Monday to Friday 9am - 12.30pm - 2pm - 7pm
Observation: the spaces reserved for electric cars are often occupied by combustion-powered vehicles.
If you own an electric vehicle, you could be stuck for hours in a parking space occupied by other cars if you can't recharge. More and more professionals are running electric vehicles, and the lack of space can have an impact on their business and the quality of their service.
Combustion-powered cars are the main cause of this inconvenience. Most cases of suction cars are petrol or diesel cars that park in spaces reserved for combustion-powered vehicles. Worse still, their lack of civility adds several hours to electric vehicle journeys.
The users of these reserved areas are often motorists who do not understand how a fraction of users can benefit from a kind of "free parking". parking privileges.
But sometimes it's an electric car owner who blocks access to a charging point! In fact, these vehicles are not charging even though they are parked in a charging point. The term " reserved parking" does not mean that a car can be left there for the long term. They are not parking spaces, but recharging spaces where a car can be left for as long as the charging point is in use.
Vacant cars: what does the law say?
If you park in a space reserved for an electric car, you risk a 35 fine. But that's not all. Your vehicle may also be immobilised and impounded. The amount may be reduced or increased depending on the date of payment.
According to thearticle R.417-10 of the Highway Code, parking in a space dedicated to recharging an electric car is considered a nuisance.
"I.-Any vehicle that is stationary or parked must be positioned in such a way as to cause as little inconvenience as possible to traffic. Stopping or parking a vehicle [...] Parking a vehicle in front of devices for recharging electric vehicles is also considered to be obstructing public traffic".
Despite restrictions on parking in private spaces, motorists still do not respect the rules of the highway code and park mainly in private car parks that are accessible to the public, such as supermarkets and covered and closed car parks.
One of the main problems for those who need to recharge their vehicle is the " suction cup parking", which is when internal combustion and electric vehicles are parked in so-called "parking spaces". reserved exclusively for electric vehicles".
Electric car users need free access to recharging facilities. First of all, it's a question of good citizenship and to make life easier for them. A private user will want to use his vehicle for professional or private reasons. For their part, professional users will want to continue their professional activity.
How do you deal with car parking?
When we talk about When we think of "suction parking" at electric vehicle charging points, we immediately think of combustion or hybrid vehicles. But this also applies to electric cars.
This practice, also known as "ICE-ing", can be carried out in a more subtle way by the electric cars themselves, in case they are not connected to the stations. Their owners sometimes think that they can freely use the reserved parking space while they do their shopping.
Here are a few things you can do in a situation where you are faced with a ".suction cup parking".
Deterrent stickers
Deterrent stickers: Whether to facilitate access for the emergency services or to prevent users from parking in a reserved or private space, there are no-parking deterrent stickers to suit every situation.
We offer two types of deterrent stickers:
You can also buy deterrent stickers on the internet at Amazon which offers a wide choice of stickers.
Other solutions to be explored to combat car parking
- Approach terminal manufacturers directly: Calling on manufacturers of charging points can enable them to work on different solutions to combat and eliminate abusive parking.
- Notify your local police : If the driver or owner of the vehicle is absent, or refuses to stop the vehicle parking despite the orders of the police officers, the vehicle may be immobilised and impounded.
- Notify your local pound: according to thearticle R-417-12 of the highway code, " the uninterrupted parking of a vehicle at the same point on the public highway or its accesses, for a period exceeding seven days or for a shorter period but exceeding that fixed by order of the police authority, shall be deemed to be abusive.Improper parking is punishable by a second-class fine".
What's happening in other countries and what we can learn from them
Vacant cars are a real scourge, and not just in France. It's a worldwide battle to get rid of abusive parking. Each country has its own laws and different ways of combating the problem.
A firm stance in America
In Canada, especially in Montreal, to report an unplugged vehicle parked in front of an electric charging point. Simply contact 514 280-2222 to request parking assistance.
In Quebec, a law has just been passed to combat car parking. L'section 388.1 stipulates that "Only electric road vehicles and plug-in hybrid road vehicles may be immobilised in a space reserved for energy recharging. However, they may only be immobilised there if they are connected to the charging point. In addition to public roads, this article applies to private roads open to public vehicular traffic as well as to shopping centre grounds and other grounds where the public is authorised to circulate."
This means that a driver of an unplugged plug-in vehicle or a thermal vehicle occupying the loading space in question is liable to a fine of between $100 and $200. This legislative amendment was necessary in order to enforce the use of these "parking spaces" and to maintain a certain courtesy towards electro-mobilists who wish to plug in their vehicles.
In the United States, police officers mark the tyres of cars suspected of taking up a parking space. This practice, which is tantamount to searching a vehicle, could be declared unconstitutional.
What was a minor case handled by a police court in the state of Michigan could be taken all the way to the US Supreme Court and change the way police forces in the fifty states of the Union deal with the scourge of unattended cars.
Europe between backwardness and progress
In Spain Our neighbours' electricity supply infrastructures will be increasingly inaccessible, particularly in Barcelona.. Electric taxi drivers have more trouble recharging their vehicles than ever before, which results in a business that regularly grinds to a halt, mainly because private individuals frequently leave their vehicles plugged in long after the recharging operation has been completed.
In Switzerland : Geneva's local authorities have had enough of car-hoarding - vehicles that sit in reserved parking spaces for days on end. To get rid of them, more and more local authorities are limiting parking time or creating blue zones. Most of the larger towns and cities are now doing the same. Now even small towns are following suit. The canton's towns are tackling the problem one by one. Most are adopting the badge system, which allows residents and local businesses to park indefinitely in blue zones.
In Sweden: What if electric cars blocked access to petrol or diesel pumps by parking in front of them? An improbable idea, don't you think?
But this really happened in 2015, following a communication campaign by car magazine aimed at making motorists think twice about using the spaces reserved for charging electric and plug-in hybrid cars.
The question was simple " Do you park your petrol car in front of charging points just to protest?
7 % of readers responded in the affirmative to the survey. That was all it took for a dozen EV users to take action and block access to petrol or diesel pumps with their Tesla Model S.
In France : Speaking of Tesla In France, the electric car brand is deploying keypad barriers at its superchargers, to avoid thermal suction cars.
In France, too, the AUBE association which fights against car parking. The association has a Facebook page with over 500 members.
In a nutshell
It's never pleasant to see cars parked in spaces allocated to electric cars. Especially when you need to recharge urgently. In addition to the tips we've given you, there are other actions that local authorities and charging point companies can take over the long term. For example:
- Information campaigns and awareness to alert drivers to good practice in using these reserved spaces.
- More obvious top-up points with explanatory signs reminding people of the law and systematic brightly coloured markings on the ground to distinguish them from other parking spaces.
- More fines in public spaces, with a surcharge for drivers who stay longer than the recharging time, and some penalties in private car parks to dissuade "squatters" from using these areas, based today on the goodwill of shopping centres, which generally don't want to annoy their customers.
- More technical solutions to detect the presence of vehicles, based on wireless sensors. These solutions, used today in the ITS (Intelligent Transport System) sector, demand high standards and reliability. They offer a reliable, efficient and cost-effective solution to the problem of access to electric charging points. Charging station network operators monitor the presence of vehicles in real time, whether they are charging or not. They provide end-users with reliable information on the actual availability of charging stations and can initiate a penalty procedure for vehicles in breach of the regulations.
And what about you? Have you ever had to deal with cars that have been stuck in the garage? How did you react?
Beev offers multi-brand 100% electric vehicles at the best prices, as well as recharging solutions.
