Pickup truck/SUV owners intentionally blocking electric charging spaces in parking lots

[firefly_ris]

I don't understand the mentality. It's a very simpleton behavior. We own a pickup truck for various reasons, and I certainly don't try to get in the way with it. If parking spaces are tight, to the rear of the lot it goes. And intentionally blocking something is just childish. I of course also don't get the whole "car culture" thing where the vehicle you drive defines you as a human being -- maybe because I'm #vanlife and I'm so over all the van-phobes. Insecure much?

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Why would anybody even think of doing this?

Honestly, a lot of cyclists ride like douchebags around here. It’s one of those cases where I don’t at all condone the behavior (especially since the odds favor your victim being innocent), but I also understand the motivation.

My buddies in TX love to complain about pulling into a filling station with 20 open pumps, and a small car blocking the ONLY diesel pump. Unlike the OP about blocking charging stations, most of the time this is just someone who should be paying more attention, not someone deliberately being a jerk.

 

[NotUrsula]

Hatchbacks are ideal for tailgating, especially with fold-down rear seats.

Unrelated, but tailgaters need to be careful. I've read about people just dumping their hot coals in unoccupied spaces (rather than designated dumping sites) where the eventual parker in that space didn't notice it.

Wee bit hard to do a serious Louisiana tailgate with a hatchback. The boiling rig won't fit, let alone a couple of 100 qt coolers, 10 chairs, 2 tables and a tent. Then there is the actual food to be considered. Usually no coals involved, though. (As a general rule we do not grill when we tailgate; we boil or deep-fry what is not prepared in advance.)

Most serious tailgaters who don't drive a large enough vehicle will use a trailer to haul it all; safer to carry the propane that way, anyway.

 

[bcla]

Isn't that case almost universal?

You press the button without your foot on the brake. Once is the same as the first click, twice is the same as the second click on a regular keyed ignition. Every push button car has worked that way for me, various manufacturers.

What does vary is what to do when the battery in the key is dead and you still want to start the car. My wife's car has a special holder in the center console to place the key so it is close enough to be energized by the car. My neighbors Honda you basically just use the key to push the start button.

I just played around with it until I sort of figured out how it worked. I think I needed to tap the starter button rather than hold it.

If the battery ran out I'm not sure how to handle it. I get that the emergency key is buried in the key fob. However, I'm not sure if my BIL would have been happy if I pried open the shield to get to the keyhole since it looks like it's too easy to scratch.

 

[PerfessorZ]

I don’t mind following a Prius driving carefully to maximize fuel economy. Frankly, that’s what the car was built to do and the less fuel we all burn in our cars, the cheaper gas is. We all win.

What irritates me is getting behind a sports car that drives 10mph under the speed limit. Why on earth did you buy that kind of car if you’re afraid to drive it.

 

[DisneyOma]

Honestly, a lot of cyclists ride like douchebags around here. It’s one of those cases where I don’t at all condone the behavior (especially since the odds favor your victim being innocent), but I also understand the motivation.

My buddies in TX love to complain about pulling into a filling station with 20 open pumps, and a small car blocking the ONLY diesel pump. Unlike the OP about blocking charging stations, most of the time this is just someone who should be paying more attention, not someone deliberately being a jerk.

How does one ride like a douche bag? What are the regulations they are not following, for example? Here in MA, cyclists just have to follow the same rules of the road as cars. They tend to stay to the right on roads, but they don't have to.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I tend to look at those big trucks with disgust anyway. I remember a while back seeing somebody in the biggest overgrown truck I have ever seen. (we were behind it trying to get into a parking garage) It was so big that he caught the part that sticks out over the the back wheels on a concrete pole and absolutely tore up the side of his truck. I will admit, I laughed at him. I guess the factors were A: What was he thinking having a truck that big to begin with? B: What in the world was he thinking trying to squeeze it into a place that obviously wasn't big enough? C: What did he plan to do if he did make it in, it would have taken up more than one parking place and half the aisle?

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

I never knew people hated drivers of trucks so much

 

[kdonnel]

If the battery ran out I'm not sure how to handle it. I get that the emergency key is buried in the key fob. However, I'm not sure if my BIL would have been happy if I pried open the shield to get to the keyhole since it looks like it's too easy to scratch.

