Charging cable theft

[hmp10]

People are beginning to steal charging cables:

 

[xponents]

People are beginning to steal charging cables:

Very shocking. Why? I had thought that the "diesel coal-rolling EV haters" went extinct 5 years ago?

For the people that STILL cannot get normalized to EVs... I have nothing to say. Thankfully, EVs are getting more common in states such as California, NJ, etc. I wonder if the levels of these thefts are different between states that buy more EVs vs states that don't? Or is the hate universal?

 

[hmp10]

This video reminded me of another issue about which I'm wondering. Recently I was at an EA charging station in Miami that had a queue of cars waiting to charge. I backed into a space opposite the charging stations, as had several other cars. The whole operation seemed to rely on an honor system, with each driver having to keep track of which cars arrived before and after him to be sure that he didn't jump in front of an earlier arrival and that a later arrived didn't jump in front of him. When I arrived there was another EV owner who was moving among the waiting cars and answering questions about who was where in the queue, but then he was able to charge and then leave.

Other than once at a Tesla Supercharger when waiting cars could line up conventionally so that everyone knew who was next, I had not encountered such a situation. But I'm sure it will become more common, and I'm wondering what experiences others have had?

I've lived long enough to know that it won't be long before someone arrives who is "late for an appointment" or has "a baby in the car" or some other reason they think should entitle them to jump the line. How will / should it get handled?

 

[hmp10]

Very shocking. Why? I had thought that the "diesel coal-rolling EV haters" went extinct 5 years ago?

For the people that STILL cannot get normalized to EVs... I have nothing to say. Thankfully, EVs are getting more common in states such as California, NJ, etc. I wonder if the levels of these thefts are different between states that buy more EVs vs states that don't? Or is the hate universal?

Conner clearly thinks this is about stealing copper, but his own discussion of the lack of financial benefit makes me doubt that. I was thinking it might be an escalation of earlier tactics of ICE pickup trucks deliberately occupying charging spaces so that EVs couldn't charge until I saw the rather prolific Seattle thief is a Prius driver that I wouldn't think would be hostile to EVs. And the fact that it's happening at both CCS and Tesla stations doesn't suggest hostility to any particular brand of car or charge vendor. Then I thought maybe it's people who can't afford a newer EV and are striking out in resentment, but that seems a bit far fetched since there seem to be many perpetrators spread over different regions.

It's just plain baffling to me.

 

[scal_air]

Interesting. I'd always been suspicious of the recycling reason for cable theft and the fact that it doesn't really pay much makes me think that more often it is spite.

The problem of line cutting could be solved by intelligently designed charging station layouts that includes space to que up. One way in, one way out, pull through like gas pumps. Unfortunately, stations are often an after thought in a parking lot seeking to minimize space...

 

[Lucken]

Conner clearly thinks this is about stealing copper, but his own discussion of the lack of financial benefit makes me doubt that. I was thinking it might be an escalation of earlier tactics of ICE pickup trucks deliberately occupying charging spaces so that EVs couldn't charge until I saw the rather prolific Seattle thief is a Prius driver that I wouldn't think would be hostile to EVs. And the fact that it's happening at both CCS and Tesla stations doesn't suggest hostility to any particular brand of car or charge vendor. Then I thought maybe it's people who can't afford a newer EV and are striking out in resentment, but that seems a bit far fetched since there seem to be many perpetrators spread over different regions.

It's just plain baffling to me.

They might just be malicious whackos. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[hmp10]

They might just be malicious whackos. Nothing more, nothing less.

Could be. But I wonder if the lack of police response might be that many in law enforcement have their own hostility to EVs. People ran into a similar lack of police response during that movement a few years back when pickups were blocking access to chargers.

 

[Lucken]

Could be. But I wonder if the lack of police response might be that many in law enforcement have their own hostility to EVs. People ran into a similar lack of police response during that movement a few years back when pickups were blocking access to chargers.

