I drive a Ford F-150 to work. I work at a hospital with very sparce parking and so I park across the street in a grocery store parking lot. I got kinda sick of that, and decided to park on the street instead. I parked my truck on the main street at an intersection corner. At first I was parking pretty near the intersection, not really thinking anything of it. Then last week, I walk out to my car after work and find a little note that someone had typed up and printed out on a laser printer.
So this note bugged me. It did make me realize, hey parking close to the intersection could make it difficult to turn, and that was fine. But that second sentence really bugged me. First of all, I knew the law was not 30 ft. So I call the police station and ask and they say the law is 8ft. That made much more sense to me. It would have been one thing to say parking there made it difficult to see, but to mention the law to me is a veiled threat. Then to exaggerate the law by 300% … So I have kept parking there. I just made sure I am 10-15 ft from the corner-since I expect the note writer might just try to call the cops on me and I didn’t want to take any chances.
Ok, so a week goes by and today I got another note! Here it is:
So what do you think? What would you do?
Please assume, you live a life that does require the ownership of a pickup truck the size of a F150… …thanks for listening…
I dunno…maybe leave a note saying, “Thanks for your concern. According to the police station the law is only 8 ft. This is a convenient spot for me to legally park. Have a nice day.”
The F-150 is your vehicle of choice and you are parking legally.
No problem there.
I would attempt to communicate to the unknown person that the truck is legally parked. Maybe leave a conspicuous poster stating “This vehicle is legally parked, the law says 8 feet. Do not leave any more notes, I will be watching.”
One time I found a note on my windshield that said: “Park in my spot again and I will personally kick your ass!”. My car was parked on the street, in a public spot that anybody could use, but I guess some guy considered it his own personal parking space.
I would ignore these notes. You are doing nothing wrong. Whoever is leaving the notes can continue getting burned up over nothing. No need for you to waste any time on them.
It’s entirely possible that the person sincerely believes the law is 30 feet, and is (or was, with the first note) trying to be reasonable and helpful. Heck, maybe they still think they’re being nice by not callling the cops. I know, that wouldn’t get them anything, but THEY may not know that; they may think they’re doing you a favor.
First of all, I’d try to park a little farther back from the intersection; regardless of whether you’re within your legal rights or not, you may actually be making it difficult for people to turn onto Sherman Street.
If you can’t park anywhere else, I’d leave a note on the dash, as others suggested. I’d say something like, “The law requires me to park eight feet from the corner. If you have more questions about this situation, please call me at…” and your phone number. They won’t call, and they’ll probably knock it off with the notes; clearly your secret correspondent is not big on personal confrontation.
Jeez… what a fucking asshole. (Note-writing dick!) Yeah, one should expect compliance when random idiots post notes on someone’s vehicles. If s/he is so concerned, they need to call the cops and let them handle it instead of playing neighborhood cop.
I’d like to get high and mighty about people who drive big trucks or SUVs, but I keep in mind they might be like my old boss, who drove a Suburban because he was 6’ 8" and coached Little League on weekends. So unless I’m stalking you, I really don’t know if you’re raping the land indiscriminately, or you’re justified in some way for doing so.
I’d try to mount a webcam in your office so you find out who the note-writing twat is. Then go to his/her house and start leaving notes.
Why not just park far enough so that it’s not difficult for people who are turning to see? It’s fun to be indignant, but it seems like you might honestly cause traffic problems, maybe even an injury. Do the right thing.
Dude, there are some crazy people out there. I would NOT make my phone number available to them.
Writing a note saying that you’ve checked to make sure it’s perfectly legal sounds like an idea, but I’d suggest being careful not to be offensive. Not because the jerk deserves it; more to ensure that they don’t vandalize your car out of spite.
Regardless of what the law says, I think you should park where you don’t block the view of people trying to turn. You got a polite note telling you that your choice of parking is creating a dangerous situation. Why in the world you continue to create this dangerous situation after being advised of it is beyond my comprehension.
This crap about “it’s legal, therefore it’s o.k.” sickens me. Do any of you have a sense of right and wrong beyond what the law tells you? I don’t see what the debate is here. The OP has been informed that his parking impedes the vision of people trying to turn. It doesn’t matter if the law says he can park 3 feet from the curve, or in the middle of the fucking intersection. He is creating a dangerous situation and shouldn’t do so anymore.
Let’s be honest, your F-150 is bigger than my little civic, but it’s certainly not a behemoth. And if you’re parking 10-15 feet back I’d say you’ve taken reasonable precautions, but I get a bit of a hostile vibe from those notes myself and wouldn’t want to meet the author.
I’d be concerned, whether you leave a polite note or not, that you’re at risk of having your truck vandalized. There are some crazy people out there.
If it was me, I’d probably keep parking there, but that’s the troublemaker in me. I think it comes down to what’s more important, giving in and avoiding trouble, or staying there at some, however mild, risk.
I notice that you seem to be ignoring the big question. Is your truck blocking the view?
The person who wrote the note certianly thought so. The law might be 8 feet but the law wasn’t written for that paricular intersection so while the law may state 8 feet, 8 feet may not be enough. If it is not enough room then don’t park there. It is the courteous thing to do. Of course, courtesy doesn’t seem to matter to anyone these days*.
Slee
*I encounter people on a daily basis that do extremely rude things just because it is easier for them. They block aisles, take up parking spaces (double park), cut people off and generally inconvenience others to save a couple seconds.
What city is this in? I have lived in a lot of different big cities and usually the curb is painted to prevent parking beyond the point where the paint starts. I was always told this was 15 ft. but i guess it could easily vary. However Treis is absolutely right, you have a big truck not a mini Cooper. Move it before someone gets hurt, maybe even your truck.
Although you’re within the letter of the law, is it possible that something about the specific configuration of this junction does actually lead to some kind of visibility issue when you’re parked there?
I know it’s usually not good to let yourself be pushed around, but I dunno - If it were me, and there was somewhere else to park, I’d probably do that - only because it might be that you’re dealing with someone who could take the law into their own hands. I wouldn’t be surprised if some kind of vandalism is their next step.
I just had a look at the F-150 'cos I have no idea what size vehicle you were talking about. Compared to my average-sized car, it’s a monster! I’m sure if I was approaching an intersection and found that parked by the side of the road, I’d have a pretty tough job seeing past it.
The original note suggested that someone else was having trouble seeing the road layout clearly and was obviously concerned about it. If I got a note like that on a vehicle that size, I’d be looking for somewhere else to park it, purely out of consideration for other drivers.
The second note says that they’re getting a bit hacked off with you and your monster truck…I’d seriously consider looking for another parking spot before you come back to find your tyres slashed.
ETA: The law might well have been written a long time ago specifically with cars in mind, long before trucks that size were in common usage. An 8ft distance might be just fine if you’re parking a car, but given the extra width and height of the F-150, I’d think you need to leave a lot more room.
If it was me and I’d probably be concerned about vandalism and find a new parking spot, or if I was in a bad mood I’d take a sick day and park close, but still at a legal distance and go hide and wait. I’d confront the person if they appeared.
The note-writer sounds extremely civil to me. He’s wrong about the law, but I don’t see any implied threat.
I’d be considerate and park my enormous truck somewhere else so that I was stressing out everyone in a normal-sized car and risking causing an accident for people who are trying to be conscientious.
