EV parking etiquette

Well they shouldn't have bought a dumb BEV!

 

IMHO, you can easily argue the so called BEV vs. PHEV privilege both ways. PHEVs have a much more limited EV range and need the level 2 EVSE (not DC or Destination EVSE) charging much more than a BEV with its hundreds of miles of range. For local driving, the EVs can easily plan ahead while the PHEVs are basically always running on “empty” in comparison. And if you relegate PHEVs to being the poor stepchilds of the EV family, you’re pushing them into running on HV more and basically turning then into gas-mobiles a lot of the time.
Please note that I am not talking about DC fast chargers or high power Destination EVSEs as I see a logical reason for BEVs to need them more and besides, current PHEVs can’t use them anyway.

Public EVSEs are like parking spots; first come first served. However civility and politeness go a long way in both cases. You wouldn’t park crooked and ding someone’s door or make it hard for them to get in and out, and you wouldn’t take up 2 spaces. And you wouldn’t park at one business’ designated space to go somewhere else. Similarly, you wouldn’t park at an EVSE just for the closeness of the spot if you weren’t charging or didn’t need a charge. And you wouldn’t tie up the EVSE after you finished charging any longer than necessary. Would you?

Also, I consider it polite and an encouragement to EV adoption to allow fellow Evers to unplug (and replug if appropriate) the charging handle whenever possible. I mean let’s face it, how many hours of mandated manual reading, instruction, and certification did you have to go through before you charged your car for the first time? None! The J1772 protocol was developed and adopted to be as safe and fool proof as humanly possible. So I’m not worried about some stranger unplugging/plugging me. Not to mention the fact that they must have done it numerous times before.

That’s why I place my tag on the handle whenever I’m at a free public charger. We all need to be as polite as possible especially as the increasing number of EVs start to outpace the number of available EVSEs. (Am also working in a firm but polite message to put on gas-mobiles or non-charging EVs that are blocking EVSEs from being used.) And whenever local ordinances restrict parking at EVSEs, I will do the same thing I do with people who park in handicapped spaces; call the police for a ticket or a tow.

And while I’m on my soapbox preaching, I’ll add that IMHO, the problem in society seems to be that we talk about our rights before we talk about our responsibilities. I raised my son like I got raised; to consider my responsibility to others and my society and government before I started demanded my rights. OK, I’ll get off my high horse now.

I hope and pray we never get to the point of frayed nerves and incivility at EVSEs that we had at the gas lines back in the 70s gas shortage.

 

IMHO, you can easily argue the so called BEV vs. PHEV privilege both ways. PHEVs have a much more limited EV range and need the level 2 EVSE (not DC or Destination EVSE) charging much more than a BEV with its hundreds of miles of range. For local driving, the EVs can easily plan ahead while the PHEVs are basically always running on “empty” in comparison. And if you relegate PHEVs to being the poor stepchilds of the EV family, you’re pushing them into running on HV more and basically turning then into gas-mobiles a lot of the time.
Please note that I am not talking about DC fast chargers or high power Destination EVSEs as I see a logical reason for BEVs to need them more and besides, current PHEVs can’t use them anyway.

Public EVSEs are like parking spots; first come first served. However civility and politeness go a long way in both cases. You wouldn’t park crooked and ding someone’s door or make it hard for them to get in and out, and you wouldn’t take up 2 spaces. And you wouldn’t park at one business’ designated space to go somewhere else. Similarly, you wouldn’t park at an EVSE just for the closeness of the spot if you weren’t charging or didn’t need a charge. And you wouldn’t tie up the EVSE after you finished charging any longer than necessary. Would you?

Also, I consider it polite and an encouragement to EV adoption to allow fellow Evers to unplug (and replug if appropriate) the charging handle whenever possible. I mean let’s face it, how many hours of mandated manual reading, instruction, and certification did you have to go through before you charged your car for the first time? None! The J1772 protocol was developed and adopted to be as safe and fool proof as humanly possible. So I’m not worried about some stranger unplugging/plugging me. Not to mention the fact that they must have done it numerous times before.