I have a different take although I don’t discount your thoughts might have some validity. At any rate my feeling is that It’s not the police that don’t take this seriously, it’s the DAs that won’t prosecute. Large cities are overrun with DAs that simply won’t prosecute thieves for a variety of crimes. The police are aware of this and are often told to look the other way. So this and our revolving door justice system within many large cities, result in police deciding they have better things to do with their time. I can’t blame them.

 

[Pragmatic]

 

[Leftlane]

Figure out a way that when the line is cut it shocks the living sh** out of the scum doing the cutting. I have zero patience for this nonsense - there are too many people in this world whose only goal is to trash stuff.

 

[xponents]

Figure out a way that when the line is cut it shocks the living sh** out of the scum doing the cutting. I have zero patience for this nonsense - there are too many people in this world whose only goal is to trash stuff.

Artificial selection at its finest.

 

[RM-S8]

Oregon and California?
Figures.

 

[Halodde]

Darwin Award

Figure out a way that when the line is cut it shocks the living sh** out of the scum doing the cutting. I have zero patience for this nonsense - there are too many people in this world whose only goal is to trash stuff.

Artificial selection at its finest.

 

[scal_air]

I have a different take although I don’t discount your thoughts might have some validity. At any rate my feeling is that It’s not the police that don’t take this seriously, it’s the DAs that won’t prosecute. Large cities are overrun with DAs that simply won’t prosecute thieves for a variety of crimes. The police are aware of this and are often told to look the other way. So this and our revolving door justice system within many large cities, result in police deciding they have better things to do with their time. I can’t blame them.

I have a solution. Make it a $500 parking ticket like a handicap spot. City gets the revenue, cops are happy to write the tickets, dumba** learns an expensive lesson - did I miss anything ?

 

[AS10]

Two separate Electrify America stations that I've seen this vandalism happen to over the last 2 months in the Seattle area. They have both been repaired now but super frustrating to deal with, especially when coming back from a longer road trip.

 

[Taz K]

Interesting. I'd always been suspicious of the recycling reason for cable theft and the fact that it doesn't really pay much makes me think that more often it is spite.

The problem of line cutting could be solved by intelligently designed charging station layouts that includes space to que up. One way in, one way out, pull through like gas pumps. Unfortunately, stations are often an after thought in a parking lot seeking to minimize space...

It would be nice if there was a way that charging queues could be made through the app once you are within a certain range of the charger. You set your position in the queue when you arrive and you are given a 5 min grace period to connect after the existing car leaves the stall. If you do not or drive away from the parking area, the queue continues down to the next car. I haven’t run into issues with cutting in line but I could see how it could become worse.

 

[hmp10]

Oregon and California?
Figures.

??? The video said that the top three states being hit were (1) Washington, (2) Nevada, and (3) California. It also mentioned 20 cables that were cut at a Tesla Supercharger station in Texas. There is another report of 18 of the 19 cables being cut at a Supercharger station in Houston. There is a news report of one company having to replace 44 cut cables in Minneapolis. Similar reports are also coming out of the U.K., Australia, and other countries.

 

[borski]

Oregon and California?
Figures.

Please. Idiots and douchebags exist everywhere, including your beloved states.

 

[HC_79]

It’s the same story as with catalytic converters. In this case the cables have valuable material in them, copper. This isn’t new, multiple news stories have run in CA at least about the theft of these cables highlighting the fact they have valuable copper in them.

Sometimes the media / influencers do more harm than good. It’s raises awareness to would be criminals to make a buck where they didn’t think about previously. It’s a double edged sword but sometimes things are best left silent.

Might just mean that EA and others need to implement some security measures both visual and hidden. We live in a day and age where everything is trackable if you implement the right tools…..

 

[Pragmatic]

$15 of copper. Last copper was high, thieves took the fiber optic cable running through one of our tunnels. Lots of damage on our end, zero value on theirs.