Parking etiquette (1 Viewer)

[Ryan Tsang]

This is true Eric. I'm not as pissed at these cases. However, I saw some idiot pulling in and double parking while he was still in his truck. I don't care if he was waiting for somebody or not, he could have straighten out so another guy could get in.

 

[Yee-Ming]

Provided you have large, wide-open space to back out into. Around here, small country, built-up city, all car parks are pretty tight, and it is inevitably easier to back into a lot, and safer to pull out head-first where you can see traffic. If anything, my rant would be why do people here park head-first, and wind up crooked and screwing things up for everyone else, and block traffic trying to back out later when leaving?

BTW, what exactly is "double parking"? Not a term I'm completely familiar with, from context it seems to refer to a situation where parking lots along a street (ie all parallel parking) are full-ish and someone leaves his car in the lane next to the cars. Which strikes me as a recipe for disaster, it blocks the lane to moving traffic, and the cars next to this car can't get out.

 

[Kevin Eckhardt]

You are correct with your definition of 'double parking', though this term has also come to mean "occupying two spaces in a marked parking lot". I believe that Ryan is using this second meaning in his post about the double-parking truck.

When I was in Brussels a couple of years ago it was pretty common to see people triple-parked along the streets at night, especially on the weekends.

 

[Dave Poehlman]

I used to drive a '88 Dodge Omni. It was a great little car. If someone parked over the line, I loved squeezing my car into the spot next to them to leave them as little room as possible to get in their car. I didn't care if I got dinged.

 

[Keith Hyde]

It's not the people with shitty cars that bother me in the slightest, its the people with shitty cars that don't care about door-dinging the people with nicer cars that I find infuriating.

 

[Dan Mc]

Dave, I did the same thing in college with my crappy, dinged-up Mazda. I would love finding a car parked way over the line, and pull in next to it, exactly in the middle of lines, but because he was over his line, he had about 2 inches to get in.

Well, I graduated and bought a new Eclipse and was much more careful with it. Now I'm maried and with the first kid, I had to give up the Eclipse so the wife could get the carseat friendly SUV, and guess what I got stuck with??? Her crappy, dinged-up import. So I've been rediscovering the joy of ruining these inconsiderate jerks day. Almost makes up for losing the sports car...almost.

 

[Brian Perry]

I used to wonder about this as well but after a while I realized that many times the person doesn't back into the spot but rather drives forward through one spot into the adjacent spot. (This obviously refers only to lots with the traditional two-car row system.) Of course, even then it's not the ideal way to park, especially if you need to place packages in the trunk (which could be impeded by another car's hood).

 

[Bill Williams]

Every time I go get Chinese food, there's this dude that parks his pickup truck in three parking spaces. And it's a normal-sized truck! Why would anyone want to think about parking in three parking spaces to begin with? It makes me want to stick an anonymous note on his windshield saying, "Park in ONE parking space, NOT three!"

 

[Philip_T]

Is it wrong to question the person who parks in the handicap spot legally (with hc permit on rear mirror), but out jumps a completely healthy person who sprints in??

 

[John Thomas]

..and what's the story with the disabled permits and the like? It seems that perfectly healthy people are obtaining these somehow. Is there some black market for these things?

While going into the mall around Christmas a few years ago, I had the pleasure of being cut off by someone racing to get the disabled parking spot. Now, first off, as if I were going to take that spot, another spot opened up a few spots down. So I got out about the same time as this person (healthy, walking without any problems) did. While walking in 10-15 feet behind the person, I said to him, "Thats for PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED people, not MENTALLY handicapped ones."

Don't know if he was truly slow but he didn't react to it (all hurried to get in and buy something)

 

[Bill Williams]

For that matter, what is with the people who park in handicapped spots and there's no handicap sticker, decal, license plate or anything on their car, yet they'll hog the handicapped spots, forcing legitimately handicapped people and the elderly to look elsewhere? I see that happen all the time at Wal-Mart, and that just gripes me to no end.

 

[Steve Ridges]

I'll stop parking my full size truck in the compact stalls when all you people with mini coopers and miatas stop parking in the full size stalls.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

The only obvious pet peeve I have is concert parking. When I park my car, I at least try my best to make sure I don't ding the car next to me when I open the door.

