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Inconsiderate supercharger stall hogs
I pulled in to the Cabazon supercharger area around 1210PM today. I missed the last open stall by just seconds. All ten stalls were occupied. Being Memorial Day, I had no fantasy that this supercharger location would be uncrowded. But we waited about forty five minutes before someone returned to their car. During this waiting period SEVEN other cars arrived to charge up. One of the drivers who had arrived after me told those of us in the queue that he had called roadside assistance prior to coming and had been told that two of the cars were approaching a full charge.
It was obvious that many of these drivers who were hogging the stalls were shopping at the outlet malls with no regard to what was happening with their car, or had any concern for other Tesla drivers. Several other parked cars got their full charges while this group was waiting, but still no one arrived to move their car.
Perhaps Tesla has erred in putting superchargers in areas with other activities. We can't trust people to be considerate of others. There is only one reason to occupy a supercharger stall, and that is to get enough power to arrive at your destination and move on. Making other drivers wait while you shop at outlet malls(or whatever else may be a distraction) is selfish and inconsiderate.
Tesla knows who these owners are (and they to know who they are). I propose a penalty fee for those who abuse this privilege, with perhaps loss of supercharger privileges for repeat offenders.
After about fifteen minutes I got enough power to get home. I pulled out of the stall and let one of my new friends get the power they needed.
It was obvious that many of these drivers who were hogging the stalls were shopping at the outlet malls with no regard to what was happening with their car, or had any concern for other Tesla drivers. Several other parked cars got their full charges while this group was waiting, but still no one arrived to move their car.
Perhaps Tesla has erred in putting superchargers in areas with other activities. We can't trust people to be considerate of others. There is only one reason to occupy a supercharger stall, and that is to get enough power to arrive at your destination and move on. Making other drivers wait while you shop at outlet malls(or whatever else may be a distraction) is selfish and inconsiderate.
Tesla knows who these owners are (and they to know who they are). I propose a penalty fee for those who abuse this privilege, with perhaps loss of supercharger privileges for repeat offenders.
After about fifteen minutes I got enough power to get home. I pulled out of the stall and let one of my new friends get the power they needed.
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That said, it's unfortunate that our own can be so rude. I had "Don't be an ICEhole" stickers made for this very purpose (I don't stick them on Teslas but I do place the intact sticker gently under a windshield wiper). Actually, they are agnostic stickers with helpful verbiage - equally suitable for ICE and EV. Have only had to give out 5 in 17 months - 2 in California, 1 at Squamish (British Columbia), 1 at Casa Grande, Arizona, and 1 somewhere in the Midworst. Not sure if that's good or bad.
The "go shopping or a movie or to dinner" worked two years ago - and then not on a holiday - but no more.
Do not leave your car unattended. Use a restroom before you take a space or after you leave.
~Larry
Why not leave car unattended to use a restroom? Coming back just as your car finishes charging is reasonable?
Yup. This is the official reporting spot for all charging problems. If it didn't get reported here it didn't happen.
/s
I can only hope these people came out and saw the line and will think about it the next time. Or the next time, it might be them who is waiting.
I hope problems and ideas floated here reach sympathetic ears in the Tesla organization who should be thinking about this. I particularly like the concept from frednix, your charge goes up to meet your requirement, then begins to ramp back down until you are unplugged. Basically, I agree with his general idea of either a positive incentive to be nice, or a negative consequence for being not nice.
We're fine now, but the warning signs are here.
Most of the time I can take trips and stop to charge just as long as is needed for a restroom break or a meal and waste no time. That's often 15-25 minutes, but sometimes it takes longer. However, there are going to be times when a person needs a full charge. This weekend I needed a full charge at a supercharger. I arrived with a range of about 200 miles. I charged to 100% then went camping. My destination was up in the mountains and I used enough power getting there that I averaged close to 400 Kw/h. I needed enough charge to get there, to handle any local driving that might have come up, and then return to the same supercharger. It wasn't a matter of getting to my destination and charging. I used well over half the charge getting there.
That particular location had no crowds and was more than half empty when I got there and when I left. On the way back, it had maybe two other cars when I got there. I charged to about 95% while I was in a restaurant. Had it hit a full charge I would have moved. But it was a situation where there might have been three chargers in use when I got back. It wasn't busy. Had it been busy, I might have charged for 10-12 minutes and moved my car because that was all I needed on the way back. Fortunately, the way down used very little energy.
The point is that although you should be considerate, you can't tell how much of a charge somebody might need, and it might take a long time.
yes
DLebryk
Public shaming, yes.
Many Tesla drivers.
Free electricity?