Electric car Parking etiquette?

[UsernameChecksOut]

I think you know the answer.

I’m pretty sure this is just a modern day version of “shit or get off the pot”. ?

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[TTT]

In CA you have a high EV adoption rate, so you see a lot of variations. yes there are EV preferred parking spots that don't have charging, but there is also a variation no one has mentioned yet.

At some municipal lots there may be 4 spots where for example 4 spaces can share 2 free chargers. All 4 spaces are for EVs only but only 2 cars can charge at a time. An example is the lot on El Molino in Pasadena near the Laemmle. There is an etiquette here too.

If you are charging but you don't "need" the juice it is considered polite to leave a note on your car that says "ok to unplug if you need to" so if someone comes into the shared space after you and needs the juice they can take the cord and move it to their car.

If you come back to your car which was charging and find a car in the shared space and the EV charge port/door is open - its a signal to you to please move the cord over, otherwise look on their windshield and yours to see if they left a note asking you to plug them in - if they did please comply. If they did not, I do not.

If you pull in and someone is charging you can look to see if they left a note saying its ok to unplug. If they did not and you are 100% sure that their car is fully charged by the charge indicator its ok to unplug them if you leave a note saying you saw their car was fully charged so you carefully unplugged them, but if possible wait 5 minutes before doing so just in case they are coming back to unplug themselves.

If someone else is already charging you can leave your charge port open and leave them a polite note asking them to please plug you in when they return.

If someone is already charging, and you don't need to charge, park in a different spot, don't just grab it because it is an open EV spot.

Finally, a word of warning - any time you go to plug in, even at home - but especially in public - ALWAYS take a few seconds to inspect the plug before you attach it to your car. Look for damage to the plug, bent pins, dirt or debris, cracked housings, etc. A damaged charge plug can ruin the pins or receptacle in your car and cost you big bucks. If it it looks wrong don't plug it in. It it doesn't plug in easily, don't force it. If it looks broken - try to put a note on it to prevent the next person from damaging their car too and call the customer service number for the charger. It doesn't hurt to tell the property owner/manager too. It all seems like a lot of trouble but we need to take the time to look out for each other.

One busted plug could damage a number of cars charge ports before someone does something about it. If it happens to you, you would certainly wish that the person before you had done something while you are shelling out $895 for a new charge port on your car and driving a loaner Fiesta for a day. Ask me how I know...

 

[Mach1E]

Don't think of them as parking spaces, but rather fueling stations, and that is the designated spot you would use to refuel at that particular outlet.

With that said, how would you feel if you drive your internal combustion vehicle to fuel up at a gas station, and 3 out of the 4 pumps available had vehicles parked in front of the pump while not actually refueling, and they have been sitting there for hours on end.

When you put things in perspective I think it becomes rather obvious what the etiquette would be...

That’s the thing, the gas station analogy doesn’t work to make assumptions.

They don’t put gas stations in mall parking lots.

They don’t label them gas vehicle “parking.”

And people don’t just park their cars there.

But at the mall…….. they were labeled “parking,” and again most (5 of 7) were using them as parking spots.


To be clear, I didn’t park there, and didn’t assume I should. But based on the fact that most people were using them as parking spots, it definitely wasn’t as obvious.

I should also note, this is Florida. We are a bit new to BEVs around here. Things that seem common knowledge in California are new around here. I think better signage would help.

 

[RickMachE]

Keep in mind that most parking lots are private, not public, and enforcement of parking is up to the lot owner, the police have zero jurisdiction.

 

[JohnnyForensic]

I've seen something kind of similar down in Northern Virginia, too. Some of the more upscale shopping malls have "Green Vehicle Parking Only" spots reserved for BEV/Hybrid closer to the main entrances (Tyson's Corner being the notable one in my head). There are no chargers for those spaces, so it's just a nod to the electric crowd.

But yeah, if there's a charger there, I completely agree with everyone else in that if you park, you charge. If you don't need to charge, don't park there.

...and not to arrogantly quote myself, but I've been thinking more about the last statement I made. I should have said, "...if you ("Royal you," not OP or anyone here specifically) park, you charge. If you don't need to charge, don't park there even if you have an EV and hook-up, because someone could be planning on that charger to help them along their longer route using ABRP or PlugShare, and if you're taking it to go from 85% to 100% while grocery shopping and you absolutely don't need it, leave it maybe for someone who does."

I think that's really what I meant to say. I get opportunity charging to make low costs even lower, but especially in an area with a limited number of chargers, if you don't need to charge, maybe consider leaving it open for someone who really does.

 

[jdsimard2012]

Common sense.

 

[lwilliams0514]

This is my first BEV, so just curious what the polite thing to do is.

At our local mall, there are a group of 8 parking spaces right up front that say, “Electric vehicle parking only.”

They also have a set of ChargPoint pay to charge chargers.

So my question is this: If you park there, do you have to charge?

I noticed that only about 1/3 of the cars were plugged in.

Congrats on your new electric vehicle purchase!

Now there is a difference between "legal" and the "polite" thing to do.

The Legal Thing To do - Here in California, you can park at a electric charging spot but you have to be "charging". What a lot of people do is plug in, even if they are at like 99%, just to park closer. Some malls have "EV Parking Spots" that don't have chargers but encourage EVs. In my state, they can't tow you unless it is POSTED that you can only park there WHILE charging. To be honest, the police don't know if the car is charging or not and will not care honestly, unless some Karen reports you.

The Polite Thing To Do - If your done charging, move your dang car, PERIOD. There is a limited amount of chargers, and we all need to charge. When your done, MOVE. We all get notifications on our devices that the car is done charging. Just be nice and move. ChargePoint starts to charge you if your car is not drawing power and you don't move. So Does Tesla. Tesla owners will queue up a line, charge on the super charger, and move the second its done as a courtesy to the other Tesla drivers. The MME will tell you when it estimates the charge to be done. Plan your shopping accordingly.

When in doubt...... Do the right thing.

 

[lwilliams0514]

It's a real pet peeve of mine that so many charging spots just say they're for electric vehicles only, and don't specifically spell out that they're only for when charging.

I hate this too. I understand when you are like 15-20 min late getting to your car once it was done charging.... but people that work there will leave it there..... all day...... without moving it. SMH.

I also hate non-EVs parking in EV charging spots. I am like.... "you have the ENTIRE F**KING PARKING LOT" and you choose the one spot you can't have. And have the nerve to be upset that the tow truck has hooked up your car. You saw the sign. Never fails to find this happening. And as the holidays approach, you will see it happen more as the charging spots are usually the best parking spots.

 

[evfinder]

I live in Los Angeles and early on there were times when chargers were rarely used and icing was common. Now that chargers are heavily utilized I rarely see spots iced, and mostly when chargers are blocked it is an EV not charging. I have found that even when you have rules about about how the chargers are to be used, they are only followed if they are enforced. Unfortunately parking enforcement rarely bothers. I've seen Volta chargers that are signed as 1 hour parking only but I have seen cars parked there for hours and never seen anyone get a ticket. In places where they do ticket, like in down town Santa Monica, the rules are mostly followed.

Funniest thing I saw was in the time when they had inductive charging for the EV1 and RAV4-EV. I once saw a pickup truck that had the charger paddle inserted in between the bars of the front grill to make it look like it was being charged.

 

[generaltso]

ChargePoint starts to charge you if your car is not drawing power and you don't move.

Not necessarily. That's up to the station owner.

 

[nvabill]

Merry Christmas you charger hoggers!

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