Depends if his car’s ass is sticking out into the lane or not. Some people seem oblivious to that fact.
What first set me off yesterday was a compact parking space, with no car in it, that I couldn’t fit a Chevy Metro into because of the “cars” on either side. The land boat on the left was shoved over to the right of its space, and the land boat on the right was shoved over to the left of its space. End result? Even though their wheels were just barely within the lines, there wasn’t enough room for me to pull a normal-sized car into the space…unless I wanted to get out of my car by kicking out my own windshield.
Smaller vehicles would have been able to fit in the spaces on either side with enough of a margin of error that the space between them would still be usable by something other than a motorcycle. But instead, people with large vehicles insisted on parking…poorly…in tiny spaces, and two such vehicles managed to take up three spaces between them. The truck parked across two compact spaces was just a final straw.
I did get a little bit of karmic vengeance that day. The way I finally found a spot was to follow another large vehicle around the lot until I saw it start to pull into a spot and then stop when the driver realized there wasn’t enough room for him. I slipped into the spot when he left to keep looking.
I place the blame in the developers that try to squeeze too many parking spaces into the area they have. I drive a compact car(67 Mustang) most of the time and I have a hard time getting in and out of the car in those tight spaces because its a two door and they’re really long doors. When I first started driving (and parking) the spaces were plenty wide enough and the had double lines with about two feet of space between them. I could swing the doors almost fully open and get in and out with no problem. I want to go back to those days dammit! On the days that we drive the Urban Assault Vehicle (04 Durango) we always park a the outskirts of the lot, between the lines and hope that nobody parks right next to us so we can get back in later. Stupid parking lot designers!
And yet I see as many small or compact cars parked straddled across two spaces to protect their precious funky-striped paint jobs.
I’m as annoyed at whoever designs these lots - in some of them, ALL of the spaces are sized for compact cars only, and the distances between the rows are way too close, causing me to maneuver my 1/2 ton truck in a 47-point turn if I want to get in or out of a spot. I’m perfectly happy to park it way down by the end so I have some open space to work with and can actually open my doors, and not crawl out through the back window. But they don’t all have open or bigger spaces, even way out in the back of the lot. It really bites when I’ve done a lot of work to get my truck into a space with the maximum clearance on either side, when as often as not, a crappy-ass little car comes in after me hugging the white line so I can’t get out without an aircraft flagger or a crane.
And forget about parking the one-ton dually there! No, I just choose to spend my money elsewhere, if I have a choice, when I’m faced with parking lots like these.
And NO, I can’t switch to a car. I have a truck for a reason, and I sure as hell can’t afford two vehicles (the dually is Cowboy’s).
Well, it’s not any sort of “system” that I’m aware of. In any given parking lot there are spaces that are naturally smaller because they face a planter or light pole or are at an odd position in the lot. They are merely helpfully marked “compact” because they are smaller than a usual space. For some reason this ENRAGES people driving large cars who for some reason assume they’re being discriminated against, and they blatantly wedge their Suburban into the spot with 3 feet of it sticking out into traffic so no one can get around it. I’ve seen people do this even when full-sized spaces on either side are available and it truly baffles me - WHY?!?!
SIGH.
Look, SUVs are much more likely to get into accidents. They are harder to maneuver and don’t respond well to quick steering due to their design and size. They are therefore much easier to lose control of, and in fact are often driven by drivers who don’t know how to properly react in difficult driving situations anyway (i.e. soccor moms.) They roll more easily, and because of the space in the cab, people are more likely to get injured by being thrown about.
Compact cars equipped with airbags, OTOH, are the safest cars on the road. They are easier to maneuver, less easy to lose control of, and less likely to roll. They have less inertial mass behind them if they hit something. The only time they are less safe is when they are hit by an SUV with a bumper three or four feet off of the ground. In other words, the main thing that makes compact cars unsafe is an SUV.
I have to agree with you 100% on this. My little “compact” car has dual front and side airbags, side impact beams, traction control, and ABS. Not to mention, getting 26 miles per gallon makes it nice too. I’m not AS MUCH of a pollutant and it’s much cheaper for me on a day to day basis.
I feel much safer in a smaller car, I can move in and out of traffic pretty easily, people behind me can SEE around me (I hate being behind an SUV), and it’s almost impossible for my car to roll (unless I plummet over a guardrail or hit traffic headlong going 90 mph). Too many people misunderstand SUVs/trucks, they think they are safer and better in inclement weather. It’s actually quite the opposite, they are really unsafe, and considering the majority of people driving them have no idea that they have to be MORE careful in those makes for a bad situation.
I am somewhat disturbed by the apparent vitriol towards those of us who own large vehicles. Parking habits aside, I have to wonder how comments like:
or
are justified. Not everyone chooses such a vehicle as a phallic extension. I mean really - there are always going to be poor drivers out there, regardless of what vehicle they happen to be driving. Such a pervasive attitude towards us behemoth owners bothers me, as I drive an extended length E350 1 ton van, with a 7.3L V8 diesel, with an additional rear deck extension on it which pushes the overall length even further. I have this vehicle for specific reasons, and can simply not afford to have both it and a more practical commuter vehicle at the same time. Although I realize its huge and intimidating and makes it difficult for anyone with a car to see around, it’s not like I’m doing it on purpose. I typically don’t fit into most spaces * lengthwise *, so if I find a pair of empty spaces (adjacent rows), I will pull forward as far as possible, which at least allows someone with a small car to pull in behind me. Otherwise, I park at the far reaches of the parking lot and do the two mile hike.
