7 hours ago
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Car spots designated for electric vehicles are there primarily for the reason of having access to a nearby charger. It's understandable then, that if an internal combustion engine (ICE) car was parked in the spot, an EV driver might get a bit annoyed.
Case in point – a recent post on the Tesla Owners Australia Facebook page with one EV driver expressing frustration over an internal combustion vehicle parking in an EV-only spot.
“An old couple with their ICE [internal combustion engine] car had occupied this charging spot. Their argument: ‘today is Saturday, and I can park here...’ (totally ignoring the EV "only" icon). After 10 mins of blood-boiling argument and another EV passerby correcting them, they moved to another spot,’ wrote the Tesla owner.
However, commenters were quick to point out that the couple in the internal combustion vehicle may be correct, saying that the rules only applied during the timed period, which would be 8:30am to 6pm Monday to Friday.
While others argued that the EV icon with the word "ONLY" was the overarching rule, and the times only referred to parking time limits.
So what’s the answer?
We tracked down the spot to the front of a laundromat in Randwick, in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. The sign is in relation to a Jolt charger with two ports on it.
It sits in a relatively narrow street and has some rare signage, where it doesn’t specify that the car needs to be charging to park there, only that it needs to be an electric vehicle.
Taking a look at the Australia Road Rules, on the core basis this sign is not for all dates and times. For it to cover all other times, a secondary sign would need to be placed specifying “EV only for all other times”.
Road Rules 2014 Regulation 203B specifies that “a driver of a vehicle that is not an electric-powered vehicle must not stop in a parking area for electric-powered vehicles,” with the electric-powered symbol seen below.
Regulation 203C goes on to specify that “a driver must not stop in a parking area for the charging of electric-powered vehicles unless the driver's vehicle is an electric-powered vehicle, and the electric-powered vehicle is plugged in to an external source of electricity,” with an attached image found below that specifically states “only while charging”.
However, extended further in the Australian Road Rules, it is mentioned that “a parking area for electric-powered vehicles is a length or area of a road to which a permissive parking sign displaying an electric-powered vehicle symbol applies.”
That means that technically, all information portrayed on the sign is only permissible during the hours further covered in the Australian road rules.
“Under rule 318 (3), if the information indicates that the device applies on a particular day, for example, Friday, the sign does not have effect on a Friday that is a public holiday unless otherwise stated.”
UPDATE: Reaching out to Randwick Council has confirmed that this sign is actually for EVs at all times, not just for the specified times on the sign - which makes this a bit of a grey zone for legal signage.
Irrespective of the small contradictions, you should keep these spaces clear if you are in an internal combustion vehicle. But, because it does not have "EV charging only" you could legally park your EV in the space without it hooked up to a charger
Zane Dobie comes from a background of motorcycle journalism, working for notable titles such as Australian Motorcycle News Magazine, Just Bikes and BikeReview. Despite his fresh age, Zane brings a lifetime of racing and hands-on experience. His passion now resides on four wheels as an avid car collector, restorer, drift car pilot and weekend go-kart racer.
