Reading this thread the thing that jumps out at me is the lack of common courtesy. The vultures are being rude and probably wasting their own time in the process. However the reaction of those being vultured also worries me.
If you deliberately waste time to ‘get back’ at the vulture it’s just going to piss 'em off. I doubt they’ll learn their lesson. But maybe a wee wave or a “I’m sorry I’m going to be about 5 minutes here you’d be best going to that spot over there or you’ll start holding up trafic” might bring the situation home to them.
We need to be polite to each other and hopefully the situation will improve. I think maybe there’s some fault to be dished out to all sides here.
Or am I just hopelessly naive ? I do have to admit that I rarely drive so don’t tend to experience this problem as much as some.
I rarely “vulture”, because I don’t particularly enjoy it. If there are open spaces in the far end of the lot, I beeline out there and get on with my life.
However, I occasionally find myself in a situation in which vulturing is really the only practical solution (The Irvine Spectrum on Saturday nights comes to mind). As nearly as I can tell, the parking lot is at pretty much filled to capacity, with empty spots lasting for only the few seconds it takes someone to fill them.
Everybody realizes this, and in my experience nobody bitches. Most of the people leaving had to vulture when they arrived, so it’s just not that big of a deal - it’s no secret what that car is doing as they follow you through the lot.
So, yeah, I draw a pretty clear distinction between vulturing to get a close space and vulturing to get any space at all. The former is kind of weird, while the latter is perfectly reasonable.
When the lot’s at capacity, all of these cheap theatrics designed to “teach a lesson” are really just “being an ass” in my opinion. You’re under no obligation to give up your spot pronto, but I fail to see any reason for spy-novel tricks just to make someone else’s life a little more unpleasant.
I also can not for the life of me figure out why you wouldn’t wave someone on who was waiting for your parking space. Sure, you don’t owe them anything. Sure, you have the right to be an asshole. But why be an asshole? Why not go the extra mile and help everybody out, with a miniscule outlay of effort?
Spacedog said it best. What’s wrong with being courteous? If I know someone’s waiting for my spot, I don’t get all nervous and rush to get out of their way, but I do try to expedite my loading, starting, backing, if possible. If I know I’m going to be awhile, I wave them on. Why try to intentionally piss people off?
I understand sundog66’s situation, and it appears the woman who waited so long was rather oblivious. I don’t, however, understand why some of you think it’s your duty to purposefully slow down or act lost just for the sake of being spiteful. All you succeed in doing is creating congestion and angry, frustrated drivers. Not cool.
I’ve been vultured more often on city streets than in mall parking lots, and it sucks when you’re trying to pull out of a parallel-parking situation and the schmuck who wants your space is ahead of you, waiting to back in. This forces me to go around his car, and I therefore have to wait until both lanes of traffic are clear. The absolute worst is the jerk who waits in front on a narrow two-way road, so not only do I have to swing around him, I have to risk slamming into oncoming traffic.
In circumstances like this, I often relax and listen to my radio for a while. I’m rarely in so much of a hurry (or if I am, I’ll make up time by speeding) that I can’t spend a few minutes providing negative reinforcement for some putz.
When I’m the vulture, I always wait behind the person, letting them pull out unobstructed before moving forward and then reversing into the space.
I dont get people who circle a lot forever just to find a space a little closer. Are people that terrified that they may have to burn an extra 10 calories off their lard asses?
Actually, I nearly got vultured today. I had a reasonable (3rd floor) spot in a downtown parking garage. Just as I got to my car, a woman stopped and put on her turn signal for my space. Since I was still a good 6 feet/2 meters from the car and there was someone behind her, I gently shook my head, and she drove past. As I was backing out of my space, I realized there was someone else waiting for it. Since there was no one behind them, they were giving me enough room to back out, and I was almost out anyway, no problem. I’m a bit dismayed that the first woman was prepared to wait several minutes while I got to my car, arranged my stuff (admittedly this consisted on 1 handbag and the ticket issued by the parking garage), started the engine and backed out. Actually, I’m more dismayed that she was prepared to keep the person behind her waiting that long.
Um, could the other person just drive around the person waiting? 'Cause if they could, I don’t really see why you’d do that. Now if the other person couldn’t get around them, then I could see them getting annoyed…
However, I’ve been in that position (the person getting blocked and having to wait) and the annoyance is spread out thus: the person, for taking up the whole lane so I just can’t pass them, and the parked person…if you see someone waiting, try to hurry…that’s what I do. but I guess some of you just think about trying to make other people’s days shitty (not you cj).
In that situation you just described though, if I was the person waiting for you and the vulture, I would have been happier to have just waited…that would only mean that I would more than likely get the next open spot. Instead, you let someone else who came after us get it. Now that would be annoying if I actually cared about where I parked.
But this sounds like a place where as soon as one spot is taken, it’s gobbled up. Not cool.
Yes, those multi-level parking garages are the worst. Someone will wait for a car to back out even though there is invariably plenty of parking higher up, and since it is too narrow for anyone to get around, cars can get backed up waiting even on several levels below. The person actually pulling out can take as long as they want…I don’t care. It’s the jack-ass who waits that pisses me off. When they finally park and I’m driving by, I feel like rolling down the window and telling them that there is plenty of parking above and there’s no need to hold up all that traffic, but I never do. Besides, I would be holding up traffic if I stopped to say that.
Yes, those multi-level parking garages are the worst. Someone will wait for a car to back out even though there is invariably plenty of parking higher up, and since it is too narrow for anyone to get around, cars can get backed up waiting even on several levels below. The person actually pulling out can take as long as they want…I don’t care. It’s the jack-ass who waits that pisses me off. When they finally park and I’m driving by, I feel like rolling down the window and telling them that there is plenty of parking above and there’s no need to hold up all that traffic, but I never do. Besides, I would be holding up traffic if I stopped to say that.
You don’t know that. The other weekend me and my boyfriend went to a wedding at a hotel and he went to park in the structure. He went all the way to the end and there was nothing.
We had been waiting for someone in front of us and if they did not take that spot, they would have been shit out of luck.
Nope. There space between spaces wasn’t wide enough for two cars, and I was pretty close to the top of a ramp, so anyone coming up behind the second person may have come up on them suddenly. I’d also walked past a few spaces which were closer to the elevator on the way to my car, so I think the first two might have got a better deal.
Today, we’ve got a Major League baseball game, followed by a Major League football game, so I’d let them have the space if I had to drive downtown (usually I take the bus).