The emergency key is for opening the locked door with a dead key fob. I was talking about how to start the car with a dead key fob. You do not use the emergency key.

Jump starting a modern car can involve the owners manual as well. Electric and hybrid cars still have a 12v starter battery, it just might not be under the hood but there are specific connection points that will be. Even some ICE cars have moved the battery to odd locations but still maintain jumper cable connection points under the hood.

 

[Hikergirl]

I never knew people hated drivers of trucks so much

I never knew people had an issue with the kind of car someone else drives.
I understand having an issue with how someone drives but what they drive? I guess people just don't have enough going on in their own life to be concerned about

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

I never knew people had an issue with the kind of car someone else drives.
I understand having an issue with how someone drives but what they drive? I guess people just don't have enough going on in their own life to be concerned about

Same. You have to give me a reason to think you’re a jerk with a big truck. I don’t think people with big trucks are jerks...

 

[GreatLakes]

Yes, it's called rolling coal. I live in the south, where brodozers....uh, pick up trucks...are the norm. Each to their own, but I don't get it. At all. Buying a pick up, lifting it 6" higher and putting giant rims with rubber band tires.

We have a saying around here that might not be Disboard approved, which relates the size of the truck to something else. It's an indirect/inverse proportion

 

[Lilacs4Me]

How does one ride like a douche bag? What are the regulations they are not following, for example? Here in MA, cyclists just have to follow the same rules of the road as cars. They tend to stay to the right on roads, but they don't have to.

We have a big cycling community here. Most cyclists follow the basic rules of the road, but there are many who don't. They blow stop signs, weave between cars, go through red lights when it's clear, cut in front of you when coming out of the bike paths, ride 5-6 abreast on main roads and refuse to move to the right even when they see you behind them, etc. Just like everyone/everything else, people will break rules and laws whenever they feel they are justified or won't get caught.

I do a lot of walking in my neighborhood and drivers in cars are just as bad...when crossing streets, I've had drivers in cars actually speed up and swerve close to me in what I assume is an attempt to scare me for crossing the street in front of them even though I have zero wishes to be ran over and only cross when I have plenty of time to clear the street based on the original speed and distance of the driver. We have a big traffic circle in our town and I won't even go near it when I walk...drivers and bikers alike have no idea how to safely navigate the circle much less watch out for pedestrians at the same time! It's truly "survival of the fittest" in that circle!

Basically, some people have the instinct to be jerks whenever they encounter another person/car/biker/walker in their path. It's not going to change.

 

[mombrontrent]

Wee bit hard to do a serious Louisiana tailgate with a hatchback. The boiling rig won't fit, let alone a couple of 100 qt coolers, 10 chairs, 2 tables and a tent. Then there is the actual food to be considered. Usually no coals involved, though. (As a general rule we do not grill when we tailgate; we boil or deep-fry what is not prepared in advance.)

Most serious tailgaters who don't drive a large enough vehicle will use a trailer to haul it all; safer to carry the propane that way, anyway.

This has made me quite curious. I have heard of tailgate parties and such here on these boards but never quite understand what the purpose of them is. I live in Canada in a region where almost everyone drives a truck or it seems like it anyways but nobody “tailgates”. I guess it’s not s thing here. From what I’ve understood it’s usually in parking lots? During or before or after football games? Just curious because I keep hearing reference to them but don’t really understand.

For the record my dh does own a truck. He bought it when we moved to this area five years ago. Says he felt out of place without it, lol. Since then he’s also bought a boat a camping trailer so he does use it to haul those.

 

[hereyago]

Good grief. This is not against Tesla so much as it is lazy people wanting a closer place to park, just like people who park in handicap places when they are not.

The second article even states that even electric cars will park in spaces and not plug up .

The Rolling Coal thing is nothing new either. Just idiots blowing it at cars motorcycles ,just to be a butt clown.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

How does one ride like a douche bag? What are the regulations they are not following, for example? Here in MA, cyclists just have to follow the same rules of the road as cars. They tend to stay to the right on roads, but they don't have to.

