# 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:** 4
**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, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/61 "2011-12-01T22:48:12Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > 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. Fair enough, sorry for misinterpreting your earlier post. I see more late model cars wrongly parked than old junkers though (if you exclude courier vans and the like) though. ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/62 "2011-12-02T04:46:50Z")
Count me in on the “disagree, but understand” camp. I think it would have been a hell of a lot funnier if, instead of tipping it over, there were enough people to pick up the car and move it somewhere inconvenient. Like maybe pick it up and move it between two walls that are barely wide enough to fit the car in front to back (not blocking traffic - maybe in a nearby alley). Then the owner would have a really hard time retrieving their car, but it wouldn’t cause any damage to the vehicle. [Here are](http://paradoxoff.com/suv-stuck-across-the-archway.html) a [couple pictures](http://uniquedaily.com/2011/10/car-gets-stuck-reversing-out-of-driveway/) of something similar to what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/63 "2011-12-02T10:14:55Z")
Count me as “Yay, go you guys!” ---
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/64 "2011-12-02T11:09:12Z")
I disapprove, but just barely. If a bus or tow truck couldn’t get by, neither could an ambulance. When my mother was having a heart attack and the bastard drivers behind us wouldn’t let us back out, I got out and pounded on their hoods like a mad woman. If I could have flipped them out of our way, I would have, without a drop of remorse. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/65 "2011-12-02T12:32:46Z")
Doing nothing wouldn’t have solved the problem. Was their solution the best solution possible? Probably not. But it was the best solution under the circumstances, and I applaud their initiative and can-do attitude. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/66 "2011-12-02T16:28:49Z")
> [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](#): > > It takes a bit of logistics, but it isn’t rocket science. Then again, Greece ain’t known for their space program. Normally no. I would say such vigilantism is wrong. However, there have been a number of occassions when taking the 126 bus from Manhattan to my home in Hoboken where I’ve had to get off 5 blocks away because some jackass blocked the bus route by double-parking his car. It’s difficult to resist the urge to put a cobblestone through his windshield. ---
**Author:** ![stargazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@stargazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stargazer)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/67 "2011-12-02T16:53:36Z")
It looks to me like there’s a metal bar of some sort between the flipped car and the curb - the crowd couldn’t have just scooched the car in toward the curb more. Does anyone else see what I mean, in the 2nd link? I think the car’s driver got exactly what he deserved. ---
**Author:** ![Vihaga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Vihaga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vihaga)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/68 "2011-12-02T17:30:07Z")
> [@Ashes\_Ashes](#): > > I disapprove, but just barely. If a bus or tow truck couldn’t get by, neither could an ambulance. Yeah, this is why I don’t really disapprove much, either. If you’re making the street unusable for everyone, there’s only so much effort you can expect them to exert to protect your car. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/69 "2011-12-02T18:08:38Z")
Add me to the “I don’t exactly approve, but I get it” crowd. The point **Ashes, Ashes** made about ambulances is a good one. If they’d set the car on fire and found the driver, dragged him/her out into the street and beat him/her to death, that wouldn’t be okay. But it looks like they just wanted to get the damn car out of the way, so…meh. Could’ve been worse. ---
**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 2, 2011, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/70 "2011-12-02T18:29:42Z")
> [@Maiira](#): > > If they’d set the car on fire and found the driver, dragged him/her out into the street and beat him/her to death, that wouldn’t be okay. Yeah, that’s only OK if they steal your parking spot. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/71 "2011-12-02T19:20:31Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > There are better ways to handle it. If you have enough people you can just pick the car up and move it without causing damage. In the case cited in the OP, you’re committing vandalism in response to a\*\* traffic infraction\*\*, so your moral high ground is shaky. I don’t feel it was a response to a traffic infraction. No one probably would have really cared if he parked infront of a fire plug unless it was needed. As for so many things it depends on the intent. Here we have a problem, the free flow of people is obstructed and people banned together to remove the obstruction, so it could be taken as a good thing, though steps should have been taken to reasonably minimize the damage to the car. Picking it up and moving it seems like a much better option then flipping it and would seem to require the same manpower. On that basis and that if there is room to flip it there should be room to move it in, I’d say they went too far, unless if moving it in was not going to provide enough room. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/72 "2011-12-02T20:04:58Z")
