EV Reserved Parking Spots violators

pchilds said:

Nubo said:

WetEV said:

.... The answer from the parking office was that the hospital's policy was that parking in that spot was reserved for disabled OR for recharging....

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Which makes sense to me. The subset of people who are both handicapped AND drive an electric car has got to be pretty small. I can't imagine making a regulation that requires that both criteria be satisfied for the spot to be used.

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This was the point I was trying to make. The spot would never be used, if both were required.

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Yet as it is the EVSE would never be used because the space would always be occupied by a gas car.

The EV parking curse is that wiring ease usually leads them to be located near the building in "choice" parking spots, more likely to be ICEd. ADA EV parking suffers a double curse, often located as the choicest of the choice ADA spaces. I often see the lone ADA EV space occupied by a gas car while regular ADA spaces nearby sit empty. Of course common courtesy could solve the problem much better than any law, if a gas vehicle needing an ADA space would take the EV space only if there were no other ADA spaces open.

This may not be a big issue today since neither a Leaf nor a Volt seems especially good for carrying crutches, let alone a wheelchair. But the forthcoming Nissan EV van and the Ford Transit Connect EV van might win over a lot of placard carrying drivers from their gas vehicles.

pchilds said:

Handicapped are allowed to park in metered spaces without paying, for as long as they want and also time limited for as long as they want, plus resident only areas without the sticker. So yes, a person with a handicapped placard can park, virtually wherever they want, whenever they want, if no handicapped space was available.

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Sure, the law makes provisions. This isn't anything new. Just because the law allows parking in a lot of places doesn't mean the disabled person can do whatever they want, only what is allowed. There is a difference.

What isn't clear here is what the law actually says, only what we perceive it says. The only way for us to be sure is see what the law says about this, and shock horror, this specific situation may not be addressed by the law if it has become outdated.

Randy3 said:

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My son is disabled, has a placard, and would use an EV/handicapped parking space if one was available. (He has a pacemaker and has to be sure to stay out of the car when it is charging.)

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There could easily be less electrical noise when the car is charging, than when driving?
Using the seat heater, with noise on the 12v supply, might be more "dangerous"?

Unfortunately the charger is behind the rear seat, in the "hump".. you will be very close to all that evil EM radiation seating back there.

I've seen this a few times in the parking garages in Walnut Creek (one specific garage where the parking spot is right next to regular spots). When I drove the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, I parked underground where there are 2 Nissan L2 chargers and 4 standard outlets. I noticed that all 6 spots were painted with "Electric Vehicle Preferred Parking" which basically tells me that they are not RESERVED, but more preferred.

".... This may not be a big issue today since neither a Leaf nor a Volt seems especially good for carrying crutches, let alone a wheelchair."


I'm not sure about the Volt, but I found out with recent experience while providing transportation that a wheelchair fits well in the sunken area of the LEAF's hatch.

Sorry, off topic, but in case others have to do this, you might want to try... I leave the hatch cover behind/fold down one of the back seats and lay it there.
I put a blanket under and around the folded chair, use the wheel chair seat cushion and removable foot rests (placed inside a double shopping bag) and extra rolled up blankets/beach towels/groceries/whatever's around, as necessary to secure the chair from any possible rocking during transit/directly contacting the rear window.
It's easier than this sounds... just that I like to protect the interior and use the blanket to protect the bumper as we take the chair out.
The LEAF hatch works well for this task.

We have crutches at the same time too. It can be leaned/tucked almost anywhere inside the car with no problems... where ever it doesn't get in the way/move around during transport.

As I mentioned above, where I live in Walnut Creek, CA, there are 3 parking garages with 1 Coulomb each. I have seen the spots ICEd on occasion. I just dropped a comment to the city's parking department and someone called me back.

He told me that he is aware that sometimes people who make deliveries use those spots for pickups/dropoffs and to call the parking number if someone is parked there and they may know who it is (highly unlikely).

When I probed further as to what type of action can be taken if a person parked there is NOT a regular pickup/dropoff, he said NONE. No action can be taken because they are not actually breaking any laws he is aware of. I told him there are California DMV codes related to this but didn't know them off the top of my head. After researching I found it - V C Section 22511.

I plan on writing this person back to tell him there IS a law that the non-EVs are breaking. We'll see what he says.

EricBayArea said:

I plan on writing this person back to tell him there IS a law that the non-EVs are breaking. We'll see what he says.

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At least you have a law to point parking lot owners towards. In Tennessee whenever ICE'd spots are reported, usually the manager on duty is not interested in disturbing the paying customer and does nothing to remedy the problem. So the problem continues unabated, especially at busy locations.

Don't know if this has been mentioned in the 15+ pages, but some non-permanent vandalism could be called for. Take 1 valve stem removal tool available at any auto store, remove all four cores and tape to their windshield. They will be temporarily stranded and there is no permanent damage. I guarantee they will remember not to park there.

EricBayArea said:

When I probed further as to what type of action can be taken if a person parked there is NOT a regular pickup/dropoff, he said NONE. No action can be taken because they are not actually breaking any laws he is aware of. I told him there are California DMV codes related to this but didn't know them off the top of my head. After researching I found it - V C Section 22511.

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That law only applies if the parking space has a specifically worded sign that references the vehicle code section and warns about the possibility of ticketing. I have yet to notice any of the recently installed new J1772 parking spaces using that signage.

Don't know if this has been mentioned in the 15+ pages, but some non-permanent vandalism could be called for. Take 1 valve stem removal tool available at any auto store, remove all four cores and tape to their windshield. They will be temporarily stranded and there is no permanent damage. I guarantee they will remember not to park there.

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So two wrongs make a right and you condone vandalism. Nice.

:roll:

tiltedworld said:

Don't know if this has been mentioned in the 15+ pages, but some non-permanent vandalism could be called for. Take 1 valve stem removal tool available at any auto store, remove all four cores and tape to their windshield. They will be temporarily stranded and there is no permanent damage. I guarantee they will remember not to park there.

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No, I'm not about that. A snarky note would be my limit.