Driver sparks outrage with photo of parking behavior at charging station: 'They are super inconsiderate'

One frustrated Redditor recently posted a photo to call out another driver who they claimed parked their gas-powered car in an electric vehicle charging station for an hour.

Driving an EV is affordable and eco-friendly enough to outweigh any drawbacks, but charging remains one of the more challenging parts of EV ownership. Charging stations are becoming more common, but they're still more difficult to find than traditional gas stations — and charging a battery takes longer than filling a gas tank. EV owners have to plan around this reality, and some drivers avoid buying EVs because of it.

🗣️ When you think about owning an EV, what concerns you most about public charging stations?

🔘 Chargers not working 🚫

🔘 Chargers not being available 😥

🔘 Charging being too expensive 💰

🔘 Charging taking too long ⌚

🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind

That's why it's so frustrating to get to one of the few charging stations around and find it occupied by someone who's only using it as a parking space.

"Parked here for the past hour," this Redditor said of the car beside theirs. "Plenty of other spaces available."

parking behavior at charging station — Photo Credit: u/imsaqlain / Reddit

The photo shows a silver sedan parked diagonally across two Tesla EV charging spaces at an outdoor lot on a busy street corner. The driver is visible inside the car, apparently on the phone, wearing a baseball cap.

"Can't even park within lines, either," one commenter mocked.

"They are super inconsiderate or don't have a clue," another user said.

The truth might be less benign than that, however. There have been reports of drivers intentionally "icing" EV charging stations by parking across them to prevent EV drivers from using them. This is an act of provocation or belligerence toward environmentally conscious drivers. It's called icing because participants use a gas-powered internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle rather than an EV.

Regardless of whether the behavior is accidental, it costs EV drivers time and even increases the risk of getting stranded without a charge. Luckily, the number of EV chargers is increasing daily — and inconsiderate drivers can't ice all of them.