What would you do if you found these notes on your car?

In My Humble Opinion
41

I have a similar problem pulling out of the driveway at the apartment my daughter just moved out of. There are people who park vans and trucks in the spaces closest to the driveway, and there is just no way to see the traffic. I end up slowly nosing out, trying to watch the traffic I can’t see coming from my left while hoping the traffic from the right doesn’t smack into me…because they can’t see me trying to get out onto the street. I’ve had so many near misses…

But the parking lot of her building is almost worst, and I will admit I left a rather caustic note on the windshield of one car that insisted on parking where there was no space…making it very nearly impossible for others to get in or out without doing the back and forth, angling a bit more each time. I told them they were being thoughtless and causing more stress for their neighbors, as well as risking damage to their car and others by making an already tight space even tighter, especially when there was unplowed snow that made getting out of parking spaces hard enough without having to make minute adjustments while pulling out, pulling back in, angling a bit more, pulling out, trying not to hit their damn car… I asked them why they thought their convenience was so much more important than anyone else’s safety and why they thought so little of their neighbors that they would consistently park in a place that was so clearly part of the driveway and NOT a spot, even when there were parking spots available. I asked them if they were comfortable knowing that every time a neighbor came out of the building on the way to work and saw their car there, blocking any chance of easliy pulling out and getting on with their day, that they got angry and thought nasty things about that person, and did they really want to spend their day knowing that twenty people living in their building seethed with rage every time they saw their car and were just waiting to be able to discover who owned it?

They stopped parking in the non-spot.

Yes, I was over the top. But they had been parking like that for months. They made it difficult to get in and out of the entire lot, and the management hadn’t done anything about it…heck, they don’t even plow. The only other option was to have them towed, and I didn’t want to cost them the $125 it costs when your car gets towed. Since they had an easy time getting in and out, they probably never thought about how much more difficult it was for those around them…and if they didn’t care, I wanted to be able to yell at them safely.

But I would never key their car. I was more afraid of accidentally hitting it when I skidded on the ice and snow. I just wanted them to be aware of the repercussions of their actions.

42

[QUOTE=Jodi]
I disagree with this entirely. The kind of person who leaves multiple anonymous notes is precisely the kind of person who would key your truck.

I would ignore the notes but I would move my truck. It would gravel me a bit to give the note-leaver the satisfaction, but I would be more interested in not having my truck vandalized than in getting in a pissing contest with some stranger who doesn’t even have the balls to talk to me directly.
[/QUOTE]

The person leaving the notes is timid and civic and clearly has a concept that one has societal responsibilities that go above and beyond what the law dictates.

Not a car-keyer.

And, what would you have the person do? Hang out at the corner all day, waiting for the truck to pull up?

It would “gravel” you to give the note-leaver the satisfaction?

Who thinks like this?

Are you people at constant war with those around them?

My thoughts would be, “oh, whoops, it didn’t really dawn on me that I was blocking people’s views. I guess I’ll go back to parking in the parking lot.”

I can’t believe the pettiness that people feel towards their fellow man.

43

[QUOTE=Trunk]
The person leaving the notes is timid and civic and clearly has a concept that one has societal responsibilities that go above and beyond what the law dictates.
[/quote]

Yeah, those big societal responsibilities to leave anonymous notes on other people’s cars. :rolleyes:

Anonymous note leaving is an indicator of cowardice. A coward would key your car.

Leave your name and number. I have no problem with notes; I find anonymous notes cowardly, and aggravatingly so. If you can’t even tell me who you are, why should I give a shit what you say?

Yes, because I find the entire idea of leaving anonymous notes borderline offensive, and I find the second note unnecessarily snarky. And I think like this. Sorry if that was unclear.

To the contrary, I sail through my day not only NOT at war with those around me, but generally ignoring strangers, assuming that they are getting on with the business of their lives as I am getting on with the business of mine. Anyone who wants to communicate with me can tell me who they are. If they can’t be bothered to do so little, it is extremely unlikely I will be bothered to have any regard for what they say. That’s why I would not be a good candidate for harrassment through anonymous mailings or messages on my machine; I wouldn’t read them or listen to them. I would, however, probably move my vehicle out of concern that a person who is so invested in the issue as to leave me two anonymous notes, of escalating snarkiness, is PRECISELY the sort of person who would engage in petty vandalism. Practicing disengagement does not require me to refrain from protecting myself and my property.

And my thoughts would be, “I don’t think I’m blocking the view, and these anonymous notes piss me off, but I don’t want my car damaged so I’ll go back to parking in the parking lot.” Same result, so why do you care what the thought process is?

:: Shrug :: I happen to find it petty (and shabby) to leave anonymous notes. It is precisely the pettiness of it that would lead me to worry about further escalating anonymous petty shit. So I’d move my car, because while I might be milding irked by the notes (before I threw them away), I’m not pig-headed enough to get in a pointless pissing match with the sort of person who would leave them.

44

[QUOTE=Trunk]
And, as Daniel said, it’s not relevant either. You’re just playing “gotcha”.
[/QUOTE]

It was hypothetical. I was just askin’ that’s all.

