Background car news Interview

The story behind this hoax

On social media, the photo of Jan’s Volvo was shared thousands of times. Millions of people have seen the photo. But what exactly is the story behind it? Why did Jan decide to park his Volvo V70 2.4T in an EV parking lot and fool around with a green “charging rope”? Time for an interview.

All normal parking spaces forgiven

“The story is actually quite simple. I work on a ship and had limited time to do some shopping. Coincidentally, we were in Zeeland. We had about two hours. I neatly bought a parking ticket for two hours, only all the parking spaces for normal cars were taken. Everything was full. There were still four nice EV spots available where no other cars were parked. So I thought, I’ll just give it a shot,” Jan explains.

A rope as a charging cable

“I was trying to fool bystanders, because perhaps enforcement was looking with a quick glance toward my Volvo. Because admit it, if you look quickly, a rope like that looks very much like a charging cable. We returned to the V70 after about an hour to continue our journey. But alas, enforcers had already noticed the Volvo. The fine was already nicely wedged under the windshield wiper. I didn’t see the enforcers themselves; they had already left.”

Laugh

Apparently, Handhaving Middelburg itself could laugh at Jan’s original parking action, because a photo of the Volvo with “loading rope” was quickly shared on their Instagram. “Then things moved quickly,” says Jan. “The photo was picked up by AutoRAI.nl and soon by other automotive titles in the Netherlands. My phone was ringing red hot. I got messages from all my friends that the V70 with “cargo rope” went viral. That was a lot of fun. I think I made a lot of people laugh and I think that’s the most important thing.”

“I took the risk myself.”

Incidentally, not everyone could appreciate Jan’s parking action. On social media, reactions were sometimes not mild. “I took the risk myself. That V70 really doesn’t fit in my pocket. Somehow it’s also a bit anti-social of course, so I do understand the fine and some of the reactions from people on social media.”

How high is the parking fine?

The parking fine is expected to be 100 euros plus a 9 euros administrative fee. Jan: “By the way, I have yet to receive the parking fine from CJIB. But when I have received it, I will gladly pay it, even though next time I will not park my Volvo in an EV parking space again, haha. I thought it was enough for this time. Most importantly, I think I made a lot of people laugh.”

An electric Volvo then?

By the way, Jan is not going to trade in his gasoline-powered Volvo for an electric car so he can park in an EV parking lot next time. “I’m still way too happy with my V70, so it will stay for a while,” he said.