A moment of solidarity for our CA brethren (HOV stickers)...

[Russell]

I think it might depend on the area. I got a ticket the very first time I parked our old Fiat 500e in Santa Monica, no stickers because we had not received them yet. The ticket specifically noted "EV vehicle without HOV decals"...

You got a ticket for parking an EV that didn't have the HOV decal? There has to be more to that story.

Were you parked at an expired meter?
Santa Monica has an EV parking incentive where EVs with properly displayed RED, GREEN or WHITE decals allow them to park at any on-street, metered parking space for free for the maximum amount of time allowed by that meter.

 

[Vinc]

You got a ticket for parking an EV that didn't have the HOV decal? There has to be more to that story.

Were you parked at an expired meter?
Santa Monica has an EV parking incentive where EVs with properly displayed RED, GREEN or WHITE decals allow them to park at any on-street, metered parking space for free for the maximum amount of time allowed by that meter.

Yep, that is what it was. Parked at the meter to run a quick errand and thought that since the car was an EV and clearly new (not even plates) they would not be that picky about the decals. Wrong. No kidding, I was back less than 5 minutes later and the ticket was already there, with the parking enforcement person nowhere to be seen. They had given me the ticket within a minute of me parking (from the timestamp) and flew away using a jetpack or something.

 

[TapHabit]

I think it might depend on the area. I got a ticket the very first time I parked our old Fiat 500e in Santa Monica, no stickers because we had not received them yet. The ticket specifically noted "EV vehicle without HOV decals"...

I don’t think fiat’s are as known as Tesla’s. If police see you’re in a Tesla, they know you’re driving a fully electric car.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

It's too bad they are too dumb to issue a special tag with a special background color for EVs like other tags. I bet many would get the special front and rear tags than deface their cars.

Whoever came up with that hideous tag must despise cars.

Stickers are _way_ cheaper than plates, and can very easily be changed as the program changes.

Also, just having stickers avoids the confusion of having two different types of vanity plate.

 

[Tesomega]

I had put the stickers on top of my bumper wrap, I will replace the wrap once the HOV Decals serve their purpose. It does not matter to me one bit... keep the costs down, provide me the benefit I need. Especially I am not the one who is watching the car drive on the road, I am the one driving and enjoying it.

I my mind it also serves the purpose of advertising to other solo drivers "they guys have bought into this program", don't cheat in the HOV Lane. Especially now that HOV Sticker program has other limits on what you are eligible for HOV+Rebate, Rebate Only, etc...

 

[PhilDavid]

Stickers are _way_ cheaper than plates, and can very easily be changed as the program changes.

Also, just having stickers avoids the confusion of having two different types of vanity plate.

Simple solution. Charge for the plates.

I personally would pay a premium in the hundreds to not vandalize may car with those ugly stickers.

Somehow other states are doing just fine using plates of a different background color, vanity plates and all.

 

[TaoJones]

Stickers are _way_ cheaper than plates, and can very easily be changed as the program changes.

Also, just having stickers avoids the confusion of having two different types of vanity plate.

Easier for whom?

The EV/alt fuel plates in AZ and CO have been very well-received.

I've now got a set of white and a set of red stickers (go figure - no way that should have happened, but it did - with the correct paperwork for each, even) in my car. Not *on* my car, I should note. Although once in a great while I'll put one small sticker on the rear adjacent the license plate, but then it comes off after journeying through the 2 high-enforcement areas hereabouts. The joys of cling vinyl, which has worked surprisingly well. I've also got a roll of magnetic tape, but haven't needed it.

The entire program is offensive. If they had a designated plate, I'd happily get one/them and pay whatever for it/them. Meanwhile, in 3 years or less, sticker cost has tripled ($8 --> $22) and will continue to get juiced as a revenue source.

It's not like Teslas will grow a tailpipe anytime soon. Nor is there a traffic cop on the continent who doesn't know what the ass end of a Tesla looks like.

See offensive above - it's a revenue grab, plain and simple. Both on the streets and on highways - enforcing stickers instead of the type of car is not only lazy, but again, offensive. Rather similar to writing tickets for 1 mph over the speed limit. See lazy, opportunistic, and lazy again. Magically, Hermosa Beach manages to offer free parking for EVs without the silly/lazy requirement for stickers of any color; so either their 6 meter readers/coin collectors/parking enforcement minions are vastly more competent than their Santa Monica brethren/sistren or perhaps they're just less craven/governed by less craven statutes?

I'm surprised they don't bring back paying cash on the side of the road else getting hauled off to see the judge. For an additional charge, of course. Ah, the good ol' days in, for example, certain counties in the Deep South.

 

[BigTonyTones]

Simple solution. Charge for the plates.

I personally would pay a premium in the hundreds to not vandalize may car with those ugly stickers.

Somehow other states are doing just fine using plates of a different background color, vanity plates and all.

Stickers are not bad imo. I use the smaller one. I only place one on my entire car. I have a white tesla. The white and red stickers mesh well.

 

[Vinc]

Stickers are not bad imo. I use the smaller one. I only place one on my entire car. I have a white tesla. The white and red stickers mesh well.

