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ICEing at SCs and how to handle it

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I'm interested in how other drivers have dealt with ICEing at an SC. A few months ago I was at the Hamilton SC where one of the spots was ICEd. A woman was sitting in the passenger seat so I walked up to her and mentioned that the space was for Teslas and she replied "that's what I told my husband." So I waited for him to return. When he approached his car I asked him if this was the newest model Tesla. He was defensive and pointed to the open spaces that were still left. I explained to him that this was our "gas station." I also said that if we all parked our Ss at his local gas station, he wouldn't be able to get to the pump and get home. He then conceded I had a point.

Any suggestions on what works well for dealing with these situations? Thanks.
 
There are numerous threads on this, which include many suggestions on how to poorly handle this, but I think you handled it fine. You explained how this was terribly inconsiderate and didn't get confrontational. You may have also:

- Asked the wife to move the car to correct her husband's error.

- Explain that the Supercharger is the only such charging spot within 100 miles and primarily used on road trips, asking how the driver would feel if they were on a road trip and were not able to refill their vehicle because all the gas stations within 100 miles were blocked by people parking their cars, but not refilling.

- Explain that because the spots are primarily used on road trips and only used for about 30 minutes on a stop, the current usage of them is no indication of how they will be used in 5 minutes from now.
 
Being reasonable is the first and only rule IMO. If there are spaces free then nobody was truly ICE'd and if there was someone with the car I would have just left it with the mention to that person. Waiting for the driver and asking if his car was a new Tesla when there were other spaces free could well have come off as unintentionally snarky.

Best way to handle this is to lobby for parking fines; we did this in FL and it's been law for ~2 years. The level of ICEing is down to almost nothing now in my experience.
 
One spot taken out of 6 or 8, I wouldn't sweat. I might take ( but probably wouldn't) a passive/aggressive approach such as park right next to the ICE, open my door within centimeters of his, make a show of plugging in. If there aren't any real penalties for taking up these spaces and you piss the guy off, then next time he parks perpendicular across three spots.

if someone is in the car, I think best approach is if able to casually engage in conversation, then bring up the awesomeness of Tesla and work in how in some places the Superchargers have problems with ICEing.
 
Last Sunday, I pulled into Milford CT southbound supercharger and there was an ICE SUV in the second of the two slots. As I plugged in, the other driver was just noticing that he had parked in a Tesla charger slot and said as much. I said: "Yep, someone is going to pull up in a Tesla and be very unhappy with you." So he said: "Well, I'll move if anyone comes." So I said: "You know, that would be like me parking in one of the gas pump slots over there." Then he pulled out and parked somewhere else. I guess that pitch works...
 
When he approached his car I asked him if this was the newest model Tesla. He was defensive and pointed to the open spaces that were still left.
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Any suggestions on what works well for dealing with these situations? Thanks.

My reaction to reading that statement was "No wonder he got defensive!" It sounded pretty passive aggressive, since you obviously knew it wasn't a Tesla. He seemed to be a good sport, open to discussion, but that will not always be the case.

I've had good luck pointing to the signs that say "Tesla parking only" or "EV Charging Only".
It sounds like there were other SuperCharger stalls unused. If so, there's no need to jump on the ICE driver so quickly...
but, as my girlfriend can attest, I do get pretty indignant when I see even one gas guzzler in a SuperCharger-enabled spot. *grumble*

Another point to remember: every Supercharger landlord negotiates different parking rules for their lot.
For example, Springfield, OR, has signs on 4 out of the 8 that say "EV parking preferred" but not "only." In case the hotel has a reception, they want as many parking spots available for guests. Tesla and the hotel seem to have reached an agreement to split that difference.
 
One thing I have discovered since buying my Model S.

Range anxiety? Rarely, if ever.
ICE anxiety? Frequent, when on long trips and getting close to a SuperCharger.

I wish SuperChargers were designed and configured like gas stations and not parking lots, with the chargers arrayed as "pumps" you pull up to. ICE owners would be far less inclined to "park" at a pump because it'd be obvious they were blocking the pump.
 
Clearly the driver knew he was parking in a spot specifically designed 'not-for-his-vehicle'. Sort of like the woman who parked in my numbered reserved parking spot yesterday (so she could 'just' run in and get her jacket), while I had to park in one of the MANY available marked visitor spots. Which, btw, were just 10' away. And to be perfectly honest, she could have used the additional walk. :wink:

It's entirely irrelevant that there were other open SuperCharger spots. It's rude, it's inconsiderate, it's self-serving (etc...) and frankly it says a lot about a person who will purposely park in a spot designated for a special circumstance which does not apply to them. A lot like the guy who parked in the handicap spot beside me the other day so he had the least distance to walk to go pick up his mail. Wasn't handicapped in the least, except obviously his manners.
 
I guess it was inevitable that we would begin to tip from being ambassadors of EV to being demanding of our "rights". I hope people approach these situations with a smile and a kind word. People get pretty easily defensive and having a general consensus that EV drivers are self-righteous AHoles isn't going to help very much. Unfortunately, it may be too late.
 
One thing I have discovered since buying my Model S.

