From court decision follows a case brought by the owner of an electric car. He had received a ticket in Noordwijk because his electric MG was attached to the charging station with a full battery for too long.
Two hours ‘not prolonged’
The Noordwijk General Local Ordinance stipulates – as in many other Dutch municipalities – that it is prohibited to ‘hold a space reserved for charging for a long period of time’. The ticket was issued two hours after the first observation, when it turned out that the car had not been moved.
The car owner objected to the fine. He himself found two hours ‘not long’. In addition, it would lead to the ‘unsustainable situation’ that the owner has to wait by the car while loading.
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But according to the court, it is ‘the driver’s responsibility and risk’ to keep an eye on whether the battery is full and to move the car in time. It doesn’t matter how long the car stays there after charging is complete.
New issues
The ‘sticking’ to charging stations is a common annoyance among owners of electric vehicles. This judgment can help combat this problem. At the same time, it can lead to new problems: in theory people now have to move their car during a day of shopping or in the middle of the night.
The Netherlands currently has roughly 90,000 charging stations and 400,000 electric cars.
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