This morning I saw my first Model S in the flesh in the Baltimore area. But the circumstances gave me pause and raised some questions about public charging station etiquette.
I drove to the airport for a trip to Miami and when I pulled into the charging station area at BWI, all four charging stations were occupied, one by a black Model S, the other three by Volts. So I was prevented from charging, which means the gas generator will be on for part of my return home, a real no-no for me.
The first thought that went through my head was the the Model S (had to be an 85KWH) really didn't need a charge and was unfairly taking the space I needed. But as I gave it further thought, I concluded that I couldn't make any assumptions about the state of charge of any of the cars occupying the charging spaces. In my own case, my Volt sometimes occupies a charging space for 2 or 3 days when I'm on a long trip when it only needs 4 hours for a full charge. That's not fair to any Volts, Leafs, Teslas or other EVs that arrive after me.
Can't think of a good solution to this problem other than an appeal to the State agency with responsibility for this to increase the number of charging stations.
But I did decide one thing: when I drive my Model S to the airport if the state of charge is sufficient for the trip back home (with an 85KWh, it certainly always will be) good manners will require that I not take a charging space and leave them for drivers who need a charge. So when my Model S arrives in the spring I'll probably never use the airport charging stations again.
I drove to the airport for a trip to Miami and when I pulled into the charging station area at BWI, all four charging stations were occupied, one by a black Model S, the other three by Volts. So I was prevented from charging, which means the gas generator will be on for part of my return home, a real no-no for me.
The first thought that went through my head was the the Model S (had to be an 85KWH) really didn't need a charge and was unfairly taking the space I needed. But as I gave it further thought, I concluded that I couldn't make any assumptions about the state of charge of any of the cars occupying the charging spaces. In my own case, my Volt sometimes occupies a charging space for 2 or 3 days when I'm on a long trip when it only needs 4 hours for a full charge. That's not fair to any Volts, Leafs, Teslas or other EVs that arrive after me.
Can't think of a good solution to this problem other than an appeal to the State agency with responsibility for this to increase the number of charging stations.
But I did decide one thing: when I drive my Model S to the airport if the state of charge is sufficient for the trip back home (with an 85KWh, it certainly always will be) good manners will require that I not take a charging space and leave them for drivers who need a charge. So when my Model S arrives in the spring I'll probably never use the airport charging stations again.