Just clogging up the lanes and making no effort to keep right when holding up traffic. Riding 3 & 4 wide (sometimes spilling over into the oncoming lane). Bicycles & farm equipment tend to move at roughly the same pace. It shouldn’t be easier to get around a 20,000lb combine than it is to get around cyclists. But, it often is.

Your final sentence sums it up, actually. Some more militant cyclists have that “I don’t HAVE to keep right, so I’m not going to” attitude. That complete lack of common courtesy on their part taints the entire public perception of cyclists.

 

[kdonnel]

I don’t think people with big trucks are jerks...

But there are so many car themed stereotypes.

Truck = redneck
Truck with a lift kit = compensating for a small ....
Subaru = Lesbian couple
Lincoln = grandma or grandpa that should have had their license taken away 10 years ago
Minivan = man who’s life is basically over due to kids. He has given up
Full size van = painter or carpert layer
High end sports car = middle aged divorced bald guy. Woman be careful
Honda Accord or Toyota Camry = boring person
Prius = environmentalist

They go on and on.

 

[LSUmiss]

Wee bit hard to do a serious Louisiana tailgate with a hatchback. The boiling rig won't fit, let alone a couple of 100 qt coolers, 10 chairs, 2 tables and a tent. Then there is the actual food to be considered. Usually no coals involved, though. (As a general rule we do not grill when we tailgate; we boil or deep-fry what is not prepared in advance.)

Most serious tailgaters who don't drive a large enough vehicle will use a trailer to haul it all; safer to carry the propane that way, anyway.

Plus we have speakers, DJ equipment, generator, gas for generator, etc lol!

 

[bcla]

This has made me quite curious. I have heard of tailgate parties and such here on these boards but never quite understand what the purpose of them is. I live in Canada in a region where almost everyone drives a truck or it seems like it anyways but nobody “tailgates”. I guess it’s not s thing here. From what I’ve understood it’s usually in parking lots? During or before or after football games? Just curious because I keep hearing reference to them but don’t really understand.

For the record my dh does own a truck. He bought it when we moved to this area five years ago. Says he felt out of place without it, lol. Since then he’s also bought a boat a camping trailer so he does use it to haul those.

Yep. But it requires an open parking lot. Can't do it properly in a garage. Some newer setups in downtown stadiums rely on a lot of public transportation so there are fewer places to park, which are also really expensive. There's also an issue of talking up multiple parking spaces, when a parking fee theoretically is a license to park in a single space. However, most tailgates are over and mostly packed up before the game starts. I've heard of some where there's are people not actually going to the game keeping it up after hours and watching on a TV (or these days some other device).

I was a season ticket holder for Cal football, but it's a complex situation. A very small number of people could tailgate because parking was limited to the big donors and a lot of campus parking is in garages. There are private garages, but they generally won't allow grills to be set up. There are plenty of places to eat or drink. Some businesses even set up grills on the sidewalk, so that kind of makes up for the lack of tailgating.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

This has made me quite curious. I have heard of tailgate parties and such here on these boards but never quite understand what the purpose of them is. I live in Canada in a region where almost everyone drives a truck or it seems like it anyways but nobody “tailgates”. I guess it’s not s thing here. From what I’ve understood it’s usually in parking lots? During or before or after football games? Just curious because I keep hearing reference to them but don’t really understand.

For the record my dh does own a truck. He bought it when we moved to this area five years ago. Says he felt out of place without it, lol. Since then he’s also bought a boat a camping trailer so he does use it to haul those.

This is a common scene for our NFL team:



You really don't need a truck here. What you do need is a vehicle large enough to bring tailgating stuff: tents if you're going to, cornhole and other games, beer, tables, food, grills, chairs, etc.

Tailgating is an honored tradition for our area and is normally done before and to an extent during- both NFL and MLB. For those teams the stadiums are right next to each other too for our teams

In recent years though they have tightened down on tailgaitng rules for us such as painting yellow lines where your particular tailgating group cannot pass (to allow other vehicles especially emergency vehicles access) and this year for NFL tailgating in the parking lot must end once kickoff happens and you're supposed to go into the game. If you don't possess a ticket to the game you'll need to leave the parking lot complex. It's the first year for that rule so I don't know that they are uber uber strict about it quite yet (it's made quite a lot of people upset about it too).