For EV owners, it's a frustrating but all-too-common sight to find a diesel vehicle parked in a charging spot.
One such EV driver posted a photo of a particularly frustrating example in the subreddit r/badparking. Not only did the gas-powered car park in an EV charging spot, they pointed out, but that driver "couldn't park properly."
The photo shows a large car squeezed right up on the lines of an already narrow parking spot. To charge, the EV owner had needed to maneuver delicately to the one remaining space, leaving mere inches between them and the gas car.
"I parked next to this fool to plug in the Audi, and for the whole 30 minutes I was in the [restaurant] I was worried," they wrote.
"This guy came in first," OP explained. "And because he was crossing the lines (first photo), parking in an EV spot without an EV, and giving no space to the other side, I had no remorse."
Commenters generally agreed with this course of action.
"They did this on purpose," one person said.
The practice of purposefully hogging charging spots has been witnessed all over the country. It's generally understood that diesel drivers, who feel that their identity is threatened by the surging popularity of electric vehicles, partake in behaviors like this as a way of asserting their own righteousness.
People have also been documented slashing charging cables, vandalizing cars, and even spewing black exhaust onto both EV drivers and cyclists, whom they see as an extension of the environmentally-minded traveler.
🗣️ When you think about owning an EV, what concerns you most about public charging stations?
🔘 Chargers not working 🚫
🔘 Chargers not being available 😥
🔘 Charging being too expensive 💰
🔘 Charging taking too long ⌚
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
Despite these documented behaviors, one Redditor suggested that the rude parking job may have happened because the EV charger spots were the last ones available. But even if that was true, another commenter pointed out, that doesn't make hogging an EV spot the best choice.
"Tough. They shouldn't be there," they wrote. "Park in another parking lot with space. By your reasoning, they could park on a footpath, in a doorway, in a disabled space - where ever."
And while clearly some people feel strongly anti-EV, there are many reasons they're continuing to grow in popularity.
The average electric vehicle costs less, is easier to maintain, is healthier for the environment, and is longer-lasting than the average fuel-powered vehicle, per the NRDC. And despite vandalism and setbacks, chargers are only becoming more accessible, paving the way for a cleaner driving future.
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