I’m not being snarky, but thanks for taking others into consideration when you make parking decisions. Many, (myself included) in the hypothetical situation I mentioned, wouldn’t.

But, I still state that the responsibility of driving rests with the driver. The “Note Fairy” needs to leave the truck alone. If I knew an intersetion was dangerous I’d just avoid it. Why harass a legally parked truck at an intersection that I** knew ** could routinely have an obstructed line of sight. If the danger is great enough I’d avoid it. What is that individual going to do? Write “You’re blocking my vision” tickets all day to people who parked there. What are they the Parking Deputy? Perhaps they should try to contact the proper channels to have the location designated as “No Parking” that would seem to be a little more effective.

And, in the second note I detect a little Gas-Guzzler-hate. It makes me wonder if that kind of tone would have been taken if the vehicle was more green.

45

And, for those who live in an area where there’s a dangerous entryway to traffic you can purchase one of these. Just alert your apartment complex supervisor or your SO. That seems to be a better solution than messing with someone’s vehicle or being confrontational.

46

I’d leave the note Inner Stickler suggested. Polite and to the point. But then I’d a line along the lines of ‘By the bye, I use my monster truck to transport donated wheelchairs to crippled children. Thanks for your concern.’

47

[QUOTE=Manduck]
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.
[/QUOTE]

Hah, this guy probably put that note on every car on the block in the hopes that some of them would stop parking there and make it more convenient for him to park.

48

[QUOTE=Jodi]
And my thoughts would be, “I don’t think I’m blocking the view, and these anonymous notes piss me off, but I don’t want my car damaged so I’ll go back to parking in the parking lot.” Same result, so why do you care what the thought process is?
[/QUOTE]
Because, I don’t think it’s a good idea for people to go around thinking things that are

  1. wrong

  2. ascribe nefarious reasons to other people’s actions when a good-hearted assumption makes just as much sense

  3. afraid of those around them

It’s a bunkered, small, paranoid outlook on the world. The kind of outlook that leads people to believe things like the note-leaver is getting one over on you if you do what is right. That you “lose” in that situation.

Why on Earth would you get wound up because someone would leave you an anonymous note that says, “you’re kind of blocking the view of the intersection?”

Their reasons for remaining anonymous are obvious. . .because someone like the OP takes incredible offense at an innocent suggestion, and is (rightfully!) deemed by the note-leaver to be to be vengeful and uncaring.

49

If we’re going to talk about legal right and wrong here, I’ll repeat that, even though he is parked the required distance from the intersection, he may nonetheless be parked illegally. From my local city laws:

I’ll bet you a nickel that most or all cities have a similar catchall provision in their codes. If the anonymous note-writer feels strongly enough to have left two notes about the situation, that seems like persuasive (though rebuttable) evidence that the OP does, in fact, constitute “a hazard to public safety or an obstruction to traffic.”

I repeat this only because a common theme in this thread seems to be, “He’s parked legally, so the note writer shouldn’t mess with him.” The premise that he’s parked legally may be wrong.

50

[QUOTE=Trunk]
In one case, let’s say I’m facing northbound and I want to drive straight across an intersection. I have a stop-sign. Cross traffic doesn’t.

The truck is parked to my left facing eastbound on the cross-street. I need to look left to see if there is oncoming traffic. If a truck is parked there, I can’t see through it’s window’s to see down the road. That’s A scenario I’m imagining. There are others.
I make decisions all the time that inconvenience myself so that many other may benefit. Yes, I honestly would look for an alternate spot to park. All the time, I park on my street further from my house to keep the parking “united”. It’s not a difference of two blocks, but it’s something.

But, I’m able to avoid that issue by purchasing a vehicle that doesn’t block other vechicles’ sightlines, shine high-mounted headlights directly in other drivers’ eyes, or have a bumper at neck-level of other drivers.
And, as Daniel said, it’s not relevant either. You’re just playing “gotcha”.
[/QUOTE]

My bolding.

I think your real problem with this just showed up. Did you read the part about it being a requirement for him?

51

[QUOTE=brownie55]
My bolding.

I think your real problem with this just showed up. Did you read the part about it being a requirement for him?
[/QUOTE]

That has nothing to do with it. What you bolded was a side-note from a response to Dusty’s irrelevant question, not a critique of the OP’s vehicle.

If you’d read the thread, you’d see that I am already aware of what an F-150 is, and why the OP might need one. And the fact that he needs one has nothing to do with where he decides to park it.

52

[QUOTE=Trunk]
That has nothing to do with it. What you bolded was a side-note from a response to Dusty’s irrelevant question, not a critique of the OP’s vehicle.

If you’d read the thread, you’d see that I am already aware of what an F-150 is, and why the OP might need one. And the fact that he needs one has nothing to do with where he decides to park it.
[/QUOTE]

Then I misinterpreted. Apologies.

53

[QUOTE=Trunk]
The person leaving the notes is timid and civic and clearly has a concept that one has societal responsibilities that go above and beyond what the law dictates.

