Beware parking fines for EV drivers

The number of EV parking zones may make it easier for EV drivers to navigate their journeys, but many drivers do not know the rules of EV parking zones. These mistakes can lead to large fines.

Mike Potter, CEO at DriveElectric said, “All parking zones have rules that must be adhered to. In the same way a parent and child bay should only be used by a person with a young child, or a disabled parking bay only be used by someone with a blue badge, electric car parking bays are intended to be used only by vehicles powered by a battery for the purpose of recharging only.

“There has been an increase in stories of drivers being charged penalty fines for improper use of EV parking spaces. We have created a list of rules that must be obeyed to ensure you do not break EV parking rules, and also help you to avoid receiving a parking fine.”

Whilst many drivers may think that an EV charging space can be parked in at any time, they can only be used whilst the car is charging. Parking in a space and not plugging in your electric vehicle can result in a fine even if the parking space is free.

With an increasing number of supermarkets offering free electric vehicle charging, it may be tempting to visit a car park after work, or late at night whilst the car park is less busy. However, drivers must be aware that some supermarket charging stations only offer free charging for customers. If the store is shut when drivers visit the car park, they are not classed as a customer and therefore will be fined for parking illegally.

Some parking spaces that are advertised as free will begin to charge drivers once their car has reached full charge. The charge starts at 50p per minute and rises to £1 when the charging station is 100% occupied.

This is to avoid parking spaces being wasted by cars that do not need charging. Only occupy a charging spot while your car is being charged. As soon as the charging session is completed, move your car as soon as possible and make way for a fellow plug-in driver. Your charging session should be considered ‘complete’ either when a) your battery is full, or b) when you have enough range to comfortably reach your destination.

Parking a non-electric vehicle in an electric parking zone can leave you liable for a penalty charge notice. This is the case for both council and supermarket-owned spaces. Electric vehicles can still park in regular parking spaces when they are not charging.