Furious and ignorant Nissan Leaf driver

^^^
FWIW, the demand by the Leafer that the OP demonstrate charging it is perfectly reasonable. If there were only a CHAdeMO plug available (still waiting to hear if that's the case), it would be obvious that it's physically much larger and incompatible w/the J1772 inlet on his PiP.

Again, per California AB475, which got passed as law, one is supposed to be plugged in to occupy such EV charging spots.

 

Yep. Instead of that Leaf owner saying "hey I called a tow truck on you" - he could have "helped a brother" (or plugger, I guess), and just advised that it's an electric-only station and ask/request/(not demand) to move his car.

I mean there's a lot to learn about the various electric/plug-ins, just from reading this thread, and plug-in/all electric cars are still a young market. So, I can understand how some plug-in owners may just assume that any charging lot should work. (I probably would've done the same thing...then again there are very few car charging stations here...) Being yelled at like that, at the charging station by a furious Leaf owner, I bet that felt like a rather awful learning experience. xx

 

What this situation has really brought to light is the anxiety that comes with the charging limitations associated wtih EV cars. Anyone with an EV cars lives with the risk that their vehicle may need to be towed because even though electricty is in most every home and business, its not readily available to them....
Its along the same lines as person with a fuel only car when sitting at a stop light or stopped traffic. They become anxious knowing they are burning fuel even though they aren't going anywhere. So when the light turns green or the traffic starts moving again they are jack rabbit starting and looking for that every oppritunity to get ahead of other drives to make up for all that wasted fuel while sitting. Anxiety drives adreniline and that drives emotional instead of rational response.
The hybrid offers the best of both words in many situations.
For example the original post. The PIP does have the option to go to a readily available gas station. So when arriving at a charging station there isn't the same anxiety that a EV driver has.
Likewise when a driver of a hyrid car is stuck in stopped traffic they aren't going to be as anxious as a driver of a fuel only car because the hybrid smoothly transitions to ICE being off without loosing the comfort of the A/C or heat being on along with the radio and other acessories and the piece of mind knowing they aren't wasting fuel.

So my point is, drivers of hybrid cars have the oppritunity to be less anxious about their driving experience than drivers of fuel only and EV only cars. So the drivers of hybrid cars may be more likely to be rational when compared to ther drivers due to the reduced anxiety and therefore adreneline.

 

Also consider that the leaf driver might be in a bit of trouble if he needs that charge station for enough power to get to his destination, while the plug in hybrid driver has the easy option of simply letting the ICE take him home.

 

^^^
You were in the wrong. From your account and the pictures on MNL, it seems to confirm there was no J1772 nor other compatible outlet, so you violated California AB 475 by not actively charging in the EV spot. You also blocked a spot that you couldn't even use. You ICEd the spot.

The other guys who show up have no idea when you'll be back, if ever. I suspect you didn't leave a card like EV Card | Plug In America or EV Charging Protocol nor leave any contact info.

They were within their right to call for your car to get towed. What if the other spot got ICEd, you never returned and guy w/CHAdeMO-equipped car showed up needing a charge? Towing and ticketing is a way to send a message that ICEing is bad idea and can possibly inconvenience someone.

Hopefully you realize that those CHAdeMO chargers can charge a Leaf from 0 to 80% in ~30 mins. EPA rated range is 73 or 75 miles, depending on model year.

If they had to resort to L2 J1772 (depending on the EVSE and the speed of on-board charger), or worse 120 volt charging, the # of "miles per hour" added are MUCH slower (My Nissan Leaf Forum • View topic - How many miles per hour of charging at level 2?).

I don't have a fundamental issue about PHEVs actively charging at compatible charging stations (J1772 or L1, in your case), but you weren't doing that. Any user of charging stations, be it PHEV or EV, if they're going be out of sight of the charging vehicle SHOULD leave behind contact info or a card like the above.

 

You cannot leave your car in that spot.. you got a bunch of excuses, but it is not only totally rude and undermining the EV community, but it is against the law. Your OP lacks any humility or willingness to understand the situation. In fact, you actually call the LEAF owner "ignorant" when you now acknowledge now that you were pretty clueless throughout your illegal stay at the QC charger. Not impressed.