While I would agree that many owners of large vehicles, particularly “sport” utility vehicles which are only used on-road with loads appropriate to a car, do not have a real need to be driving these, I suspect that there is a significant percentage of owners who do need the capabilities offered by 4WD, higher ground clearance, higher load capacity, greater towing capacity and greater cargo capacity offered by the larger vehicle. In my own case, I owned cars which I effectively destroyed by using them in a manner greatly exceeding their design capability before getting the van. I’m sure I’m not alone in this, so I ask those of you who are quick to condemn SUV and truck drivers to not paint with so wide a brush.
Ooo, look at that Chevy Suburb parked in the “compact only” space. Looks like there’s just enough room to get my car into the space next to it - yup. Ooops, I accidentally scratched the side of his truck with my door when I got out! How clumsy of me! Ooops, I did it again with the back door! I really must be more careful.
My problem is with people with luxury SUVs. If you’re driving a giant pickup or a van, I’m going to assume that you need it for some reason, not that you’re looking for status. I used to drive a hand-me-down Chevy Blazer (one of the smaller SUVs) but I had that thing packed with film equipment all through school, and packed with people most other times.
It’s people like my ex-boss who drove less than a mile to work every day in her brand new (every year) Land Rover. She (and her husband who worked in the same office) each drove a brand new Land Rover less than a mile a day. That’s absurd. When they went on vacation, they rented a car, as to not ruin their huge luxury cars.
Carry some beebees with you. Unscrew the cap off the airstem on one or more tires, put a beebee on top and screw the cap back on. The tire(s) will slowly deflate over the next day or so.
Not that I would do that, or have ever done that to a jackass that parked across multiple spaces. Not me.
I once pulled my Baja Bug (VERY small car) into a compact only space in a pay lot. The attendant came up to me and insisted I move it. His English was too bad for me to argue with him. This was years ago, and it’s one of those things that should be too petty to remember, but still stick in my mind.
My condo building seems to only have compact parking spaces. One section of it has the spots striped two deep from the wall. :eek:
I watched some poor sod with a Suburban trying to wedge it into a spot at the end of the row, with a concrete support column right next to it. I had to shake my head – my car is a Honda Civic hybrid, and I’ve gotten a lot of practice at squeezing it into my assigned spot. sigh
Fancy Beemer convertible on the left, concrete post on the right. You better bet I’m watching my nose to make sure I don’t scratch their precious car.
(I will note however, that I was appalled the day I was getting out of my car and the idiot woman who owns the Beemer did NOT wait for me to finish and get out of her way but instead pulled right in. What if I’d had a foot or two in her precious spot, eh? :dubious: )
Wow. Chill. I meant that to be a vaguely-amusing way of stating that Americans tend to drive very large cars, compared to Europeans. I meant no personal offense to anyone.
Defensive, much?
Wrong. The company that owns the property you are parking on makes the rules. If they want only compact cars in certain slots, then drivers of larger cars don’t have any “right” to park there.
The garages I know that have “compact only” slots do it because larger cars are literally too small for the spots. If an SUV is parked there, doors can’t be opened without slamming into the neighboring car. Or they stick out so far that the driving lane becomes impassable. Or, when the SUV goes to pull out, the driver finds that it can’t maneuver out without scraping along a support pole.
Sometimes I wish I weren’t so law-abiding. I know it’s wrong, but I can’t help laughing at this.
Uh, no. If he takes up every inch of the space, he is too big for it, and he’s a great big butt-hole. And I will spend an extra few minutes seeing just how close to his car I can get (without overstepping the bounds of my space, of course) when I park next to it.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but part of being a decent human being is using a little judgement and courtesy when deciding whether or not you’re too big for a parking space. If your parking choice is likely to make getting in the car on either side a pain in the ass, you’re doing it wrong. If your car is small, you are not required to limit yourself to compact spaces, just as people with Minis are not required to seek out the extra-runty spaces in the corners of the garage. If you aren’t encroaching on the use of the spots next to you, you’re doing just fine.
I gotta ask. Do you get an actual trophy? Or is it just an Affadavit of Moral Superiority from the dealer when you buy a little car? When I was a lad, little cars didn’t come equipped with such a Moral Trophy ™ for brandishing at vehicles you dislike. Seems it’s standard equipment now.
Does it come with instructions? I imagine it must read something like: “The possessor of this instrument is now liscensed to make snap judgements about anyone whose vehicle size exceeds your personal threshold. Facts are unnecessary. During each tantrum, the holder is encouraged to adopt the self-satisfied expression of a toddler on a pot.”
Just curious, is all.
Well, and motorcycles.
Or even if a huge truck can fit, it really messes up the sightlines. Compact car spaces are usually at the end of rows, and it can be a bitch to see if a car is coming along the cross-path with a Suburban in a compact spot.
Look, if you NEED it for work purposes or hauling your twelve million brats around town, there’s a little more understanding. But it’s not like that in many cases. There are so many people out there who got on the SUV bandwagon and who drive like lunatics. Basically they think the same rules apply to them as if they were driving a car. The most people I encounter are rude and obnoxious and think because they have a bigger vehicle their right to do certain things trumps my right to follow driving laws. Most (not all) make roads less safe.
I apologize for the remark, of course it doesn’t apply to people with a need, just those who endlessly follow whatever is in style. My choice in cars boils down to practicality, price, safety featers, gas mileage. Not trying to keep up with whatever is the latest fad.