Electric cars in motorway service areas

Honest John Back Room » Legal matters
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Fri 16 Apr 2021 12:07
Electric cars in motorway service areas - Wraith

You arrive at a service station low on charge. But all the charging stations are full. And there is a queue. So you know you are stuck for a while. If you stay you will over run the time allowed in the service area before you are penalised. If you push on to the next service area you may run out of charge on the "Smart Motorway" and risk 30 tonnes saying hello to you if you havn't been spotted. What is the legal positon on staying in the service area?

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Fri 16 Apr 2021 12:26
Electric cars in motorway service areas - sammy1

I don't know the legal position as I suspect they are all different and owned by different companies. I would be interest if there is any, or if any queuing system might be needed or would it be my car is bigger than yours! Could be quite a dilemma in the future. In Exeter there are only 3 points where as in Hopwood on the M42 there are about 15.

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Fri 16 Apr 2021 12:28
Electric cars in motorway service areas - ExA35Owner

You are on private property and bringing your car into the property is a matter for the contract you form with the owner by the action of parking. So you read the terms and conditions to see if you want to accept them, and if not you drive on.

Of course you could pay the price offered in the contract for a longer stay; or you could go in and negotiate a free parking deal with the duty manager.

This seems a bit brutal and you have identified a problem which does need addressing more generally. The parking enforcement companies are on the whole all about extracting money and not about service, so the approach needs to be to the service area management.

The service area management won't want long-term parking, quite reasonably to keep the place clear for paying customers, but they also have an interest in allowing people to queue for the chargers. If you know the likely place you are going to have problems (or that you have had problems) I'd suggest a contact with their customer service people to begin with.

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Fri 16 Apr 2021 12:47
Electric cars in motorway service areas - Gibbo_Wirral

ExA35Owner is spot on. If you go beyond the free time limit you'll just have to pay, its pretty simple enough. Not quite sure what the issue is or talk of "legal position"

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Fri 16 Apr 2021 13:10
Electric cars in motorway service areas - alan1302

Not quite sure what the issue is or talk of "legal position"

I'm not suer I understand that either.

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Fri 16 Apr 2021 14:43
Electric cars in motorway service areas - Bromptonaut

Not quite sure what the issue is or talk of "legal position"

I'm not suer I understand that either.

The legal position, which is mostly/wholly about contracts, is as set by A35. Time limits for parking at MSA's came in because people were taking the mick and leaving the car there while going off site by taxi or colleagues car.

If, in the OP's scenario, you got a charge notice for overstaying while queueing for/using an electric charger you're in exactly the same position as a driver of a fossil fuel car if there's a problem at the pumps. You've got a good reason based on road safety for overstaying. If that's not allowable under the rules then there's a public interest argument.

If the operator knew there was a problem, as disclosed by their own CCTV, staff observation and perhaps reports from customers then they'd look utter chumps taking it to court.

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Fri 16 Apr 2021 17:56
Electric cars in motorway service areas - Andrew-T

<< If, in the OP's scenario, you got a charge notice for overstaying while queueing for/using an electric charger you're in exactly the same position as a driver of a fossil fuel car if there's a problem at the pumps. >>

A true analogy with a 'fossil-fuel car' would be with the early days when petrol stations were few and far between. Prudent drivers could carry a spare jerrycan with them to solve the difficulty. I don't think anyone has found a way to do that with an EV ?

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Fri 16 Apr 2021 18:09
Electric cars in motorway service areas - Xileno

Technology can solve the problem, apps can point you to chargers in the area so the next step is to also indicate which ones are free. I expect the Tesla ones probably do as it's their own bespoke network but getting the third-party chargers to all co-ordinate might be harder.

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Fri 16 Apr 2021 23:15
Electric cars in motorway service areas - Andrew-T

Technology can solve the problem, apps can point you to chargers in the area so the next step is to also indicate which ones are free.

Nah, that's a long-term answer until there are enough chargers on the ground. Do you seriously think EV drivers will happily chase round the district hoping that there won't be a queue when they get to the next one ? And when EVs catch on properly, will the charge points keep up with demand ?

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Fri 16 Apr 2021 22:24
Electric cars in motorway service areas - Wraith

Does the service station have a duty of care to motorists.

If it doesn't provide safe free parking for people queuing it could be challenged on failing in its duty of care if people were having to return to the motorway or face a significant penalty.

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Fri 16 Apr 2021 23:24
Electric cars in motorway service areas - sammy1

Technology can solve the problem, apps can point you to chargers in the area so the next step is to also indicate which ones are free

This does not solve the problem as you are still left running around looking. 10 other drivers may be using the same APP or a different one so it would still be first to arrive at a free charger. Recently I read that there are 240000 EVs now registered, charging points are way behind especially at service stations and if and when EVs reach a level on a busy weekend there will be chaos for some

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Tue 20 Apr 2021 16:45
Electric cars in motorway service areas - concrete

I anticipate problems with regard to this. On the A1 at Gonnerby services there are abut a dozen charging points and I have only ever seen a few cars there at a time. Some are Tesla and some are other brands. Don't know if the charging points are brand exclusive or general universal points. Too much like common sense that they would be universal, but I remain to be surprised. Quite an issue that needs some thought. With technology it is not beyond them to identify the car and the fact it is an EV. Therefore they should allow a lot time in case of queueing.

I believe this issue was mentioned some time ago. Someone became unwell and was unable to continue their journey until after medical help was sought. Eventually sorted out with the site owners but the parking sharks were demanding payment and initially refused the appeal despite the circumstances. Typical as we all know.

Cheers Concrete

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Wed 21 Apr 2021 12:31
Electric cars in motorway service areas - Gibbo_Wirral

Does the service station have a duty of care to motorists.

If it doesn't provide safe free parking for people queuing it could be challenged on failing in its duty of care if people were having to return to the motorway or face a significant penalty.

By the same argument you could claim that making people pay for parking if they're tired and need a longer break than 2 hours is failing in duty of care. But it isn't.

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Wed 21 Apr 2021 13:07
Electric cars in motorway service areas - alan1302

If it doesn't provide safe free parking for people queuing it could be challenged on failing in its duty of care if people were having to return to the motorway or face a significant penalty.

If you are staying longer than 2 hours you just need to pay whatever the parking fee...no need for a significant penalty.

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Tue 11 May 2021 19:54
Electric cars in motorway service areas - movilogo

Just pay for longer parking - simple.

Or don't buy EV - even simpler :-)

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