Apparently Klaatu understands perfectly.
When I enter a parking lot, I typically just park in the first space I come to. If it’s a compact space, I just take two. Fuck’em. If I ever meet the asshole who originally thought that compact parking spots sounded like a good idea, I’ll be giving him a swift kick in the nuts.
Not to mention are.
I keed, I keed. Why should compacts have preference over larger vehicles? Why not, I guess. One group has to (they could alternate, but that would ruin the aesthetics of the flat grey slab of the parking area). What makes larger car drivers more worthy of the closer positions? If you can’t think of one, then there’s really no need to change anything.
Seems to me like it has everything to do with your post. It sounds like you’re saying that you get to pick and choose which special use lanes and spaces you will recognize, and which you won’t.
You ask why SaintCad doesn’t take it up with the business owners, implying he should complain about the presence of the spaces. But he’s not complaining about the spaces, he’s complaining about entitled jackasses like yourself who park willy-nilly wherever they please. I guess if he and others who see this situation were to complain to business owners, you’d be finding your ass towed off on a regular basis. Is that seriously what you want?
Beats me. An Opel? 
That’s a very good point.
Hell, why don’t you just park in the Handicapped spot? You seem like a classy guy–I’m sure the cripples wouldn’t mind. :rolleyes:
Well, I don’t think the compact spaces have the force of law behind them like HOV and fire lanes do.
A little enlightenment is needed here…
First of all, talking to business owners ain’t gonna change squat…they are leasing the property from the building owner, and have no say on the number or distribution of regular and compact parking spaces. Even building owners may not have total control over it either because the city (in which they have their buildings and lots on) may make the owners conform to a formula for mandating a certain number of parking spaces per square footage of building, and that depends on the type of business at hand, which varies. That’s why you see some places with all regular size spaces, some with both, and others with all compact spaces. It can be somewhat frustrating trying to park in a lot with all compact spaces and with that, taking 2 spaces is an indicator that the city is too rigid with its formula or the building on the lot is too big for adequate parking.
I can sympathize with Klaatu to some level on this. The day you’re gonna fit my 6’3" 290 lb. body into the compact car is the day you’re gonna see when all vehicles park in their respective parking spaces…never.
This is one of them there whooshes right? 
Ummm … okay.
No. Here in Texas it just doen’t make any sense. If there is a row of 20 compact spaces there will usually be 10 trucks parked neatly astride the little lines. Had the row been marked for normal size vehicles there prolly could have been 16 trucks lined up there. It’s just a dumb idea here.
And ArchiveGuy, up yours.
They do it so I can ding their doors with my car’s door.
(I haven’t yet, but I’m tempted. My car is old enough so that I’d win.)
I’ve also got a truck - Chevy, extended bed, extended cab. When I take it somewhere I park it where I won’t get in anyone’s way. Walking a few more feet isn’t going to kill me. And it might even be good for you.
And a special :wally to the guy who parks his truck diagonally across two spaces at the library, and the closest spaces in the overflow lot at that.
A few questions for you…
-
Do you park in compact spaces when there are full-size spaces available elsewhere?
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Do you park in compact spaces marked as such due to physical barriers that restrict traffic around them?
Although I come down on the Compact space = compact car side, I can appreciate the frustration if there aren’t spaces — or enough spaces — made available for full-size vehicles.
I don’t think the latter case is what people have a gripe with. I think the outrage comes from people who ignore rules the rest of us live by, who selfishly bogart spaces and put other out as a result, especially if the lots are full.
Hmph. Easy for you to say. You could fit SIX of your cars into a parking space. 
I’ve been wanting to buy some of these for awhile, but I carry a notebook around and just write things on them and leave people paper on their wipers. Usually I just write “I park like an idiot, point at me and laugh” and other harmless things. Once, I wrote “I park like an idiot, please Key me” on a car near some stairs in a parking garage, because they took up two spaces. When I came back, there was like three HUGE key marks along the length of the car. Not sure if I caused it or not, but I don’t write that on the paper anymore. :eek:
Thanks for the (almost perfect) link, Epi. We have any number of idiot parkers where we live, so something like that (especially since the sticker’s low-tac) would definitely come in handy.
A couple of years ago i was driving an old Volvo 240 sedan that my partner and i were sharing with a friend. Whenever i saw some moron parked like that, i was really tempted to park our car one quarter of an inch from the idiot’s driver’s side door.
Actually, i’ve always thought it would make a good gag for one of those silly “gotcha” TV shows. Get two really old, beaten-up cars; wait for Self-Important Idiot* to park diagonally across two spaces and leave his car; then park one of each of the old cars on either side of the offender, making it absolutely impossible to open any of the doors.
- UncleRojelio would also fit the bill.
Look, I don’t go around parking my truck in compact spaces just to piss pople off, it won’t fit anyway. But if at lunch I stop by say Quiznos for a 10 minute stop, and there are a few open compact spaces, yes I will park there, being sure to leave room for other people to get in their vehicle.
My point was I think it’s bullshit that these businesses get together and restripe their lots to cram more people in to make extra money. They ALWAYS put the compact spaces closest. That ain’t right IMO.
More money for business is fine, but they don’t have to screw with certain segments of the population because of vrhicle size.
Believe me, with gas prices as they are, if I could cram all my tools into a fucking Yugo, I would.
I said some things that pissed off SaintCad and he fired back right back with shit that pissed me off and I responded back. Apologies if required dude, but I think you are probably like me in that this IS the Pit. My Straightdope pissedoffedness lasts about thirty seconds.
Hell, I’d have a beer with you, but I can’t find a fucking parking spot!
Yeah. I’m not a parking lot troller. I just park in the first spot I come to.
Now that wouldn’t make sense would it? It’s not like I’m trying to wedge in between barriers or cars for the fun of it. I’m just trying to park, do my biddness, and leave. I’m not looking for the closest spot. In fact, I’m usually at the back of the lot.
I make it a point to bash my door into the cars of assholes like that. Because “fuck 'em” is pretty much how I feel about people who think the rules don’t apply to them.
Firstly, you say that like you think I’m supposed to give a shit. Secondly, Which one of us is the bigger asshole here?
Thirdly, Hi Opal!