8 ms·

I'm not sure about the laws in US, but the right thing to do would be to get the car towed by the police or the owner of the infrastructure. Also a warning sign

I'm not sure about the laws in US, but the right thing to do would be to get the car towed by the police or the owner of the infrastructure. Also a warning sign about it is needed.

reaperducer 8y ago
I'm not sure how the agreement between Tesla and its supercharger users is written, but if it's a contract, then there may be no need to get the police involved. At one time I leased a very desirable parking space in what was a half-private, half-public lot. People would sometimes ignore the warning sign stating that the space was private parking only and violators would be towed. When I would arrive in the lot and there was someone in my space, I just called any tow company in the phone book and they'd (very rapidly) send out a truck to remove the offending vehicle. All I had to do was sign the bottom of the form attesting that I was the legal user of that space. This was Texas, so other states may vary.
- jliptzin 8y ago
  I don't think there is anything wrong with what you were doing but out of curiosity how does the owner of the car know where his car was towed to?
  - ojosilva 8y ago
    Typically the owner would call the towing central number or the local police to inquiry if (the owner may think the car was stolen) and where the car was towed to. In Texas theres a phone number, 311, a website and the towing company should also leave a sign at the parking lot entrance/exit with instructions.
chrisseaton 8y ago
> get the car towed by the police Isn't it a civil matter? Does it involve the Police?
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- alistairSH 8y ago
  Sibling comment mentioned some state laws. Also, at least in the case of some of the gas station chains that have Superchargers, they are free to ask the trucks to leave or have them towed/arrested for trespassing.
  - darkpuma 8y ago
    In the particular case of gas stations, the economic incentives seem poorly aligned for enforcement. Those trucks are probably owned by people who bring in much more money for the gas station than owners of electric cars. Unless the charging company that has rented space at the gas station is willing to terminate their contract in response to non-enforcement, the gas station will profit from keeping the truck owners happy while disregarding the convenience of the electric car owners.
    - FilterSweep 8y ago
      Are you certain that is true? I would assume numbered gasoline pumps will see no change. Gas stations can attract purchases from electric car owners by providing low-cost chargers away from the pumps. If anything, gas station owners are just capturing a new market segment.
      - darkpuma 8y ago
        Maybe this is just stereotyping, but the demographic of people I witness stocking up on hotdogs and beef jerky inside gas stations is closer to "pickup truck owner" than "tesla driver." But I was referring more to the frequency and magnitude of their gas purchases. (For the record, I'm a big fan of gas station hotdogs and beef jerky.)
        titusjohnson 8y ago
wil421 8y ago
It’s the same in the US the property owner should call a tow truck or the police. There was a story on reddit a few weeks ago where this happened outside a hotel. The hotel staff called the cops who knocked on rooms and found owners. The tricky part is in a lot of situations it can be hard to find the property owner so they can call the cops. Tow truck companies are careful about having an authorized person request the car to be removed.
- darkpuma 8y ago
  This can be easily solved; have the property owners and tow truck companies reach an arrangement where the tow truck company understands they are free to tow any pickup truck in those spots, without asking for permission each and every time. These sort of arrangements are common already. A privately owned lot will have a deal with a particular tow truck company wherein the tow truck company is allowed to pull any car that doesn't have the right parking sticker (for example.) To make sure the right towing company is called, the lot owner puts up signs detailing the terms of parking and stating which towing company is responsible for the lot. Every time somebody sees a car parked in violation with the stated rules, they can call that towing company who will show up and tow anybody they can, making a tidy profit from each car they tow (they profit by holding those cars for ransom.) These signs are a fairly common sight in America: https://i.imgur.com/nPYaOBf.gif https://i.imgur.com/nPYaOBf.gif This system works, only the occasional idiot will dare testing those signs.
  - topkai22 8y ago
    Pretty sure it depends on the state- when I lived in Washington state it took weeks to get a car that had been abandoned for over a year to get towed from our appartmemt lot. That being said, I prefer it being hard to tow, privately administered ticketing systems are much better. While in this case the pickups are knowingly taking spaces that aren’t theirs, most people I know (including myself) have only ever been towed when they’ve accidentally broken broken a rule, often in a disputable manner. There is no trial or attempt to resolve, property is seized with no chance to appeal a priori, and people’s means of transportation and livelihood are held hostage for payment. It’s really a pretty awful system.
jliptzin 8y ago
I would try to find the farthest towing company willing to make the trip.