That’s why I place my tag on the handle whenever I’m at a free public charger. We all need to be as polite as possible especially as the increasing number of EVs start to outpace the number of available EVSEs. (Am also working in a firm but polite message to put on gas-mobiles or non-charging EVs that are blocking EVSEs from being used.) And whenever local ordinances restrict parking at EVSEs, I will do the same thing I do with people who park in handicapped spaces; call the police for a ticket or a tow.

And while I’m on my soapbox preaching, I’ll add that IMHO, the problem in society seems to be that we talk about our rights before we talk about our responsibilities. I raised my son like I got raised; to consider my responsibility to others and my society and government before I started demanded my rights. OK, I’ll get off my high horse now.

I hope and pray we never get to the point of frayed nerves and incivility at EVSEs that we had at the gas lines back in the 70s gas shortage.

 

Nah, first come, first serve. THEN move it! KISS

Your reasoning could mean handicap parking should only be for those in wheelchairs and not for those with other (qualifying) conditions.

 

So wait, were you just on a soapbox or a horse? Or was the soapbox on the horse, which seems very dangerous.

 

So you would argur that a PIP (Plug In Prius) with ~8 miles of all electric range should have priority over a Clarity BEV with 89 miles (not "hundreds") of range? The Clarity may be doing 100 miles around town that day and need a top off to make it work.

The PHEV drivers have elected to buy a vehicle with a gas engine for just this very reason - they do not have to have battery juice to drive. Arguing that they are more entitled to plug in to avoid using gas instead of a BEV that never uses gas? Really?

 

You misunderstood me. I am not arguing for privilege for PHEVs. I am arguing that neither BEVs or PHEVs have any claim for privilege or priority. Thus I see it as first come, first served with a heaping dose of politeness, civility and willingness to help each other out. My main concern is that no one tie up a public EVSE unnecessarily and that we strive to make charging as accessible as possible. I just don’t see the validity of pointing fingers and saying my EV is more deserving than your EV.

 

Love it!! I admire a man brave enough to admit he read the instructions. (BTW, I did too. Just don’t let it out; We don’t want to lose our man cards.)

 

Don't understand how the airport long-term parking EVSE's align with this statute. Unless you are on a day-trip, your PHEV will be full in 2-4 hours or your BEV will be full in 12-24 hours. Once full, you are no longer "engaged in the refueling process" and subject to tickets and fines. Similar problem exists at most public chargers. Moving your car when 80-100% full is not always practical. You may be in middle of watching a performance, business meeting etc.

 

Not more, just as “entitled”. Why? I purchased a vehicle that uses 1/4 of the battery a full EV uses and do all of my commuting within that range. With supposed supply constraints this allows for more vehicles to be built for less money WHILE allowing those who wouldn’t otherwise buy an EV to buy a car that operates most of the time as an EV. Easily an argument can be made that an owner of a BEV made a poor choice if they bought a vehicle that couldn’t cover the needed uses. HOWEVER I post a sign with how to contact me if someone needs to charge each time I use a public station and check in to PlugShare. The goal is to reduce CO2 right? More PHEVs with 20-50 miles of range (if that displaces oil usage for the majority of their trips) is better than driving around on gas.

 

Sometimes the choice about which car should charge is not always about unplugging. The other day when i came out of our Coop, having plugged in to the only port, I saw that the car next to me had left its charging hatch open. I took the hint and plugged it in.

 

This is exactly the kind of thing we need more of.

 

My son just bought a used BMW 330e. There may be a setting to change it as we haven't played with all the settings/setup info yet, but the default seems to be to lock the charger into the plug when the doors are locked on the car. Until you unlock the car, the plug can't be removed (without breaking something)...

 

What if the car has finished charging?

 

Again, I wouldn't bet my life, but I believe when I tried to unplug it, it was fully charged, so I think it still stays locked in place until doors are unlocked. I'm not crazy about this feature. Hopefully there is a setting to disable.

 

You know, I wasn't far from that when I discovered this. I am surprised I didn't break it trying to force-ably remove it until it finally dawned on me what was going on.

 

In Europe, you bring your own cord when public charging and it locks to the car to prevent theft. This is often the default (and sometimes only) setting.