omaha but I do Tesla can improve this aspect a bit. I can't help but imagine that this is or will be a deterrent when trying to get more women to buy Teslas.

I think the biggest issue is inability to release the charging cable from inside the car. A guy was robbed at gunpoint not too far from where I live at an SC (one that is well lit by a busy road etc.) If you are in this situation there is nothing you can do expect try to hide inside your car.

I tweeted a suggestion on this out to Tesla/Elon before. During charging (or just parked I suppose)it would be nice to see an emergency button right on the screen. Perhaps it would automatically dial local police and ideally release the charging cable in case you needed to drive off.

It's a good idea, but just unlocking the cable isn't likely to work that well because of how it's inserted. So either there would need to be some kind of spring mechanism to eject the cable, or the cable needs to disconnect from the SC so the charge port and fender aren't damaged when this happens. I can think of several ways to do this, but all would require modifications to the cable.

 

[Big Earl]

Any emergency escape mechanism will require modifications to every Tesla's charge port (forced cable ejection) or to every Supercharging pedestal (breakaway connectors). Both options will increase the maintenance costs of the Supercharging system due to damage from cable ejections (people being lazy and just driving off, letting the cable hit the ground) or accidental breakaways (cable replacement required). Damage from actual emergency disconnects can be considered a cost of doing business.

 

[Nocturnal]

Any emergency escape mechanism will require modifications to every Tesla's charge port (forced cable ejection) or to every Supercharging pedestal (breakaway connectors). Both options will increase the maintenance costs of the Supercharging system due to damage from cable ejections (people being lazy and just driving off, letting the cable hit the ground) or accidental breakaways (cable replacement required). Damage from actual emergency disconnects can be considered a cost of doing business.

Sure, but right now there is no way to drive off. Your car is disabled.

I understand the need for this from a safety point of view I agree the car should have it. The problem is that you'll have people out there pushing the button for emergency disconnect and driving away because they are lazy and don't want to get out of the car. To think that all Tesla drivers are going to be good citizens and do what they are supposed to do all the time would be foolish.

There are always bad actors but this could be enforced. Tesla knows who is charging and where. ​

 

[sduck]

Should be in Supercharging and Charging Infrastructure subforum, not here.

 

[JulienW]

I understand the need for this from a safety point of view I agree the car should have it. The problem is that you'll have people out there pushing the button for emergency disconnect and driving away because they are lazy and don't want to get out of the car. To think that all Tesla drivers are going to be good citizens and do what they are supposed to do all the time would be foolish.

Maybe have tied to dialing 911.

 

[qdeathstar]

I understand the need for this from a safety point of view I agree the car should have it. The problem is that you'll have people out there pushing the button for emergency disconnect and driving away because they are lazy and don't want to get out of the car. To think that all Tesla drivers are going to be good citizens and do what they are supposed to do all the time would be foolish.

$100 fine would solve that issue..

 

[Alossy]

I stopped at a charger while traveling last week and it reminded me of this topic. This location (in Omaha) is behind a TJ Max. The shopping center is relatively busy but the actual charging location is pretty dark. Doesn't bother me really because I'm a guy and this is in the suburbs of Omaha but I do Tesla can improve this aspect a bit. I can't help but imagine that this is or will be a deterrent when trying to get more women to buy Teslas.

I think the biggest issue is inability to release the charging cable from inside the car. A guy was robbed at gunpoint not too far from where I live at an SC (one that is well lit by a busy road etc.) If you are in this situation there is nothing you can do expect try to hide inside your car.

I tweeted a suggestion on this out to Tesla/Elon before. During charging (or just parked I suppose)it would be nice to see an emergency button right on the screen. Perhaps it would automatically dial local police and ideally release the charging cable in case you needed to drive off.

 

[Alossy]

I can confirm that this is a still a concern. I had a similar experience recently at a shopping center after all the stores were closed. There were 2 of us charging and a car pulled up slightly off my front quarter and stopped there for 10+ min, seemingly watching us. It made me uncomfortable enough that I jumped out and quickly disconnected and jumped back in and locked the doors. As soon as I did that a 2nd car came down the ramp and stopped on the far side of the first car. I think they were expecting me to leave and then they were going to go after the remaining car. Instead I pulled up to him and the 2 of us ended up pulling away together. It is a very vulnerable feeling to know you can't just pull away and that if you do want to you are going to have to get out of the car first. I agree I could have called 911 but if someone is going to walk up to your door or block you in, 911 is not going to be there in time. For now it is just one more layer of planning to make sure I don't have to charge up at night somewhere with little traffic or security.

 

[bradtem]

Tesla could make a charging station where the supercharger is beside the car rather than behind it, and it has the ability to gently pull on the cable to remove it once your car has released the lock.

Aside from the emergency situation described, this is actually a feature many drivers would like, the ability to just push a button and have the cable retracted so they could drive off.

And the big value of this would be that once your car finished charging, it could release the cable, have the station retract it, and then the car itself could, without you, drive out of the station and into an open parking space nearby. Frees up the station for the next guy, you don't need to go move your car while eating, and no idle fees ever. (Or of course, it could simply be signaled to the person waiting for the station to unplug you, but this is cooler.)

FSD is far from ever working, but being able to do a slow move in a mapped parking lot to a spare nearby parking space is withing Tesla's ability today. It's easier than "smart summon" because you have a map and you are only going a very short distance.

I would definitely find this very valuable, and so would people waiting in line for chargers when that happens.

 

[mtbwalt]

My wife and I were traveling and stopped kind of late at a supercharger in a parking lot of a bowling alley. There were loiterers and it felt a little sketchy.

Then a car pulls up next to me so the driver side is facing mine. Turns out it’s a cop. He is all curious about the Tesla and EV in general and just wants to chat. We had a fun conversation. Turns out the loiterers were students at some kind of fbi training going on nearby haha. It was probably the safest supercharger I will ever use.

I do carry a small handheld device for use as criminal repellant in the event of emergency. Haven’t yet had to drive through any states where such devices are disallowed.

 

[GUP-Y]

Does anyone here use a product that allows you to eject or breakaway from your charging cable at a public charging station in the event of a dangerous situation that you need to drive away. A major security risk with EVs is when you're plugged in the car will not let you drive off without unplugging the charging cable. In such a situation, it might be unsafe for you to exit your vehicle to unplug. What would you do?

Here's one example of such product: EVject Breakaway Charging Adapter (Pre-Order) Does anyone have experience with it?

 

[Jigga_watt_]

Yeah no kidding. Some of the superchargers are in sketchy areas and it’s not lost on me that the car is immobilized while charging. Sooner or later criminals are going to pay attention to this especially with the perception that teslas are luxury vehicles and the thought that the drivers probably have something good to steal.