# Motorists flip illegally parked car on its side. Do you agree with such actions? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 30, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589 "2011-11-30T18:47:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/41 "2011-12-01T16:07:32Z")
Relevant and requisite Simpsons quote: _“Here are your messages. You have 30 minutes to move your car. You have 10 minutes. Your car has been impounded. Your car has been crushed into a cube. You have 30 minutes to move your cube.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/42 "2011-12-01T16:15:24Z")
I’d like to point out that this is _Athens_. That city has more than twice the number of people it was built to handle, and is ranked #17 on [this list](http://allworldcars.com/wordpress/?p=11866) of cities with the worst traffic jams. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/43 "2011-12-01T16:22:41Z")
Under the circumstances, I have absolutely no problem with this action. Generally, I would though. > [@BigT](#): > > Nope. It’s the same thing as cops pepperspraying people who aren’t resisting. You don’t damage property because you’re angry at someone. It wasn’t because they were angry. It was because the car was blocking a fucking city bus. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/44 "2011-12-01T16:25:57Z")
Oh, that’s makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside like whiskey in my coffee. I never tent my fingers, and in between these two sentences – I stopped to tent my fingers. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/45 "2011-12-01T16:50:21Z")
I’d have called the cops to have him towed. Flipping the car is an act of vandalism and vigilantism, and could very easily result with the flipper stuck with the repair bills. Stupid. A person who parks their car in such a way that it hinders traffic is probably getting what’s coming to him, but that doesn’t make it the right thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/46 "2011-12-01T16:55:22Z")
Do we know the circumstances concerning why the car was left parked apparently blocking the street? Would it make any sense for someone to park with their car oriented that way, abandon it like that? I don’t think it does, would offer too much invitation for something like this vandalism to happen. So why was the car left there? Worse case scenario; the person parking the car is an inconsiderate piece of shit, it still doesn’t justify this, not this kind of damage to a car. Sure, assholes deserve to have bad karma come their way. But punishment should at least somewhat fit the crime. Destroying the car is outta hand and going too far. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/47 "2011-12-01T16:58:35Z")
The car wasn’t “destroyed”. Pushing a car on its side is unlikely to do anything more than cosmetic damage, other than knocking off the wing mirror. At worst, it might render a door or window inoperable. ---
**Author:** ![FlyByNight512](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/82dd89/32.png) [@FlyByNight512](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyByNight512)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/48 "2011-12-01T16:59:06Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > I’d have called the cops to have him towed. They did. That one car bottlenecked traffic so effectively that the tow truck couldn’t navigate the jam to get to it. I’d usually prefer to see a stupidly parked car get towed as well, but there were extenuating circumstances here. ---
**Author:** ![Vihaga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Vihaga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vihaga)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/49 "2011-12-01T17:18:29Z")
I don’t think illegal parking should be open season for vandals, or that someone deserves getting their car bashed just for parking badly. However, they blocked up the street for enough time to wait for the police and for a tow truck to try to navigate to the car; that’s a potential safety hazard and could be detrimental to a lot of people (and is a long time to be stuck on a bus!), so I don’t disagree with what happened here. You can’t really expect part of a city’s traffic flow to stop functioning just so no one does anything to your illegally-parked car. ---
**Author:** ![Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dread_pirate_jimbo/32/3897_2.png) [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dread_Pirate_Jimbo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/50 "2011-12-01T17:25:22Z")
I say fuck him. If you’re going to park like an asshole, you should be treated like one. Frankly, I would LOVE to see similar actions taken against the douche bags who park illegally in handicapped spaces or fire lanes because they’re “just running in for a second.” Serves the Audi owner right and I feel not one iota of symapthy for him. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/51 "2011-12-01T18:32:05Z")
> [@BlackKnight](#): > > “Real justice” hurts innocent people on a regular basis. I know. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/52 "2011-12-01T18:42:53Z")
> [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](#): > > I say fuck him. If you’re going to park like an asshole, you should be treated like one. Frankly, I would LOVE to see similar actions taken against the douche bags who park illegally in handicapped spaces or fire lanes because they’re “just running in for a second.” Serves the Audi owner right and I feel not one iota of symapthy for him. How’s a handicapped person supposed to flip the dbags car over though? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/53 "2011-12-01T18:51:03Z")
Forklift. It’s the latest after-market addition to wheelchairs. See this month’s Snarker Image™ catalog for details. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/54 "2011-12-01T19:57:34Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > How’s a handicapped person supposed to flip the dbags car over though? _really_ beefed up chair lift? The sort that is undercarriage mounted and slides out and up. Pull next to vehicle, extend and hit lift? ---
**Author:** ![AndyLee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@AndyLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyLee)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/55 "2011-12-01T21:54:03Z")
How do you know the person who parked the car, owns the car? It could be a friend, a spouse, a child, or even a stolen car for all you know ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/56 "2011-12-01T22:13:11Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > I was outraged at the vigilantism, until I saw that it was an **Audi**. Carry on folks. Carry on. > [@bucketybuck](#): > > Fuck the moral high ground. Put me down as the one that thinks the asshole got what was coming to him, and who would probably point and laugh if he turned up and burst into tears at his lovely \*\*Audi \*\*parked on its side. > > Fuck you mate. Your actions affected a lot of people. I feel no sympathy that those actions turned out to have consequences. (bolding added) I find it interesting how the make of the car makes a difference. I know it’s completely irrational of me but when I saw it was a new Audi my reaction went from “I disapprove but understand,” to “Why not? Fool had it coming.” ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/57 "2011-12-01T22:18:17Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > I’d have called the cops to have him towed. Flipping the car is an act of vandalism and vigilantism, and could very easily result with the flipper stuck with the repair bills. Stupid. > > A person who parks their car in such a way that it hinders traffic is probably getting what’s coming to him, but that doesn’t make it the right thing to do. > [@lisiate](#): > > (bolding added) > > I find it interesting how the make of the car makes a difference. I know it’s completely irrational of me but when I saw it was a new Audi my reaction went from “I disapprove but understand,” to “Why not? Fool had it coming.” To be honest, it makes no difference to me whatsoever. I have seen as many assholes in cheap crappy cars as I have in fancy cockmobiles. But I work in the motor industry, so there is less mystery there for me. Guy was a cock, the fact it was an Audi didnt really matter. And hey, if his car was stolen, well done to everybody who stopped the thief using it to rob a bank. ---
**Author:** ![Hilary\_Algar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilary_algar/32/4282_2.png) [@Hilary\_Algar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilary_Algar)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/58 "2011-12-01T22:24:45Z")
I would agree to physically lifting and moving the vehicle to get it out of the way, maybe even to the point of making it a _ **little** _ hard to find, (but not too hard to find) but I wouldn’t damage someone else’s property in such a situation. I would consider that vigilantism which I oppose in most cases. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/59 "2011-12-01T22:25:19Z")
> [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](#): > > My suggestion would be to have the police direct the cars around the illegally parked one to back out in such a way as to clear space for the tow truck. It takes a bit of logistics, but it isn’t rocket science. It takes time, and it inconveniences everyone EXCEPT the douchebag who parked illegally. Fuck that. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/60 "2011-12-01T22:45:06Z")
I don’t fully agree, but I laughed. > [@bucketybuck](#): > > Guy was a cock, the fact it was an Audi didnt really matter. In my experience, the fact that it was an Audi just underscores the first part. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589.md?page=4)