At least seven states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws to punish drivers who park a non plug-in vehicle in a space designated for an EV charging station, a practice known as ICEing. That means there are 43 states and countless municipalities that may need to consider such a law.
I have advocated for anti-ICEing laws in Montgomery County and Howard County in Maryland. In September, I spoke before the Maryland Electric Vehicle infrastructure Council to ask them to support a state-wide law. A bill is being drafted to be introduced in the 2016 Maryland General Assembly. I have created a resource page with links to other state laws, news articles, previously introduced bills, news articles and guidelines to assist the drafters of that bill.
PlugInSites is making this resource available to EV advocates and lawmakers who are looking for models and information to help draft anti-ICEing laws in other jurisdictions around the United States.
Two new state laws to penalize people who block electric vehicle charging stations went into effect on New Years Day 2016.
Oregon – $250 Fine for ICEing an EV Charging Station
Oregon House Bill 2625 created a law effective January 1, 2016 that is punishable by a maximum fine of $250.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. (1) As used in this section, “alternative fuel vehicle” has the meaning given that term in ORS 469B.100, except that “alternative fuel vehicle” includes vehicles registered in any jurisdiction.
(2) A person commits the offense of unlawful parking in a space reserved for alternative fuel vehicle refueling if:
(a) The person parks a vehicle in any parking space that is on premises open to the public;
(b) The parking space is marked or signed as reserved for alternative fuel vehicle refueling; and
(c) The vehicle in the parking space is not engaged in the refueling process.
(3) The offense of unlawful parking in a space reserved for alternative fuel vehicle refueling is a Class D traffic violation.
Illinois – Up to $100 Fine and Towing
In Illinois, as of January 1, 2016 people who park non-electric vehicles in spots reserved for an electric vehicle charging station will be subject to a $75-$100 fine and may get towed.
Here is the text of the new Illinois law.
Sec. 11-1308. Unauthorized use of parking places reserved for electric vehicles.
(a) For the purposes of this Section: “Electric vehicle” means a battery-powered electric vehicle operated solely by electricity or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that operates on electricity and gasoline and has a battery that can be recharged from an external source. “Electric vehicle charging station” means any facility or equipment that is used to charge a battery or other energy storage device of an electric vehicle.
(b) It shall be prohibited to park a non-electric vehicle in an electric vehicle charging station designated for use by electric vehicles, including an electric vehicle charging station on any private or public offstreet parking facility. A person may park only an electric vehicle in an electric vehicle charging station space designated for use by electric vehicles.
(c) Any person or local authority owning or operating any public or private offstreet parking facility may, after notifying the police or sheriff’s department, remove or cause to be removed to the nearest garage or other place of safety any non-electric vehicle parked within an electric vehicle charging station space designated for use by electric vehicles.
(d) It shall not be a defense to a charge under this Section that the sign or notice posted at the electric vehicle charging station or the designated parking space does not comply with applicable rules, regulations, or local ordinances, if a reasonable person would be made aware by the sign or notice on or near the parking space that the space is reserved for electric vehicles.
(e) Any person found guilty of violating the provisions of subsection (b) shall be fined $75 in addition to any costs or charges connected with the removal or storage of the non-electric vehicle; but municipalities by ordinance may impose a fine up to $100.
PlugInSites Legislation Reference Guide
PlugInSites has compiled a Legislation Reference Guide for local and state laws regarding reserved parking spaces for plug-in vehicle charging stations. This is being shared with lawmakers as a resource to consult when drafting future bills.
Stay tuned to @PlugInSites for developments affecting EV charging stations.
Thank you for reading PlugInSites. I have enjoyed sharing my experiences, charging station news and insights into some of the more interesting places to charge an electric car around the DC, Maryland, Virginia area. I hope you have a happy holiday season and best wishes for the new year.
Please enjoy this 1912 advertisement that was published in the American Journal of Surgery.
An Electric for her very own – what more enjoyable surprise could your wife receive on Christmas morning? Every woman longs to own an Electric. Every woman knows the comfort, convenience and heightened social prestige it gives. Why not make this year the happiest Christmas?
Your wife would love to drive about in her own Electric – quiet, fashionable, simple and safe. She can pay her social calls; do her shopping; attend the theatre and receptions. You will enjoy the luxury and convenience of it, too, in paying your professional calls.
And Christmas is the season of seasons for an Electric. The cold, biting winds and snow flurries make you feel all the cosier within an Electric. There is such exhilarating pleasure in gliding noiselessly down the boulevard, through the park, threading in and out of congested traffic – quickly, easily, without bother or effort.
Driving an Electric is simplicity itself – no trouble whatever. Any woman – even a child – can operate an Electric efficiently. The first cost of an Electric is decidedly moderate when you consider its lasting, satisfactory service. Maintenance expense and cost of power is far lower than that for other types of cars.