Range anxiety? Rarely, if ever.
ICE anxiety? Frequent, when on long trips and getting close to a SuperCharger.

I wish SuperChargers were designed and configured like gas stations and not parking lots, with the chargers arrayed as "pumps" you pull up to. ICE owners would be far less inclined to "park" at a pump because it'd be obvious they were blocking the pump.

This is one of the best comments I've seen. The SuperCharger are special and the public needs to know that.
I advocate green pavement or at least green painted stripes. ICE drivers need to realize they are blocking the pump.
 
I guess it was inevitable that we would begin to tip from being ambassadors of EV to being demanding of our "rights". I hope people approach these situations with a smile and a kind word. People get pretty easily defensive and having a general consensus that EV drivers are self-righteous AHoles isn't going to help very much. Unfortunately, it may be too late.

Get back to me on that when you've got to stop at a SuperCharger to 'fuel' your car and can't because they are being blocked by ICE cars. No reason to even consider you might have to wait a considerable amount of time or have some place to be at a certain time.

It's got nothing to do with being self-righteous AHoles, and a whole lot to do with people thinking the 'do not - fill-in-the-blank' doesn't apply to them.
 
Unfortunately, I think the 'self-righteous' is a perception that is being fought - certainly not earned when ICEd at a supercharger. But once people decide that EV folks think they're entitled, they see every action through that filter, whether correct or not. Being aware of that may help in quicker resolution (or not) - but it's certainly worth remembering.
 
Unfortunately, I think the 'self-righteous' is a perception that is being fought...

I don't get that at all. Where did that perception even come from? Who thinks like that? We don't think it's self-righteous for society to have handicapped, pregnant, reserved for Dr., clergy or tenant parking, so why is it self-righteous to have BEV CHARGE POINT parking - which, btw, isn't often the 'closest to the building' parking, particularly when discussing SuperChargers. You're not allowed to randomly park in front of a gas pump, why would people think it's okay to randomly park in front of a BEV charge point, or that it was self-righteous of BEV owners to want to fuel their cars? Again, who thinks like that?
 
I don't get that at all. Where did that perception even come from? Who thinks like that? We don't think it's self-righteous for society to have handicapped, pregnant, reserved for Dr., clergy or tenant parking, so why is it self-righteous to have BEV CHARGE POINT parking - which, btw, isn't often the 'closest to the building' parking, particularly when discussing SuperChargers. You're not allowed to randomly park in front of a gas pump, why would people think it's okay to randomly park in front of a BEV charge point, or that it was self-righteous of BEV owners to want to fuel their cars? Again, who thinks like that?

I think it was the same when cell phones first came out. They were thousands of dollars even at the time and rare so people using them in public were seen as flaunting their wealth wether they were or not. Now people don't give a second thought to someone using their mobile phone in public.
 
As with most things, it's likely multiple issues. The "flaunting" will be an excuse they make up to justify their actions and, in fact, some will see themselves as the self-righteous rebels against the EV movement "telling them" what they should drive (undermining their "rights").

Partially, though, I just think we are living in the era of "it's all about me" and the concept of courtesy is all but gone.

My first reaction to this problem was also questioning whether the same person would think it was okay to park in front of a gas pump and go off for an extended time rather than just refueling and then getting out of the way for the next car. But then, I remembered, yes, they do think it's okay. During the last few months of driving ICE car I saw plenty of this with people parking in front of gas pump, going into the mini mart to load up on cigarettes, drinks, snacks, take the half dozen kids to the bathroom, whatever, while others waited for them to come back and refuel afterwards. It doesn't matter that they COULD have parked off to the side or elsewhere nearby, they feel "entitled" or they just don't even consider how they impact others. Why should they think about anybody else when it's all about them?

p.s. I expect to hear about fights breaking out soon with ever-expanding pressures on the charging resources

So to get back to the point of the OP - how to handle it, will depend on each individual situation, how people are "reacting" and your desired outcome. There will be times people will be receptive and other times not just defensive but aggressive and offensive. There will be times you just have to "take it or else". You can choose to be patient or escalate it into a bigger problem, just like any other conflict.

I don't know how many other people on this forum drove hybrids when they were a very new thing. I did and I remember how just driving down the road was considered offensive - you didn't have to do anything special. People literally went on the attack. As hybrids gained popularity, that seemed to diminish. Now we will go through it with EVs.
 
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I don't get that at all. Where did that perception even come from? Who thinks like that? We don't think it's self-righteous for society to have handicapped, pregnant, reserved for Dr., clergy or tenant parking, so why is it self-righteous to have BEV CHARGE POINT parking - which, btw, isn't often the 'closest to the building' parking, particularly when discussing SuperChargers. You're not allowed to randomly park in front of a gas pump, why would people think it's okay to randomly park in front of a BEV charge point, or that it was self-righteous of BEV owners to want to fuel their cars? Again, who thinks like that?

I'm with you on this one, for the most part. But sheez, there are some self-righteous people that show up (yep, even here on the forum) lecturing about how we all have a responsibility to save the world, complete with finger waggling and major attitude and it just does not go over well.

Those folks have clearly not learned how to win people over to their POV. And it hurts the rest of us.