New parking laws for some Australians could not cost you thousands – and you’ve probably never heard of it.
Drivers in four Australian states and territories could face fines as high as $3200 for breaking a little known and new rule.
“ICE-ing” is the term for the act of parking a combustion engine vehicle in the way of an electric vehicle charging station.
The maximum penalty for obstructing charging stations has been introduced by the Australian states of ACT, NSW, and Queensland, with fines up to 20 penalty units.
However, the fine amounts differ in each state, with potential fines of up to $3,200 in the ACT, $2,200 in NSW, and $2,875 in Queensland.
In Victoria, misusing an electric vehicle charging spot incurs a fine of two penalty units or $369.
A row of EV chargers in Victoria blocked by cars. Picture: Facebook
The fines apply to drivers of petrol or diesel vehicles parked in spaces designated for electric cars, though EV drivers who occupy the spots while not actually recharging their vehicles can also face penalties.
Australian Electric Vehicle Association national president Chris Jones told AAP the high penalties were necessary to educate the public on the repercussions of such actions.
“No one would like it if I parked my vehicle in front of a fuel bowser and walked inside and ordered lunch,” he said.
“There needs to be an acknowledgment that there are places you can park and places you can’t, and right in front of an EV charger is one where you can’t.”
According to the EV council, there are over 83,000 electric vehicles in Australia.
In February, the NSW Government announced a fast tracked rollout of public and private 30,000 chargers by 2026.
An EV parked at a charging point in Brisbane but not plugged in. Picture: Facebook
With just over 3,000 public chargers in Australia, including 470 superchargers (or fast charges), experts say “every charger available is critical”.
“We need to make sure they’re not blocked, either intentionally or accidentally,” policy head of Australia’s Electric Vehicle Council Jake Whitehead.
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“There are genuine mistakes made by some people, but we need to have a broad recognition across society that these chargers need to be available to EVs so we can have more on our roads.”
Internationally, ICE-ing is big with the Twitter account @ivebeeniced constantly keeping an eye on conventional car driving behaviour.
Wow, that’s a whole new level of selfishness. pic.twitter.com/x4goCPvoyN
— AutoPap (@AutoPap) January 25, 2023
@RateYourCharge 3/4 not working @ElectrifyAm I’m Mojave CA. 165 kW peak on 03. Niro tried to activate 04 to no avail. Tricky for #F150Lightning with trailer. Only possible because 01 blank screen and 02 says unavailable. pic.twitter.com/XHI5Abxkys
— Dr. Mark Eakin (@MarkEakin) March 6, 2023
Keyword: You can’t park there, mate: Little-known fine over electric vehicle stations