This 24kW station is part of the East Coast Express Charging Corridor that will stretch from DC to Boston and is being built by BMW, Volkswagen and ChargePoint. The ChargePoint App says, “SAE Combo connector for BMW i3 and VW e-Golf” but the Chevrolet Spark EV, which also uses the SAE Combo connector, can presumably use this. The fee is $3.00/hour plus $0.20/kWh.
A Tesla Supercharger with six stalls opened this week in the town of Lexington, Virginia at 880 N. Lee Highway (map).
The Superchargers are hosted on property owned by Dominion Lodging, Inc. They operate a Best Western and a Holiday Inn Express here.
The Lexington, VA Supercharger, near the interchange of I-64 and I-81 in the Shenandoah Valley, is about 109 miles south of the Strasburg, VA Supercharger and about 120 miles north of a Supercharger currently under construction in Wytheville, VA.
Permit pending for 8 charging stalls at Towne Centre at Laurel
According to the City of Laurel, an application has been submitted to build a Tesla Supercharger at 14700 Baltimore Avenue which is the Towne Centre at Laurel. Plans are for eight stalls on the lower level of the parking garage next to the Regal Movie Theater. A permit will be issued by the city once a contractor is selected.
This site may replace the temporary Supercharger that has been in Bethesda since January, 2014.
A new SAE Combo Fast Charger has shown up at a Royal Farms store at Ridley Park, Exit 8 off of Interstate 95 near Philadelphia.
It appears that this station may be part of the East Coast Express Charging Corridor that was announced in January at the 2015 Washington Auto Show by BMW, Volkswagen and ChargePoint. The verbiage in the description on the ChargePoint App suggests that it indeed is. It says, “SAE Combo connector for BMW i3 and VW e-Golf” but does not mention the Chevrolet Spark EV which also uses the SAE Combo connector. I imagine that is because the East Coast Express is being funded by BMW of North America and Volkswagen of America.
Although this charging station is at a Royal Farms store, it is not part of the EVIP program in Maryland. The stations at the Royal Farms in Maryland are part of a state grant and have both CHAdeMO and SAE Combo connectors.
Click map for location details. green=installed, yellow=construction, dark blue=permitted, light blue=bidding.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has been working with the PA Turnpike on installing DC Fast Chargers along the length of the Turnpike. Car Charging Group, Inc. is a partner in the Turnpike project and they have reported that construction is underway at the Oakmont Plaza near Pittsburgh.
New Stanton, North and South Somerset and North and South Midway have permits and are scheduled for construction. All six western travel plazas are expected to have Fast Chargers installed and operational by the end of February 2016. The central plazas (Sideling Hill, Blue Mountain, Cumberland Valley, Highspire and Lawn) are now in the bidding process.
I confess. I did a bad thing. I didn’t mean any harm. But I caused an inconvenience for another EV driver and I feel terrible about it.
In my defense, I was new at the game of using public charging stations back in the spring of 2012. We all were.
We had taken our brand new THINK City EV to be in the Olney Days Parade. On the way home, we stopped to have lunch. I plugged in at a Walgreens store which had one of the few charging stations that existed at the time. We went to eat and returned about an hour later.
As we approached, we saw something incredible. There was another EV parked next to our car at the charging station. Not just any EV, but another black THINK City. Twins! There are only about 400 THINKs in the entire United States. What are the chances?
The owner of the other THINK was standing there. I introduced myself. His name was Tony. He had just gotten his car the previous day. He had found himself suddenly low on battery that afternoon and coaxed his new electric machine to the nearest charging station only to find it occupied by my car. He had been waiting 45 minutes for us to return. He was cool about it, but I was kind of embarrassed.
Tony had no way of knowing who the car belonged to or how to contact us. That’s the moment when I decided to use a dash card whenever I leave my vehicle at a public charging station. A dash card, sometimes called a courtesy card or EV charging protocol card, is placed on the dashboard to communicate with other EV drivers who may show up and need to charge. It may be as simple as text that reads, “OK to Unplug” or a mechanism to show what time you plan to finish charging.
The dash card helped this Nissan LEAF driver who needed to charge.
In my opinion, the most valuable information to leave is simply a phone number that you can be reached at. A number to call or text, along with an indication that you are willing to share, is all that is needed to set up a negotiation between two drivers. There can be factors at play that require a dialogue. For example, there may not be any open parking spots adjacent to the charging station and the two cars may have to switch parking.
There are files on the Internet that you can print out to display on your plug-in car’s dashboard. It’s a matter of personal preference which style you want to use. I’ve decided to create one that has a simple design, a bold typeface and a space to put a contact number.
Anyone is free to download the file and print it out for themselves. I’ve also linked to several other dash card files on the Dash Card page.
At least seven states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws to punish drivers who park a non plug-in vehicle in a space designated for an EV charging station, a practice known as ICEing. That means there are 43 states and countless municipalities that may need to consider such a law.