[/QUOTE]

The first note, almost. Citing “law” that set the distance at what he thought it ought to be, instead of what it actually was, just to suit his view of what should be right. The second note peeled the facade back and revealed the petty little twerp underneath. He didn’t approve of the vehicle the OP was driving, its very existence pissed on his view of what somebody “should” drive, just like his version of the “law”. He’s a fuckhead little wanker that just can’t understand why everything isn’t pewfect in his wittle world.

54

I am still hoping for an answer for why this spot is reliably empty for the OP. Is it really a spot? Even if it is, is it so insanely dangerous / obviously annoying that nobody will park there?

I am the kind of guy that if I drive down a restaurant strip and see all the places full but one, will assume it is a bad place to eat. If I find a good spot empty, I feel like it is my lucky day. If I find it empty everyday, I begin to wonder.

55

[QUOTE=Trunk]
parking large vehicles close to intersections is dangerous to other people. Living in the city, I hate it. A guy does it in a Jeep Cherokee right near my home. . .I simply can’t see out into the road. I have to stick the front of my car well into the path of oncoming traffic before I can see if there IS oncoming traffic.
[/QUOTE]
Oh for crimmany. He’s 10-15 back, as was stated in the OP. If you have to stick your nose out into traffic in his situation, it’s your eyes that are the problem.

56

[QUOTE=Duke of Rat]
The first note, almost. Citing “law” that set the distance at what he thought it ought to be, instead of what it actually was, just to suit his view of what should be right. The second note peeled the facade back and revealed the petty little twerp underneath. He didn’t approve of the vehicle the OP was driving, its very existence pissed on his view of what somebody “should” drive, just like his version of the “law”. He’s a fuckhead little wanker that just can’t understand why everything isn’t pewfect in his wittle world.
[/QUOTE]

Please. Had the note-fairy been as malicious as you’re straw manning it, he or she would have just done the smart thing and called the cops in the first place, when the OP was in violation of both the made-up and the real law’s distances.

Hell, that’s what I would’ve done. No way I’m wasting my time making up pretty notes in the hopes that inconsiderate people will notice there are other people on the planet with them. I’d be happy to have let the cops have done their job.

57

[QUOTE=NurseCarmen]
Oh for crimmany. He’s 10-15 back, as was stated in the OP. If you have to stick your nose out into traffic in his situation, it’s your eyes that are the problem.
[/QUOTE]

Clearly not, or the person wouldn’t have had to write the note in the first place. It could completely depend on the angle of the roads, the curvature, the slope, the speed limit. There are some places where it’s completely fine to park right next to a corner. Some places where 10 feet isn’t far enough. I’m going to assume that the note-leaver isn’t just going around town leaving random notes on every vehicle he thinks is inside of 30 feet.

(I sort of agree with what Duke of Rat said. But, I believe the OP acted improperly at first. The second note had a decidedly different tone, leading me to believe the note-leaver took just as much offense at something that could be construed innocently – like the OP never got the note or something.)

ETA: “improperly” isn’t the right word here. I don’t want to argue over that, though. “not as nicely as he could have” would be more accurate.

58

I’d love to see a picture of the intersection in question, preferably with the truck in place.

Having driven a Silverado 3500, a Tahoe, and a Suburban in my life, I don’t consider a F150 a big truck at all, they’re midsize at best. I have a hard time imagining a situation where I’d have trouble seeing around a F150 that was 10’ back from the corner, and I drive a Neon right now (now that I’m not in the middle of the mountains working as a general store manager/delivery guy/everything else).

59

If the view of cross-traffic was obstructed, I see nothing wrong with the first note. Although incorrect about the legal distance from the corner, mentioning the hazard was not out of line. The OP considered that and did the right thing IMO (parking elsewhere, if it made sense to the OP, would have been better).

The second note was way out of line and over the top.

Parking is hard to get in my neighborhood. As just one example, there’s a section of curb on my block, ending at the corner, that will fit six cars easily. There’s never a perfect situation, but if someone parks half a car length from the curb (there’s a traffic light, unlike in the OP) and the same amount from the other end, a parking space is lost. If, in addition, someone in the middle haphazardly parks in a way that takes up two spaces, that a total of two spaces that are not available.

I’ve posted such notes myself. My notes say something along the lines of “All of us have trouble finding parking here, can you try parking further up or back?” Since, it’s almost impossible to see who’s parking in a, shall we say, discourteous way, polite notes are sometimes the best way to bring up the subject and are actually not immature and less likely to lead to confrontation.

I’ve also left such notes for people who obviously park in the middle of two spots to save one for someone (obvious because they do it repeatedly). Perhaps drivers just weren’t thinking it through and might think communally next time. People who start out as assholes though will continue to be assholes.

60

[QUOTE=Zeriel]
I’d love to see a picture of the intersection in question, preferably with the truck in place.

[/QUOTE]
Why?

Do you think that the person who wrote this:

“When you park close to the intersection, it makes it difficult for people to see to turn left or right onto Sherman Street.”

was just making it up?

You mean after driving 3 of the biggest vehicles sold for American consumption, you don’t consider a half-ton pickup big? How odd.