At Cheshire Oaks in Ellesmere Port there is a Tesla Destination charging station that services both Teslas and 'other EV's' (ie. Chademo & Type2) Each bay has a cone on it which is meant to be removed by an EV intending to charge their vehicle. When finished, common courtesy dictates that the user then replaces said cone in the bay just occupied to 'alert' ICE vehicles that the bays are for EV charging only. Simples...
Here's the situation at this car park: there are loads of cones put there by the Westgate staff to discourage ICEing. An EV driver will move the cone at will, that's the protocol. Plus, looking at that cable, do you think it would reach over/around a car parked in the vacant space? I really don't think so. Under, maybe, but come on.....
Yeah tbh, the whole “ev drivers can move the cone” protocol might not seem as obvious as you’d think. Before reading of this being a standard thing to discourage ice-ing I would have thought there was an issue with the space which is why the cone was there.
Apart from seeing it mentioned on this forum a couple of times I would have had no idea about cones reserving spaces for charging cars. In all my public charging over more than 3 years I've never come across this before and if there is no signage saying what the cones are for then why should people be expected to know it's ok to move them?
Personally I don't think the BMW driver did anything wrong given the likely confusion over what the cones are there for and I think the OP is just looking for something to have a moan about. They're not blocking any other EV's from charging and at worst they're wasting one regular car parking space. Big deal. Maybe the parking site should put signage up about the cones?
Yep shopping centre near us they have had to resort to the same. A cone on each EV bay to deter ICE parking. First time I saw it I thought ‘Jesus they are out of order already, only commissioned a few weeks ago’
Is there a big sign clearly visible that says, "EV drivers can move the cone to charge, but ICE drivers must not touch the cone'?
If not, it's reasonable to assume that the i3 driver thought that there was a problem with that particular space, so parked as near as they could to the charger, without going into the 'coned-off' area.
They are not preventing anyone from charging, are they? At worst, they are taking up an ICE space, when they didn't need to had they known the protocol.
This isn't a protocol that I've ever come across our heard of.
If I saw a cone blocking a charging bay, I think I would assume it was out of service. Perhaps a sign on the cone saying 'Reserved for Electric Vehicles Only' or something. Even so, it's a pain if you're driving alone.
Yes - I agree with you that it's a bit of an inconvenience, especially if you're travelling alone. As you, I have also not seen this system before. The cones were normal size, but green & white, possibly further indicating that the bays were for 'environmentally friendly vehicles' only... Fortunately, I saw some chargers undertaking this 'protocol' before I did likewise. It's a good system if it succeeds in preventing bays being ICE'd and I hope it catches on.
I was at Heathrow T5 about 6 months ago, and there was a cone blocking the one available EV parking spot. So I hopped out, moved the cone away and drove in. And then after trying to plug in, found the charging post was dead. So for once, the cone meant "Don't park here".
It's a tricky business, trying to understand cones!
Not having a moan, just trying to understand the line of thinking, as it's definitely not my line of thinking. Especially since there's loads of similar cones in this car park which has 50 charge points - you'd not assume they're all out of service surely. The driver obviously had some nouse to figure out how to start a charge in an arguably new destination, so can't claim total ignorance.
Maybe some more seasoned EV drivers wouldn't have come across the cone "system" but there are more and more charge points appearing in ordinary car parks, and not just located far away from other parking spaces as if we're weirdos. Until ICEing is more sternly patrolled, this is a cheap solution. Effective? That's another matter. Reminds me of Malaysia, where they introduced women only parking spaces in 2012 to reduce crimes against women. No patrols means it's often ignored.
Blue and White Cones - These cones are used to make road users aware of overhead structures such as bridges and power lines. As standard, they are fitted with the reflective sleeves but you may also find them with yellow 'Danger Overhead Cables' sleeves
If you ever wondered what do the different coloured traffic cones mean, then this blog will answer your questions. Read thoroughly to be comprehensively guided.
streetsolutionsuk.co.uk
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