I'm not sure about the laws in US, but the right thing to do would be to get the car towed by the police or the owner of the infrastructure. Also a warning sign about it is needed.

reaperducer 8y ago

I'm not sure how the agreement between Tesla and its supercharger users is written, but if it's a contract, then there may be no need to get the police involved. At one time I leased a very desirable parking space in what was a half-private, half-public lot. People would sometimes ignore the warning sign stating that the space was private parking only and violators would be towed. When I would arrive in the lot and there was someone in my space, I just called any tow company in the phone book and they'd (very rapidly) send out a truck to remove the offending vehicle. All I had to do was sign the bottom of the form attesting that I was the legal user of that space. This was Texas, so other states may vary.

jliptzin 8y ago
I don't think there is anything wrong with what you were doing but out of curiosity how does the owner of the car know where his car was towed to?
- ojosilva 8y ago
  Typically the owner would call the towing central number or the local police to inquiry if (the owner may think the car was stolen) and where the car was towed to. In Texas theres a phone number, 311, a website and the towing company should also leave a sign at the parking lot entrance/exit with instructions.

chrisseaton 8y ago

> get the car towed by the police Isn't it a civil matter? Does it involve the Police?

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
alistairSH 8y ago
Sibling comment mentioned some state laws. Also, at least in the case of some of the gas station chains that have Superchargers, they are free to ask the trucks to leave or have them towed/arrested for trespassing.
- darkpuma 8y ago
  In the particular case of gas stations, the economic incentives seem poorly aligned for enforcement. Those trucks are probably owned by people who bring in much more money for the gas station than owners of electric cars. Unless the charging company that has rented space at the gas station is willing to terminate their contract in response to non-enforcement, the gas station will profit from keeping the truck owners happy while disregarding the convenience of the electric car owners.
  - FilterSweep 8y ago
    Are you certain that is true? I would assume numbered gasoline pumps will see no change. Gas stations can attract purchases from electric car owners by providing low-cost chargers away from the pumps. If anything, gas station owners are just capturing a new market segment.
    - darkpuma 8y ago
      Maybe this is just stereotyping, but the demographic of people I witness stocking up on hotdogs and beef jerky inside gas stations is closer to "pickup truck owner" than "tesla driver." But I was referring more to the frequency and magnitude of their gas purchases. (For the record, I'm a big fan of gas station hotdogs and beef jerky.)
      - titusjohnson 8y ago

wil421 8y ago

It’s the same in the US the property owner should call a tow truck or the police. There was a story on reddit a few weeks ago where this happened outside a hotel. The hotel staff called the cops who knocked on rooms and found owners. The tricky part is in a lot of situations it can be hard to find the property owner so they can call the cops. Tow truck companies are careful about having an authorized person request the car to be removed.

darkpuma 8y ago
This can be easily solved; have the property owners and tow truck companies reach an arrangement where the tow truck company understands they are free to tow any pickup truck in those spots, without asking for permission each and every time. These sort of arrangements are common already. A privately owned lot will have a deal with a particular tow truck company wherein the tow truck company is allowed to pull any car that doesn't have the right parking sticker (for example.) To make sure the right towing company is called, the lot owner puts up signs detailing the terms of parking and stating which towing company is responsible for the lot. Every time somebody sees a car parked in violation with the stated rules, they can call that towing company who will show up and tow anybody they can, making a tidy profit from each car they tow (they profit by holding those cars for ransom.) These signs are a fairly common sight in America: https://i.imgur.com/nPYaOBf.gif https://i.imgur.com/nPYaOBf.gif This system works, only the occasional idiot will dare testing those signs.
- topkai22 8y ago
  Pretty sure it depends on the state- when I lived in Washington state it took weeks to get a car that had been abandoned for over a year to get towed from our appartmemt lot. That being said, I prefer it being hard to tow, privately administered ticketing systems are much better. While in this case the pickups are knowingly taking spaces that aren’t theirs, most people I know (including myself) have only ever been towed when they’ve accidentally broken broken a rule, often in a disputable manner. There is no trial or attempt to resolve, property is seized with no chance to appeal a priori, and people’s means of transportation and livelihood are held hostage for payment. It’s really a pretty awful system.

jliptzin 8y ago

I would try to find the farthest towing company willing to make the trip.