sandange, that's a great idea! Wherever I stop to charge and have a meal or buy something, I try to find the owner and let them know that the reason they have my business is because of the charging station.
At first I was going to post images of my signs, but then I realized how many I had made up over the past year, so I'll just post the text. I simply used a drawing program on my computer and print out on cardboard stock.
My signs break down into a number of categories -
ICEd admonitions, on small 3"x6" fluorescent-red card stock:
"You are in an Electric Vehicle Charging Station parking space. How would you react if your gas tank was almost empty and someone was blocking your access to the only open gas station in the area? Please respect the Law. Thank You."
"You are in an Electric Vehicle Charging Station parking space. Luckily for you, I have enough charge in my EV to get home; otherwise I would have called the cops and had you towed out of this space. Please respect the law. Thank you."
The problem with getting ICEd is trying to separate the ignorant from the arrogant. Most of our charging stations are very well marked, with no excuse for what they're doing.
Requests to other EV owners, on 3"x6" beige card stock:
"Hi, I'm the Mitsubishi i-Miev next to you. When you're done charging, would you be kind enough to plug me in? The outlet is on the right rear side and I left it open. Thanks, Joe Cell: XXX"
For the EV or PHEV that's fully charged and just sitting there plugged in:
"Next time, would you be kind enough to come and unplug and move your car right after it has finished charging so that someone else could use the Charging Station? Thank you. A fellow EV driver."
"Waiting for a charger to become available. When it's free, could you please call me. Thanks. Joe Cell: xxx"
On a larger 6" x 8" card:
"It's OK to unplug me after: ______ Please leave this sign on my windshield so I don't get a ticket. Thanks, Joe Cell: xxx"
We EV drivers used to happily park in adjacent parking spaces and plug/unplug each others' cars; however, a couple of years ago a law was passed (at GM's instigation) which mandated that a car in a charging station had to be plugged in. If you try to unplug a Volt, it's damn alarm sounds.
Large signs, on full A-size cardboard:
"Waiting to be plugged in. Please call Joe cell: xxx"
If I'm parked illegally in order to charge I leave the sign:
"Owner Cell: xxx" or "I need to charge to get home. I'll be happy to move if I'm blocking. Joe Cell: xxx"
Then there are the information signs:
"Range -
100mi @ 40mph
60mi @ 60mph
40mi @ 80mph"
Here's a link to my usual information sign that I leave under the windshield:
http://www.katiekat.net/Vehicles/Mitsi/SignMitsiInfo.pdf
Finally, if I'm taking a very long trip and know I'll be hypermiling and driving slowly, I put this sign on the back of the car:
"Range Test In Progress"
