ICED then Dissed by a LEAF owner - did I do right or wrong?

[JPWhite]

Went to Wholefoods in Franklin TN today ay midday. They have two EVSE's at this location. One in use by a silver LEAf the other ICED by a Lexus. I parked in an adjacent space and the cord reached my car easily.

It did occur to me the Lexus might leave and a LEAF arrive. I left my EV Charging Protocol Courtesy card in the window with my cell phone number encouraging a call or text. I indicated it was OK to unplug at 1pm.

When I return to the car there is a black LEAF in the spot previously taken by the Lexus. A note clearly from the LEAF owner accused me of depriving him/her of charge from an "unauthorized space".

See my blog for photos/story http://wp.me/p1sK3k-ho

So the question is. Did I do the right thing by charging in a non EV space? (I think so). Or should I driven on?
Does leaving your cell number in the window suffice for any drive up EV?

I understand the frustration for the other LEAF owner. They were in a designated space. I'd be miffed too.

The real enemy here is the ICE car driver. I see no gain in us in fighting.

Had the LEAF owner called or texted me and expressed an urgent need for a charge, I'd have given up the charge. I could always charge on the way home.

What would you have done?

 

[downeykp]

You did what you had to do. You gave notice of your intentions. The other leaf must have had his head up his as#. Why else would you park there?
You did fine.

 

[TickTock]

You did fine. Why should they care which spot you are in - either way the charger was in use. I think someone needs a nap.

 

[Stoaty]

Other Leaf owner was just pissed that an EVSE wasn't available, and he took it out on you. He is full of s#$% :twisted:

 

[JPWhite]

Thanks for the vote of confidence ya'll.

 

[mwalsh]

It's Getting Real in the Whole Foods Parking Lot, yo!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It's_Getting_Real_in_the_Whole_Foods_Parking_Lot" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UFc1pr2yUU[/youtube]

 

[TomT]

I think what you did was perfectly fine and correct and that the other Leaf driver was being something of an ass...

When I return to the car there is a black LEAF in the spot previously taken by the Lexus. A note clearly from the LEAF owner accused me of depriving him/her of charge from an "unauthorized space".

 

[brickauto]

Way too many A-holes in the wild these days :evil:

 

[TimLee]

You were absolutely correct in what you did JP.
There is nothing that says vehicle has to be in the marked EV / Hybrid parking spot to charge.
If the cord reaches and you're not impacting or impeding another vehicle, its yours to use.
AND you courteously left your contact information.
I'm baffled by the behaviour of the note writer. :? :?
I had to park very strangely one day to use the Murphy Express DCQC that was ICEd. Perfectly OK. If the ICE had left and another vehicle had pulled into the designated spot to use the DCQC prior to me finishing with it, I've got every right to finish with it.

 

[Reddy]

You did better than most would do in the same situation. Thanks for doing the right thing. The only thing I could think was, maybe a note saying the spot was ICEd might have helped, but probably not in this case. If I were the black Leaf, I would have opened my charge door and left a note to have you move the cord over when done. Since you didn't write about that, he has no recourse. Some people just never learned to share on the playground.

Edit: Only once did have to park weird. It was at an AV DCQC. The other Leaf owner left and didn't return, even though he was done charging. I had to angle in to get my nose close enough to the Chademo plug. I was pretty close to the other vehicle, but everything was safe. I left a note as well, but briefly talked to the guy as I was leaving.

 

[JPWhite]

You were absolutely correct in what you did JP.
There is nothing that says vehicle has to be in the marked EV / Hybrid parking spot to charge.
If the cord reaches and you're not impacting or impeding another vehicle, its yours to use.
AND you courteously left your contact information.
I'm baffled by the behaviour of the note writer. :? :?
I had to park very strangely one day to use the Murphy Express DCQC that was ICEd. Perfectly OK. If the ICE had left and another vehicle had pulled into the designated spot to use the DCQC prior to me finishing with it, I've got every right to finish with it.

I was baffled too, then smiled when I realized I had another blog post to write

 

[LeftieBiker]

I think we need several window cards, including one that explains this kind of situation. Sad, but that's life.

 

[UBUYGAS]

Maybe the card should have been hung on the Charging station?

Then the %&@^(* in the black leaf might have seen it?

Then you'll need to bring some duct tape.

 

[Nubo]

charging from an "unauthorized spot". Like that's a thing. :roll: :lol:

 

[dhanson865]

Maybe the card should have been hung on the Charging station?

Then the %&@^(* in the black leaf might have seen it?

Then you'll need to bring some duct tape.

He saw the card, notice the use of "protocol" in the note.

 

[johnrhansen]

I like to think what if... What if that ice car was not there when you drove up, and you drove into the designated spot and plugged in. Would that leaf driver that came after be mad? Yes he would be. Because you were using up the charger that he felt entitled to. The only difference is that he felt he could say something since you weren't parked in an EV spot. He doesn't go through life concerned at all whether he is doing the right thing. He is thinking solely about himself .. Really. I wish there were more people in the world like you can less like him. Those kinds of people should just be ignored and not even given a second thought.

 

[ERG4ALL]

Maybe some of the frustration was whether or not the LEAF of the poster was fully charged at the time or not. If it wasn't, the black LEAF had no right to be angered. If it was fully charged maybe there was some cause but the cause never should have been who was parked where.

 

[donald]

This shows up a far more fiendish and insidious issue with EV take up that has yet to materialise:-

One day, it is conceivable that the vast majority of EV drivers won't be the thoughtful conscientious type of folks that would currently choose to drive an EV for the logical and urbane reasons that they currently do, but EVs will be driven by every level of mentality, just as ICE's are now. ICE drivers push, shove, dive into spaces right in front of you as you are already manoeuvring, block your way deliberately, etc..

The world of EV driving is not at all protected in a cosy cocoon of intelligent sensibilities of thoughtful folks who plan their journeys. It just happens to have generally been that way so far. But it won't last if EV numbers go shooting up. This example merely proves this point. Eventually, there will be fisty-cuffs and black eyes gained at hard-fought over charging spots.