California is setting aside parking spots that are reserved for electric vehicles in much the same way that spots are reserved for handicap spots and pregnant women. Unfortunately people with regular cars are not respecting these parking spot. They are using them to park in with regular gasoline powered cars. This can be a huge problem if you are driving an electric car. Especially if you need to recharge it before continuing your trip. Imagine, your battery is almost dead. Someone is parked in an electric car charging spot and is not charging his or her car! All you want is to recharge and get going.
Monitor electric car charging spots
Ticket Drivers
More and more people are urging city counsels to pass laws that ticket non electric car drivers when they park in these spots. They feel that enough time has passed and that the grace period is over. Ticket these cars in the same way that a car parked in a handicap zone would be ticked. The meter maids and the people who enforce bylaws can implement these parking rules.
More Spots Available
Make more electric car parking spots available. They should also be made available in states that are pushing for electric cars to help deal with pollution. This is going to cause more conflict with regular car drivers. Since in cities were parking is already at a premium, they will be reserving spots for charging electric cars.
Pass Bylaws
City counsels who are in favor of promoting green energy approaches are going to have to pass parking by laws. They need to support these kinds of initiatives. This will take some time before laws will be passed. Since there are just not enough electric vehicles on the road. Eventually there will be. But this may take a few years. in the mean time they will just have to deal with the frustration of few spots to charge their cars being available and people parking in them when they should not be.
Charge Drivers
Most electric car drivers want police to charge drivers who park in these electric car charging spots. We anticipate that there will even be arguments and some form of road rage about this before it settles down and people accept the changing approach to cars. We are about to enter a significant change in driving and parking habits. As with all major changes in our society, some people embrace the changes and some fight change. Which kind are you?
Treat these spots in the same manner as handicap spots in terms of policing, bylaws and ticketing. This is the only way that some people will get the message and stop using the spots for non electric vehicle parking.