Eh, fuck this guy. The only thing I disagree with is they didn’t flip the car all the way over on its roof. The self-centered driver could have cost somebody a life if an emergency vehicle needed to get through or if somebody stuck in that traffic was having an emergency of their own. The way the situation was handled does not bother me one iota. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/73 "2011-12-02T21:12:05Z")
If it was just as easy to move it over as to flip it, my rather wussy response would be to move it rather than flip it. I’ve parked in some questionable spots in my life (never in a handicapped spot, though, and never blocking traffic) and I don’t know what I would do if I came out and found my car on its side. What would you do? Call AAA roadside assistance? I mean how do you get it back right ways up? And how much damage was done, and how would I pay to repair it? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/74 "2011-12-02T21:27:29Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > If it was just as easy to move it over as to flip it, my rather wussy response would be to move it rather than flip it. But is it just as easy? It seems to me that it would be much easier to flip a car on its side rather than lift it. When you tip it, much of the weight of the car is still supported by the ground. It also strikes me as much more dangerous to lift it. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/75 "2011-12-02T22:33:12Z")
> [@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. > > If you want to punish the guy, rotate the car where it would be very hard to get out. Or, I don’t know, let the cops take him to jail. Anger and punishment had nothing to do with it. The car was a public obstruction and a safety hazard. if a tow truck couldn’t get through than neither could an ambulance. It was moved in the least destructive method possible given the situation. Any damage should be absorbed by the owner for endangering the public. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/76 "2011-12-02T22:40:00Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > But is it just as easy? It seems to me that it would be much easier to flip a car on its side rather than lift it. When you tip it, much of the weight of the car is still supported by the ground. It also strikes me as much more dangerous to lift it. If everybody dead lifted 100 lbs and tried to move in a coordinated manner it would have taken 35 people (estimating a 3500 lb car). I also think it would be easier to lever it over than try to lift it considering how low to the ground most people would have to grab and the limited places available to grab. Now if it was an older car they could have bumper jacked it it from the center of each bumper and pushed it off the jack toward the curb. lather rinse repeat. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Lovely\_Margo\_Lane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/34f0e0/32.png) [@The\_Lovely\_Margo\_Lane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Lovely_Margo_Lane)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2011, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/77 "2011-12-03T02:22:32Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Anger and punishment had nothing to do with it. The car was a public obstruction and a safety hazard. if a tow truck couldn’t get through than neither could an ambulance. > > It was moved in the least destructive method possible given the situation. Any damage should be absorbed by the owner for endangering the public. My feelings exactly. I would highly disapprove of physical assault on the driver, but damage to the property that was blocking the street really doesn’t seem like a bad thing to me. If a tow truck could have gotten through, that would have been the solution, but if the account in the OP is accurate, that wasn’t possible DUE TO THE BAD PARKING OF THE CAR!!! In general flipping cars over is really inappropriate behavior, but this sounds to me like an emergency situation. If a road is blocked and other motorists are trapped I feel they have a right to free themselves if the cost is damage to the property that’s blocking them. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2011, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/78 "2011-12-03T02:28:00Z")
> [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](#): > > Vigilante justice generally does require less logistics than due process. That doesn’t make it right. Neither does vigilantism make something wrong. hh ---
**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 3, 2011, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/79 "2011-12-03T14:18:22Z")
Oh snap ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589/80 "2011-12-03T20:52:21Z")
What if the car stopped an emergency ambulance getting to a seriously ill/injured person ? Or a fireengine/recue ladder getting to a house fire ? I remember seeing some council employees renewing the double yellow lines on the bends of a quite narrow residential street. An old bloke complained about it and they explained that fireengines couldn’t get round corners if cars were parked there. His response was “Oh we don’t have fires round here”.I kiddeth you not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/motorists-flip-illegally-parked-car-on-its-side-do-you-agree-with-such-actions/604589.md?page=3)