EV Reserved Parking Spots violators

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Fabio

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 4, 2010
Messages
278
In just a long weekend, every time I visited a garage with designated EV charging parking spaces (once in San Jose and twice in Redwood City) I saw the EV reserved spots being abused.

In San Jose, a Mercedes driver must have thought that EV stands for "Expensive Vehicle".
In Redwood City, both times a big SUV was taking two parking spaces (in this case EV must have been mistaken for "Enormous Vehicle").

Should we start taking pictures and report violators to the police?
 
Which specific parking lots are these, btw?

In Palo Alto, the two I know of (Hihg street garage; City hall garage) are never taken by anything else. AFAICT because Palo Alto views parking ticketing as their main revenue source :) (They are quite often taken by Leaf, Volt and Teslas, though -- and I once saw a homemade conversion)
 
Fabio said:
Should we start taking pictures and report violators to the police?

This is not a big problem in Phoenix with only a small number of public chargers available.
I can only think of one -Matta's- in downtown Tempe.

Since this forum seems to be a source for other news and blog organizations, I'd think that uploading an offender vehicle photo with location information here in this thread would get some attention should we build a large enough library.

Of course I would always add a disclosure that guilt or responsibility is never assumed, or some other legal jargon.

I'm sure the parking cops are swamped with disabled parking violators. From what I've seen laws are not as standard or even exist to legally cite someone for parking in front of an EV charger. I guess some cities are more progressive and have addressed the issue (City Code-State Veh. Code) making a citation a viable option whether civil or criminal.

My vote is Public Humiliation and just a fun thread to watch. ;)
 
jcesare said:
Put a copy of this on the windshield.
http://www.evchargernews.com/parkingnotice.htm

Do you have the ZEV decal issued by the DMV designating your car as acceptable according to California VC section 22511?

http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc22511.htm

I don't think I've seen any of these decals, but I haven't been looking.
 
In San Jose, the lot next to the Amici's Pizzeria
In Redwood City, the lot under the Cinemark Theater.

jwatte said:
Which specific parking lots are these, btw?

In Palo Alto, the two I know of (Hihg street garage; City hall garage) are never taken by anything else. AFAICT because Palo Alto views parking ticketing as their main revenue source :) (They are quite often taken by Leaf, Volt and Teslas, though -- and I once saw a homemade conversion)
 
MsLusty said:
jcesare said:
Put a copy of this on the windshield.
http://www.evchargernews.com/parkingnotice.htm

Do you have the ZEV decal issued by the DMV designating your car as acceptable according to California VC section 22511?

http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc22511.htm

I don't think I've seen any of these decals, but I haven't been looking.

I've seen one. My application has been submitted and I am waiting for my sticker. You need the sticker if the parking spot is posted EV only and cites the vehicle code
 
I'm not sure that the parking decal apply to these spots.
They are paid parking garages, and the spots are marked for EV charging (with Coulomb L2), and there is no indication that a special EV sticker is required.


jcesare said:
MsLusty said:
jcesare said:
Put a copy of this on the windshield.
http://www.evchargernews.com/parkingnotice.htm

Do you have the ZEV decal issued by the DMV designating your car as acceptable according to California VC section 22511?

http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc22511.htm

I don't think I've seen any of these decals, but I haven't been looking.

I've seen one. My application has been submitted and I am waiting for my sticker. You need the sticker if the parking spot is posted EV only and cites the vehicle code
 
I experienced the same thing at the EV charging stations in the San Jose convention center.

Problem with what I saw was that there were no signs saying that the spots were reserved for EV's only. (Even though it's pretty obvious to us all)

I doubt that the city will move quick enough to have a law similar to the $240 violation on handicapped parking violation. Probably the most practical approach would be to have private towing companies to act as the penalty for violation. If only Column can add a "violator will be towed" message with each installation...

As long as we can't guarantee ourselves a charging spot we can never drive more than 50 miles to anywhere.
 
Definitely. Printed on a sheet of heavy paper with full adhesive backing. At the driver's eye level.

jcesare said:
Put a copy of this on the windshield.
http://www.evchargernews.com/parkingnotice.htm
 
jwatte said:
In Palo Alto, the two I know of (High street garage; City hall garage) are never taken by anything else. AFAICT because Palo Alto views parking ticketing as their main revenue source :) (They are quite often taken by Leaf, Volt and Teslas, though -- and I once saw a homemade conversion)

Leafs and Teslas in those spots is not nice to the Rav4EVs and Ford Rangers since the EVSE are still using small paddle and Avcon. The signage says parking while charging, not just any EV. So unless you are in need of a charge, and capable of charging in those spots you shouldn't use them.

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MsLusty said:
jcesare said:
Put a copy of this on the windshield.
http://www.evchargernews.com/parkingnotice.htm

Do you have the ZEV decal issued by the DMV designating your car as acceptable according to California VC section 22511?

http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc22511.htm

I don't think I've seen any of these decals, but I haven't been looking.