Well, during this one concert, this person, with no obvious regard, opens the door and bangs it on my own car. It's one of those times I felt pissed for not stooping to their level and doing the same to theirs.

 

[Ted Lee]

boy, do i love threads about parking!

do you have to get the closest spot?

as to this post, just a couple of comments.

suv's
i own a 4Runner. it certainly qualifies as a suv, but i'll just say that i'm very conscientous about where i park it. i don't park it where it doesn't fit. i don't force my way around when i'm driving it. i don't think i'm better then you just because i'm in a bigger vehicle.

parents
if someone is loading a child into the car, i'll let them take as much time as they have. people who don't have kids will never understand this until they have to transport their own. for those who don't have kids, just try to imagine for a second about your child's safety -- then think if taking an extra minute to make sure they're safely buckled is worth it to you.

however, just because they're preoccupied, doesn't give them the right to be ignorant to other peoples property. i won't forgive a door ding ... regardless of who does it.

large people
if you're a large person who requires more room ... and you're *considerate* ... then you'll figure out a way to make it work. how about parking farther away or in a spot where you'll have the room necessary. yes, i know there will be times when that's not possible, but why not try as often as you can. that's all any reasoable person can ask for.

backing-in
what's the big deal? as long as the driver does a good job, who cares? i back in once in a while, but i like doing it and i think i do a good job. i won't leave my car crooked, whether i back-in or head-in.

 

[Tony_Woods]

About the only thing about parking that pisses me off on a regular basis is the teenagers (usually) with their "tricked out" Hondas etc that have to back into the slot. Maybe their reasoning is that if they are in a hurry, they can slowly get away faster than if they had to back out.

 

[Yee-Ming]

I've commented earlier on why I always back-in (small car parks); a minor peeve is people who follow you in the car park too closely, so when you find your spot, of course you have to pass the spot a little and then back up, but the idiot is so close to your tail that he's in the way, and you have to wait for him to reverse a bit to get out of the way. Happened to me this morning...

As for handicap labels, there's a lady working in my building who is in a wheelchair; I don't think she drives herself, but someone else drives her and that car has a handicap label and is often parked in the handicap spot. So to be fair, it is just possible that the healthy person bounding out of the car is just the "chauffeur" picking up a wheelchair bound person currently in the building.

I always try to get my car right in the lines. If I'm next to a pillar or wall on the passenger side, and I'm not carrying a passenger or expecting one to join me (i.e. most days at work, I drop the wife off at her office, and pick her up later), I park with the passenger side as close as possible to said pillar or wall, since I don't need the space on that side. This means a lot of extra space on the driver side. What pisses me off is when some big-ass vehicle, whether a lorry/van, SUV, or S-class Merc, then parks next to me, and "conveniently" utilizes the extra space by mis-parking, either crooked, too close to me or whatever -- since I've left extra space, they in effect go well over their line and into my lot, making it difficult for me to get into my car later.

Edit: this bit sort-of happened to me today too! When I got my car at lunch, the next car was parked slanted, such that its rear was a fair bit closer to my car than the front. "Fortunately" for this idiot, because I'd left the extra space, it didn't really affect my getting into the car, nor did it really screw up the driver of the car on the other side (which coincidentally was a colleague).

 

[Ryan Tsang]

There's such thing as a full size stall?

Backing up:

I do it because I can make sharper turns. And leaving is easier. Backing-in or out it doesn't matter, but I like to get the harder task "over with." Kinda like doing your homework before you go and play.

 

[Dennis]

I back into parking spaces, whether there are people trying to pass me or not, because it's the only way I can eliminate the possibility of getting hit while backing out. When you have an SUV on either side of you, it can make backing out an interesting experience.

Even if you had an SUV it can still be a problem because there are lots of trucks with tinted glass (completely black) and you can't even see through the windows to make sure nobody's coming. My parking lot at work can be dangerous, stop signs seem to be negotiable and there's no way I'm taking the chance.

I am a considerate person even when it looks like I'm not.

 

[Danny Tse]

The ones that are unmarked (i.e. compacts). But those spaces are good for just about anything.

I have no problem with people backing up....as long as they know how to.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

What's wrong with backing in? I think it's easier to get out afterwards.