The owner of a Ford Ranger ute appears to have purposefully blocked three EV charging bays at Tesla’s Supercharging Station in Box Hill, in Victoria, Australia. A photo of the incident was posted on the Tesla Owners Australia Facebook page on Monday.
“ICEing”, as its referred to, is when petrol and diesel car owners intentionally block electric vehicle charging stations, some times because they feel threatened by the superior performance of electric vehicles. Or perhaps because they just don’t like them.
The disgraceful practice has become so common and problematic that authorities around Australia have imposed hefty fines for drivers blocking access to fast-charging stations.
Victoria has the lowest fines – $369 versus $3,200 in the ACT and $2,00 in Victoria- but readers of the Tesla owners Facebook page were keen for a fine to be imposed.
“Definitely a fine… $369 in VIC”, said one commenter, including a photo of a Google search showing the fine.
Another commenter posted: “Send the pic to 131444 police line with date, time and location. I’d be surprised if you don’t get a response.”
A fine of $369 is probably about the same as what it costs to fill a Ford Ranger’s diesel tank compared to about $20 to charge an EV.
The Ford Ranger owner appears to have also forgotten that everyone now carries a camera in their pocket and has foolishly left his licence plate vulnerably exposed. (The Driven has chosen not to publish it but police and authorities can find it on the Tesla Owners Facebook page.)
Daniel Bleakley is a clean technology researcher and advocate with a background in engineering and business. He has a strong interest in electric vehicles, renewable energy, manufacturing and public policy.