I received mine about 2 weeks ago.
 
Yodrak said:
Definitely. Printed on a sheet of heavy paper with full adhesive backing. At the driver's eye level.

jcesare said:
Put a copy of this on the windshield.
http://www.evchargernews.com/parkingnotice.htm

You've gotta be kidding. The guy who drives that car:

a) spends more than that for lunch
b) knows how to get the ticket fixed
c) knows odds are he won't get caught

Your only hope of getting even is to key the car. With so much video surveillance these days that isn't as good an idea as it used to be.
 
LTLFTcomposite said:
Yodrak said:
Definitely. Printed on a sheet of heavy paper with full adhesive backing. At the driver's eye level.

jcesare said:
Put a copy of this on the windshield.
http://www.evchargernews.com/parkingnotice.htm

You've gotta be kidding. The guy who drives that car:

a) spends more than that for lunch
b) knows how to get the ticket fixed
c) knows odds are he won't get caught

Your only hope of getting even is to key the car. With so much video surveillance these days that isn't as good an idea as it used to be.

Well, vandalism isn't my style (not to mention mean and illegal), but if I were truly feeling mischievous I might consider moving the gasoline from their fuel tank to a (not easily poured) container so that they know first hand the inconvenience of being stranded :-o
Alternatively, if I were desperate for fuel and the traffic aisles of the garage wide enough, I might consider parking *behind* the ICE and stretching the EVSE nozzle to reach my Leaf. If I happen to arrive back before they do, then no harm no foul; and if they return before me, well, I guess they have to wait (doubtful they'd dare trying to tow me, given the situation!)... though nice guy that I am, I'd probably leave a note with my cell number on the ICE so they could call me to move my EV if needed.
 
LTLFTcomposite said:
Yodrak said:
Definitely. Printed on a sheet of heavy paper with full adhesive backing. At the driver's eye level.
jcesare said:
Put a copy of this on the windshield.
http://www.evchargernews.com/parkingnotice.htm
You've gotta be kidding. The guy who drives that car:

a) spends more than that for lunch
b) knows how to get the ticket fixed
c) knows odds are he won't get caught

Your only hope of getting even is to key the car. With so much video surveillance these days that isn't as good an idea as it used to be.
Vandalism or keying is definitely not the answer. That just escalates the situation. Imagine if all the gasoline drivers start keying our LEAFs because they resent the change to Electric Cars? Since some disputes over parkinig spaces sometimes escalate to fist fights, if your caught in the act, it could VERY nasty quickly. And if one of those involved has a weapon of some sort....

We need to encourage people to get along, see the option of electric, and have them pick that if it's rigth for them. We don't want to start confrontations between gas vs. electric for any reason.

The thing to do is to notify the property owner that a gas car is parked in the EV space and ask them to please address it, as you needed to use it and it was not available.
 
ElectricVehicle said:
Vandalism or keying is definitely not the answer. That just escalates the situation. Imagine if all the gasoline drivers start keying our LEAFs because they resent the change to Electric Cars? Since some disputes over parkinig spaces sometimes escalate to fist fights, if your caught in the act, it could VERY nasty quickly. And if one of those involved has a weapon of some sort....

We need to encourage people to get along, see the option of electric, and have them pick that if it's rigth for them. We don't want to start confrontations between gas vs. electric for any reason.

The thing to do is to notify the property owner that a gas car is parked in the EV space and ask them to please address it, as you needed to use it and it was not available.

No, vandalism isn't the answer. But good luck getting the driver of the merc or the SUV to "see" anything... and the property owner won't want to get involved, particularly if it's a retail place they avoid conflict at all cost.

I stand by my assertion that unless EV charging spots are in the least desirable locations, not the most, you can expect to see this happening all the time, at least if they are on private property. If it's public space and you have aggressive enforcement with boots and tow trucks you might stand a chance.

Ever see parking wars on A&E? It's tough to watch for any length of time as it's mostly trailer trash yelling at each other, but in cities where they crack the whip you might stand a chance of seeing some enforcement, but even then, people rack up parking tickets right and left. It's a losing battle.
 
MsLusty said:
Do you have the ZEV decal issued by the DMV designating your car as acceptable according to California VC section 22511?

http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc22511.htm

I don't think I've seen any of these decals, but I haven't been looking.
OK, I finally found the form to fill out here:
http://dmv.ca.gov/forms/reg/reg4048.pdf

Maybe I'm just being cheap, but am I going to get anything worthwhile for my $17? Are these needed anywhere in the Bay Area?

Ray
 
planet4ever said:
Maybe I'm just being cheap, but am I going to get anything worthwhile for my $17? Are these needed anywhere in the Bay Area?
$17 for the life of the vehicle seems quite reasonable. As EVs become more popular and the public charging infrastucture grows, expect to see a lot more public EV only parking spaces. It won't take cities long to figure out that ticketing offenders is an nice income stream.
 
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