I don't know how much it is enforced, but in theory all need to be installed and in very specific spots. They come whit a little diagram when you get them. See Q 23...

Clean Air Vehicle Decals - High Occupancy Vehicle Lane Usage

 

[BigTonyTones]

I don't know how much it is enforced, but in theory all need to be installed and in very specific spots. They come whit a little diagram when you get them. See Q 23...

Clean Air Vehicle Decals - High Occupancy Vehicle Lane Usage

You are very correct, but the things just look horrible when applied the way they want it . I don't see it being enforced. Attached a pic of the car. Looks good like this but anymore and it wouldnt lol. Have done it this way for a total of 5 years now and never had an issue.

 

[whitex]

For those worried about damage, why not stick the stickers on a piece of vinyl and then apply to the car? You can probably buy it cheap from any signage shop which makes vinyl signs for cars.

 

[TaoJones]

For those worried about damage, why not stick the stickers on a piece of vinyl and then apply to the car? You can probably buy it cheap from any signage shop which makes vinyl signs for cars.

Or from Amazon for a few bucks: either PPF or cling vinyl or magnetic tape.

I still can’t bring myself to permanently affix those fuuuuuugly stickers. Mostly due to aesthetics and partly due to principle.

It is an egregious shame to besmirch Franz’ masterpiece with lame stickers that don’t look too dissimilar from a secret toy surprise from a box of Cracker Jacks.

 

[bktiger86]

So when we get the new sticker, do we put it on top of the old one or will you guys attempt to remove the previous one?

 

[Vinc]

For those worried about damage, why not stick the stickers on a piece of vinyl and then apply to the car? You can probably buy it cheap from any signage shop which makes vinyl signs for cars.

I wish the original owner of my MS had thought of that. Mine are tucked under the bumper, wrapped around the bottom black plastic lip. They will be a delight to remove.

In any case, note that people do steal the stickers. Too easy to remove and they might be gone before you know it.

 

[whitex]

I wish the original owner of my MS had thought of that. Mine are tucked under the bumper, wrapped around the bottom black plastic lip. They will be a delight to remove.

In any case, note that people do steal the stickers. Too easy to remove and they might be gone before you know it.

I heard of Prius bumpers being boosted in the past for the stickers, so maybe it's easier if they just steal a sticker than a bumper. Considering that Model 3 bumpers have been known to fall off on their own in heavy rain, I suspect they are not that hard to remove.

 

[Duffer]

I don't know how much it is enforced, but in theory all need to be installed and in very specific spots. They come whit a little diagram when you get them. See Q 23...

Clean Air Vehicle Decals - High Occupancy Vehicle Lane Usage

The positioning correlates to the field of view of the cameras used to monitor HOV lanes/on ramps. The "enforcement" (if any) is probably pretty similar to what is conducted at the photo enforced intersections. The computer takes a picture of the "offender" and flags it for review by a human. In this case the human sees a Tesla in the HOV lane and either thinks they're waiting for the stickers or possibly the human is pro-EV and doesn't care.

Thankfully, my commute is via surface streets only and the only time I'm in the Bay is during the weekend so I can avoid defacing my MS with stickers. Unlike the young lady I saw at the Petaluma SC yesterday who had the rear of her MS, wheelwell to wheelwell, covered in various bumper stickers.

 

[whitex]

The positioning correlates to the field of view of the cameras used to monitor HOV lanes/on ramps. The "enforcement" (if any) is probably pretty similar to what is conducted at the photo enforced intersections. The computer takes a picture of the "offender" and flags it for review by a human. In this case the human sees a Tesla in the HOV lane and either thinks they're waiting for the stickers or possibly the human is pro-EV and doesn't care.

That will change as there will be a bunch of Teslas in CA soon which are not eligible for HOV stickers anymore.

Unlike the young lady I saw at the Petaluma SC yesterday who had the rear of her MS, wheelwell to wheelwell, covered in various bumper stickers.

Was one of them "This car contains materials known to the state of California to cause cancer" ? From my experience, that is required on everything California, including most recently coffee from what I read.

 

[BigTonyTones]

I wish the original owner of my MS had thought of that. Mine are tucked under the bumper, wrapped around the bottom black plastic lip. They will be a delight to remove.

In any case, note that people do steal the stickers. Too easy to remove and they might be gone before you know it.

Even though I used paint protection film when applying mine, its still a bit hard to remove. You end up triggering the anti theft in the sticker.
I had to remove my old white sticker to put on the new red one.

 

[rsg123]

Yea I'm waiting to register for the stickers until next year to get a little more use out it. One of the reasons I bought my CPO outside of California. Get the stickers/PGE rebate

Thanks! I had no idea about the PG&E rebate. My car was previously registered in SoCal so I applied for it.

 

[Cycle11111]

Wow, that's even worse. They don't look like the nice vinyl decals that come off cleanly... they look like city parking stickers/etc, the kind that require goo-gone and a utility knife to remove :\

Yeah they ruin paint - go to RPM Tesla and you can order a PPF vinyl backer for the HOV stickers that allows you to put the HOV stickers on without trashing paint and can be removed when/if needed.