 

I am the Leaf Driver so before you judge here is the deal: I know he has a PIP but he was parked in a CHAdeMO DCQC L3 no L2 at this location so he was not charging and could not charge if he wanted too! as you can see from the sign it states L2 is at another location. End of story.

 

you could have been nice though!

 

As you can see from the OP and his reply that he lied, When he came out to his car I stated "Should I call the tow company back and tell them your leaving? He said what? I said your parked at a L3 DCQC you can't park here! he kept saying i'm electric i'm electric I can park here! so I said you have a Prius plug-in Hybrid and can't charge here look at the sign you can charge up the street, He was the one who was Furious, Ignorant and Rude

 

Vsaphill, thank you for posting and I am sorry you had to deal with that.
To the OP, it is a good idea to know what type of connections your Prius uses and if your car can't use a charger, move it immediately rather than leaving it in the spot to go search the Internet and organize your boxes(??).

As an aside, love the great signage at the site. Would love to see more helpful information on signs like that around here (Minnesota).

 

Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another right now

 

Even thought the TV show "Revolution" is a fictional story, I'm thinking how people would treat each others if we end up in a situation where there's no power for a long period.

 

There are two EV parking spots at the Sunnyvale Frys location. I parked my PiP in one of them. I went to grab the plug and they were metal paddles. I looked around and could not find a J1772 plug or a 120V. I got back in my car and moved to a regular parking spot.

 

As I experienced a few months ago:

(link to MNL "Los Altos, CA to Santa Rosa, CA - DISASTER averted?" thread blocked)

My exchange with the PIP driver was pleasant, and I was only delayed by a few minutes. But if he had left his car unattended in that space, blocking the ~15 minutes of DC use I required, I would probably have gotten pretty angry.

The fact is DC charging is entirely different in method and purpose than public L2, and it is unfortunate that most charge site providers and directories do not differentiate adequately between them.

And the very small number of DC chargers presently available, relative to the huge number of AC charge sites, makes access to the DCs vital to DC-capable BEV drivers, as the MNL thread above illustrates.

Moral of the story for a PHEV driver, IMO.

Please determine that the charge space you are planning to occupy actually supplies a charge that you can use.

And when multi-standard charge sites are poorly designed, allowing access from the same space for both slow (AC) charging and fast (DC) chargers, please try to park allowing access to the DC for the multiple users who may need it while you are parked using the AC.

 

"You're WRONG"... "no, YOU're wrong!"... "No, YOU"RE WRONG!"... "NO, YOU'RE WRONG!!"... sigh...

 

You imply equivalence where there is none.

The OP clearly stated an outright lie to justify his first post

[emphasis added]

Then, after having been "outed", became more conciliatory but never did admit to the lie, and STILL felt the need to end in a boastful way.

So the two sides are not equal here. Only the OP has been caught in a lie and so far as I can tell, only OP has engaged in chest-beating. The other party pointed out the error and even though being completely in the right, was accused of "ignorance". All while the OP had just returned to from asking the internet to give him a clue.

My suggestion if he's really interested in reducing "fury" and "ignorance", is to man up and apologize, without reservation or excuses. It's not really a big deal, but he made it a big deal.

Personally, I think any car that plugs in is just as entitled as any other to use a charging station. But if the station isn't compatibile with your car, you don't get a free parking spot just because "you're electric". Think about others and don't hog a spot that you can't use, or aren't using to charge. Same goes to a LEAF owner whose car is finished charging. Courtesy is how we all get along.

 

Since the link got blocked for some reason (because you have a low post count?), I'll post it.
My Nissan Leaf Forum • View topic - Re: Los Altos, CA to Santa Rosa, CA - DISASTER averted?

 

Wow, rude

So my advice to the op is to contact the mods and ask that the thread be removed, no information is being exchanged and the thread is spiraling downward.

 

^^^
Disagree. I think we've exchanged plenty of information: California AB 475 law, CHAdeMO vs J1772 vs. 120 volt outlets, EV etiquette and charging protocols/cards, ICEing, charging rates, consequences, etc.