It is the daily bread of electric car drivers. And it is that in addition to few available points, when you arrive at one it turns out that it is occupied by a car with a combustion engine, or an electric one that is not charging. Now, the Australian authorities they have taken action on the matter and have launched a regulation that allows city councils impose astronomical fines to deter offenders.
Drivers could be fined up to AU$3,200, 1,991 euros to change, for parking in spaces for electric vehicles. A project that has already been launched in four states of Australia.
The fines, some of them added to traffic regulations late last year, range from $3,200 in the Australian Capital Territory to $369 (229 euros) in Victoria.
The administrations defend the measure, indicating that the strong penalties are important on the one hand to raise user awareness that a charging point is not a parking spaceand also to make these spaces a place that allows encourage adoption of electric carsavoiding as far as possible situations of frustration by not being able to charge their batteries.
The fines apply to drivers who leave gasoline or diesel vehicles in spaces designated for electric cars, but they will also apply to those electric cars that are not chargingand remain in the space beyond the courtesy time for their removal.
According to NSW Metropolitan Roads Minister Natalie Ward: “To make sure the community keeps moving forward, we want EV drivers to have access to charging stations when available”.
Australian Electric Vehicle Association national president Chris Jones said while penalties for blocking infrastructure were high, were necessary to educate a public who is not aware of the repercussions of the occupation of these spaces.
“There must be knowledge on the part of the users that there are places where you can park, and places where you can’t. And just in a charger for electric cars it is one of those that is not. Every available charger is very important to Australia’s existing fleet of approximately 80,000 electric cars, and we need to make sure they don’t get blocked, either intentionally or accidentally.”
