Ghost charging? Cable spaghetti? Half of EV drivers admit to poor etiquette at charge points

Over two thirds of electric car drivers say etiquette at EV charge points is lacking, yet half admit to inconsiderate behaviour themselves - with so-called ‘ghost charging’ at the top of the list of problems.

Ghost charging is the name given to a tactic used by EV drivers simply to pinch a handy parking space - they’ll park up in a charge bay and plug their car in, even though their car doesn’t actually need a charge at that point. Frustrated drivers with a genuine need to recharge their batteries then suffer the anxiety and hassle of waiting unnecessarily, or being forced to find another location to charge their car.

Sainsbury’s Smart Charge has polled EV drivers to find out what aggravates them most, and while nearly 9 out of 10 respondents (88 per cent) claim to have experienced frustration at charge points due to a lack of etiquette within the EV community, a whopping 51 per cent admit to having used the ghost charging tactic themselves. Indeed, over a third of respondents admit to ghost charging on multiple occasions, and Sainsburys says the tactic is most prevalent in big cities, naming drivers in Belfast, Birmingham and Cardiff as the worst offenders.

The survey suggests 70 per cent of EV drivers agree that lack of etiquette is a problem, and factors causing frustration within the EV driving community include plug-hogging (34 per cent), long waits (31 per cent), poor parking (29 per cent), and drivers taking the ‘wrong side’ cable from a charge point causing ‘cable spaghetti’ (26 per cent).

According to Sainsburys, which maintains more than 400 ultra-rapid charge bays across its supermarkets, 38 per cent of EV drivers feel less confident about recharging than they do when filling up at a petrol station. 15 per cent even liken the experience to ‘the wild west’.

In an effort to fight back, Sainsburys has employed the services of etiquette coach William Hanson to create a guide to better behaviour when charging. It’s a move that mirrors the Vauxhall EV etiquette guide published in 2023.

“It’s been an absolute honour helping to educate the British public on appropriate social etiquette when it comes to navigating the EV world as no one likes an awkward encounter or a charge hog,” says Hanson. “By working with Sainsbury’s Smart Charge to create an EV Etiquette Guide, we’re hoping to reduce the frustrations felt by the electric vehicle community, so people can have a more enjoyable, stress-free experience.”

Top 10 frustrations at EV charging stations

1. Not enough charging bays (35%) - drivers experiencing long queues as a result
2. Plug hogging (34%) - cars using bays for much longer than required for charging
3. Slow charging (31%) - waiting hours for a full charge
4. Poor parking (29%) - other drivers parking in the wrong place
5. Cable spaghetti (26%) - using the 'wrong side' charging cable, causing tangles
6. Ghost charging (24%)  - pinching charge bays when you don’t need to charge
7. Not following instructions (22%) - drivers ignoring advice at a charging bay
8. Littering (20%)  - drivers dumping food and drink containers at charge points
9. Small talk (18%) -  having to engage with over-chatty strangers in the next bay
10. Interference (17%) - drivers trying to end someone else's charge period

What frustrates you most while trying to charge your car? Let us know in the comments below...