What doubt? You’ve undoubtedly broken the parking laws.
That’s your rationalisation to excuse yourself for jerkish behaviour. If you’re not unhappy about that, sleep well. But when you start believing that everyone else is wrong and you’re right, you might want to indulge in a little more introspection.
First, I get very very annoyed when people park on the left side of a two-way street. It’s dangerous–not real dangerous–but can be misleading, i.e., if you didn’t know the area and you saw a car parked that way, you might think it was a one-way street.
Cops do this here, but of course you can’t do anything about them. I understand you can be ticketed for it–I’ve never seen that happen, either.
Second, I used to drive a well-marked telephone truck, and sometimes I had to park it in places that impacted traffic. For this purpose I had cones. We weren’t supposed to do this unless we had to, except: If we were working aloft, the safety directive was to park our trucks in such a way that no one could crash into our ladders/poles while we were up there.
But if we were blocking someone’s driveway, and that someone wanted out? Hell yeah, we would climb down off the pole and move the truck. And people did ask.
I think most people gave us a lot of leeway, because hey, at that time there was just one phone company. But still, we didn’t have any special dispensation just because we were working, other than the visibility of a truck bearing a well-known logo.
If you don’t have that well-known logo (and UPS or FedEx might be in the same realm), then you’re just a vehicle parked illegally and blocking traffic. Even with the logo you’re parked illegally and blocking traffic, except I notice that FedEx and UPS generally manage not to do that.
You sound extremely young. How old are you?
I parked in my boss’s spot today. I didn’t do it on purpose and it’s not reserved for him. I guess he always parks there. There were 5 open spaces near it. I was actually to work on time. He was 35 mins late as usual.
He bitched about it all day long. I thought he was a complete asshole and seriously immature. I mean, really? You had to park one spot over and you want to tell me in front of my students that I’d “better not” park in your spot again?
wtf?
It’s not. You’re doing something unusual, confusing, and a bit dangerous, and people are trying to cope. The fact that you’re doing what your boss told you is completely irrelevant to those people.
We recently let a woman go in our office. Cleaning out her desk after her, they found her company-supplied 2012 desk calendar - with her florid signature across the top of every month, and “Blessings” writ large across the bottom of each page as well. Did she think someone would steal her calendar page?
I’m perplexed by the notion that “My boss told me to” is being used as an excuse to break the law. With a straight face, no less.
I’ll note that my husband is a letter carrier for the USPS, and even though he does get some leeway on parking spots for making his stops, I would be willing to bet very good money that he has never parked facing the wrong way down a street. If something was heavy enough that he would only be able to get it out of the truck and up the walk, he would almost certainly be instructed to drive such that he can park properly-facing.
Last I knew, they’re not supposed to back up on the street either (per their employee handbook), but I would think that pulling out of a parking space facing the wrong way down the street would be more dangerous than backing up, just because it’s such an unexpected move.
I’m not familiar with your local driving code, but back when I got my first license, the Spanish code had an explicit exemption on speed limits for emergency services responding to an emergency - well, not exemption, they got different limits. They’re also allowed to do things like “make a lot of noise”, “pass in strange places”, “jump red lights” and “require everybody else to stop”.
I don’t think your delivery would fall under “emergency service responding to an emergency”, and no, being at work does not exempt you from following the law.
Older than she sounds, but her parents are the octopus-going-on-kraken model, very overprotective and controlling, and she lived with them through college. She’s learning now the kinds of things most people learn 10 years earlier, but it makes sense given her personal history (check out her earliest threads, I’m feeling lazy).
I wonder if that excuse works for hit men and drug lords.
I won’t comment on the parking thing, because I’m still not sure exactly what the OP is doing, in what circumstances, but I’ll offer this as a general life rule:
When you do things that inconvenience other people, they will, very often, become annoyed at you. Part of learning how to live and work with other people, especially in close quarters, is learning how to stay out of one another’s way.
If they’re speeding illegally, yes, they do get mad. Police officers are legally empowered to exceed posted speed limits when responding to an emergency call with appropriate lights/sirens being used. If they’re speeding without lights and sirens, it’s not allowed. People can and do complain about police officers speeding in non-emergency circumstances.
Delivery drivers are not emergency vehicles nor is there a social convention of some kind that being on the clock enables you to break the law. I can get if someone busts your chops over something minor like not feeding a meter when you’re there for 30 seconds, but to me, parking on the wrong side, double-parking or just parking in a traffic lane (!) aren’t minor, they’re obstructionist and potentially dangerous.
Thanks for clarifying. This particular username hadn’t pinged my radar, but my very first response was, "This is why people live together in college. Not just to save money, but because it’s a helluva valuble way to learn some practical life lessons.
Diamonds, if you live in the United States** and if I’m understanding you correctly, then what you’re doing is a) illegal and b) dangerous and c) confusing to other drivers. (Rule # 1 of driving: be predictable.) That has nothing to do with being in a relationship (or not) or living with your parents (or not) or having a lot or a little job experience. It just means, well, that you’re being a shitty driver.
** Probably illegal elsewhere, but the hell do I know?
Now … what’s this about the restrooms not having signs on them? WTF? :dubious:
C’mon people, everybody knows that you can park anywhere and do whatever you want, as long as your flashers are on! Wait- didn’t we all know that? I thought we all knew that.
I agree with your entire post, except to clarify that cops are also empowered to speed even without lights and sirens in some circumstances. There are some pretty specific circumstances, mostly to avoid alerting a criminal that responders are in the vicinity. Sure, there are some dicks with badges out there, but most officers aren’t blowing by you just because the hot light is on at Krispy Kreme.
Diamonds, you probably have a legitimate gripe about unmarked restrooms and such, but it’s hard to see past your comparison to driving or parking like an emergency responder.
Yes, good point.
Using the lights to get through a traffic light and buy smokes at the 7-11 is, of course, another matter. 
Only if you are driving with your parking lights on, Alice!
When I lived in a more Urban area it was extremely common for UPS and Fedex to pull over next to parked cars turn the flashers on and make deliveries. It was not uncommon to see normal cars do this as well. This usually blocked one lane of traffic. I never saw this done by pulling over to the opposite of the road, but this was mostly because most of the streets were one way.
Ah, so it’s OK because you’re an important person. And because “your boss told you to”.
Of course you are a random jackoff in anyone else’s eyes - what makes you think that every other random jackoff doesn’t have a job or something else important to them to do as well? We’ve all got jobs to do, lady.
You are not a cop, with authority vested by the state to break certain laws for the sake of public protection. Nobody gives a shit that you have cans of tomato juice / office supplies / nipple clamps / what-the-fuck-ever to deliver. Loading docks exist for a reason, and just because your boss is a jackass who is trying to squeeze you for time and doesn’t trust you not to get into an accident when using one doesn’t matter to anyone but him.
Ok then, what do you guys suggest that I do?
I actually asked about this at work today…
They have indeed discuss this matter with police departments in our routes. They say it is okay for us to pull over and deliver as long as we have our blinkers on. I don’t know any other alternative besides using docks (in which we were instructed not to do and not every business or house has one).