We’ve covered before how EV chargers and especially the charging cables are being increasingly targeted by thieves. Considering anything that isn’t bolted down is swiped eventually these days, that’s hardly surprising. Plus, the copper in the cables is good for some quick, easy money. But one EV enthusiasts site seems to think part of the answer is electric car owners confronting the “crackheads” stealing their stuff while they’re in the middle of the act.
Sitting around at a lonely EV charger sure looks fun.
On December 3, CleanTechnica ran an op-ed on this long-running problem, which along with catalytic converter and straight-up car theft is admittedly quite tiresome. What caught our attention is the suggestion that EV owners use a setting on their car to warn when someone tries unplugging it in the middle of the night.
Once you receive an alert on your phone that a supposed crackhead is stealing your charging cable, what are you going to do? Call 911? The thief will be gone long before cops are dispatched. Plus, a charging cable is such a petty theft, many departments won’t have the resources to spare.
That means your only real option is to confront the thief. If they’re truly a crackhead, those guys can be wildly unpredictable and so you might be hit by a barrage of violence. What are EV owners using to protect themselves as they put their life on the line for a charging cable?
While some thieves might be drug addicts, but others are professionals and they carry guns. Sure, a lot of them can’t aim to save their lives, literally, but they have a Glock 19 with an illegal auto switch and an extended magazine so they can literally spray and pray when you step out to talk to them firmly about stealing your stuff. Doesn’t seem like a great plan.
Ultimately, the CleanTechnica op-ed concludes the US government and its War on Drugs is responsible for someone stealing your charging cable. And that’s it. Not the myriad of other problems in society, just that. The “bad public policy” is apparently the sole reason crime is raging out of control in so many cities. Isn’t the world simple when you’re a hammer and all you see are loose nails?
Image via Ford
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