Photo: Submitted by a reader of renasterea.ro on their Facebook page
Plug-in hybrid vehicles were the next step from hybrid ones, as some owners wanted to be able to charge their batteries at home or at the office to lower their fuel consumption. Automakers did the next best thing and installed larger batteries, smaller fuel tanks, and a charging port. Unfortunately, not everyone uses it accordingly.
A few years ago, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV was the most popular vehicle in the segment, and there was a good reason for this. The model was the only PHEV in the segment at the time of its introduction, and other automakers were years away from delivering a comparable plug-in hybrid.
The Outlander PHEV proved especially popular in The Netherlands, where government subsidies made people get them at a discount. From 2015 to 2019, the Outlander was Europe's best-selling plug-in hybrid car. Anything that will try to get close will have to sell big numbers.
Today, there are several options when PHEVs are concerned, and several European countries offer incentives to those who buy one. The problem is that not everyone has a charging plug at hand.
Unlike EVs, PHEVs do not have powerful chargers onboard, so it does not make sense to take them to a charging station that is dedicated to electric vehicles.
It can be done, of course, but it takes them too much time to charge from it, and that will mean people with EVs will have to wait in line for someone to charge their PHEV. As they say, that’s "no bueno," so the only option is to use a domestic plug with the vehicle's charging adapter.
With that in mind, running a PHEV just on fossil fuels is not the most effective way to use the vehicle, but people do that regardless, as research has shown. Yes, even those Outlanders PHEV owners did the same thing, and there are probably many other PHEV owners who do not charge their cars because they cannot find a plug comfortably, or they do not care.
Well, a BMW driver thought of an alternative solution to the problem and went ahead with it without thinking of the consequences or of the necessary permissions.
Photo: Submitted by a reader of renasterea.ro on their Facebook page
In other words, we think its legality is under question. It is unclear if the cable comes directly from the electricity pole, which would be a violation if it is shorter than a meter (3.2 feet) and it means that someone tampered with the pole without legal permission. That may not be the case, though.
Sadly, there are just three photos of the entire thing, two of which are from the same angle, to prove it is not an illusion. The cable that provides electricity could be just an industrial extension cord that comes from a neighboring property, such as the building right next to the sidewalk, on the driver's side. It is impossible to know the truth unless the owner or their neighbors provide additional photos, as Renasterea Banateana noted.
At first, it looks like someone managed to somehow place a cable on an electricity pole, install a conventional socket on it, and then plugged the vehicle's charger into it, which would be illegal or definitely in a gray area.
Why? Because such a connection was not made by a professional – it looks improvised, to say the least. Moreover, it requires numerous permits, as it involves tampering with an electricity pole, as well as obtaining electricity from a network without paying for it. The latter might not be the case.
Instead, the most likely scenario is that someone is sing a public electricity pole as a way to hold an extension cord. That does not look or sound safe, but at least it does not pose a risk of making pedestrians trip on a thick cable. It is unclear what happens if there is heavy rain, and the pole, as well as the cables, get wet. Things may not be so safe at that point.
Please do not try to replicate this, as it involves a serious risk of electrocution, not to mention potential legal repercussions. But electrocution is an immediate threat in this case, as it could mean death in an instant for anyone unfortunate enough to touch the "live" wire.
As general advice, never touch wires that are close to or near electricity poles, as you never know if they are “live” or not.
Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland. Full profile
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