Then why start harping on about “what kind of prick drives a gas-guzzler” at all? It has nothing to do with the purported visibility situation. That’s why I’m not inclined to give the note-leaver the benefit of the doubt. If the sightline was the real issue, they could just as easily have written a polite note saying “Maybe you didn’t get my first note, but your truck really is causing a problem, and I wanted to give you a chance to do the right thing before I have to involve the police.”
Personally, if I found the first note, I would have done nothing. If I were parked legally and conveniently, big deal if they don’t like it. This comes from the girl whose Chevy Cavalier is the biggest car she’s ever driven – I don’t like (as)SUV’s, trucks and the like, but hey – if you can afford the gas, more power to ya!
The second note? That would tick me off. It is a passive-aggressive threat. I would continue parking my vehicle legally in a spot convenient for me and I would install a security camera on the dash (assuming the notes are being left on the windshield) to catch the perp on camera. Why? Because someone like that would be likely to damage the truck out of spite and I would like photographic evidence for the police. That kind of shit could be considered stalking.
YMMV
Sorry Trunk but I also disagree with you. Anyone who cares to leave a little anti-truck diatribe in their polite little awareness notes is also demonstrating at least a little passive aggressive tendency. From living in college towns, the young hippy-types who would engage in this sort of behaviour were also the ones that would key cars, slash tyres and generally try to “punish” those who didn’t kowtow when their notes met with failure.
I can’t believe nobody else has pointed out that the note-leaver didn’t scrawl it on an envelope - he/she saw the offending vehicle, went back home/to work, typed up a note, printed it out, took it back out, and put it on the car. Twice.
I’m still trying to figure out if the person who has even a remotely valid concern is supposed to stand around on the street all day waiting to let the person know. There is some here who have not disagreed that there may be a valid concern but have not offered any way for that person to convey that concern without leaving a note.
Why is a polite note considered “third grade,” “cowardly” or “passive-aggressive”?
No, you can leave a note with your contact information. That way, if they have any questions or a response, it’s clear you’re soliciting a dialogue, not issuing orders.
By leaving a note that includes your contact information.
IMO, an anonymous note is not inherently impolite, but it is inherently cowardly because it is communicating with someone while depriving the someone of the opportunity to communicate back.
If you want to leave me a note, leave your name and number. Otherwise I probably won’t read it.
That second note was harmfully snarky. As such, it completely undermined the first. The note-leaver re-defined themselves as a judgmental, overly emotional whiner.
Still, I’d park elsewhere if possible. Snarky Note Person may get a wave of undeserved smugness at your expense, but the truck would be safe and so would other drivers, snarky ones and regular ones.
My personal taste in vehicles is drastically different from half of the other drivers out there, but that wouldn’t justify me in insulting their vehicle tastes due to my dislike for their parking location. I’ve seen vehicles I loathe being parked very well, so I can never use someone’s parking as a vehicle* for expressing my opinions on their automobile.
*Pun intended.
Trunk, you’re getting too close to a personal attack for this forum.
If someone were to park a big truck just over a car length from the intersection, there’s no way I’d be able to see past it in my small, low to the ground vehicle - nearly all pickup trucks are too high and too wide for me to easily see around and this is the case with most small cars I’ve driven- just as having a large truck park next to me in a parking lot makes it more difficult to know that the way is clear when I need to pull out (can’t see through their windows like a car) into the driving lane and makes me have to wait to make a right-hand turn when they pull partly into the intersection while waiting to turn left. I can see why the note-leaver is annoyed.
Now, were I the one to receive the note, I would have thought “Shit, I can’t believe I didn’t realize that I’ve been causing people difficulty seeing. I hate when that happens to me” felt like a jerk, and found somewhere else to park that wouldn’t make driving more difficult for people. Most people are bad enough drivers without adding to their problems.
The first note, iffy, but okay. But the 2nd typed note… highly stalkerish and serial killer minded if you ask me.
Get that dash cam.
OMG, I wonder what you will think of me now. I suppose to give you guys a fair chance I should have added to my story:
That was about a week before the second note.
If I had told you that, then one of you might have jumped in with, “Are you sure the 2nd note wasn’t a joke left by a coworker?..or by several of them all collaborating about what would be the most ridiculous yet still believable 2nd note to leave on the truck?” Because as it turns out…the 2nd note was a joke. The first note is the only true note…hehe…uhh… :smack:
I apologize that I have dragged all of you into my 2 note analysis and bewilderment…although we must all blame my fun loving coworkers…who all found it very funny today. She was a little worried I would be upset, and I was embarrassed. But I told her I found it funny… Although now I get to amplify my embarrassment telling all of you guys….sigh… Uhh…sorry about that.
I imagine any of you that have become caught up in this discussion are in the same difficulty I am in. Now you must separate your construction of the “note fairy” from the second note….and only think about the first note… to form a judgment upon this situation. It sounds like most people felt the first note was polite. As I said, I think it would have been passably polite if there had been no mention of the law and raising the possibility of police involvement.
As for some of the questions that have been raised: No I would never vandalize a car. No I would not put people in danger out of spite and no I don’t believe my truck creates a significant hazard…(maybe just a small one…) This is a small town with less then 10,000 residents. The street I am parked on I think only has a 25 mph speed limit, although people tend to go faster. Oh, and yes I am parking there because it is a really convenient spot for me to park…
Heck, for all I know the original note writer may be happy I am parking 10-15 ft from the corner and not annoyed at all anymore… Or maybe they tried to call the cops and discovered they greatly misunderstood the law…and are no longer upset about it…or who the heck knows…All I know is I got that first note, I did make an adjustment to my parking beyond what was legally required, and who knows if I am still annoying the person. Anyways…sorry for all the confusion.
Well, now that you know people in your office like pranks, just be careful you don’t leave your work computer logged in the Straight Dope when you’re not at your desk - plenty of potential for co-worker-induced embarrassment there. 
Having just watched the saga of a bunch of local enviro-nuts get sent to prison as terrorists for firebombing various places including a Hummer dealership and a bunch of SUVs, I would tend to look askance at anyone who gets wild-eyed fanatical about my vehicle and may have access to it when I’m not around. On the other hand, I live in Hippieville USA, so this may be more of a concern for me than you.
Anyway, I drive a normal-sized sedan and hate it when I can’t see around corners due to giant trucks (commercial or passenger) blocking my line of sight.
More to the point, if it were me, I’d probably have started parking a bit further forward after the first note, it was a polite and reasonable request. The second note would have gotten my hackles up, though.
And in reality, would parking an extra ten feet from the intersection really ruin your day? I think it would have been the good and helpful thing to do after the first note, but after the second I would have a tendency to not leave my vehicle anywhere near that particular parking spot.
Oh. And, uh… yeah, this is the second time I publicly promise to read to the end of the thread next time. 
Don’t give them contact information for you. Leave a note saying you called the police and they said 8 feet was the law. Save the notes, encase you need them later, for charges against this person. They haven’t done anything yet, but the notes can help you pursue court actions later.
IMHO you should be aware of the size of your vehicle and try to park and drive it in a manner that doesn’t cause unnecessary inconvenience to fellow people. Perhaps you were unaware that a big truck could cause visibility problems for drivers of smaller cars, now you know.
I’m not saying never park on a corner, but if you have a reasonable alternative you should take it IMHO.
Freedom requires responsibility and good judgment on the part of the person excercizing it.
I just have to ask where is the OP driving because 8 feet of clearance seems absolutely pointless. In Australia the required distance is 10 meters (about 33 feet) and twice that at traffic lights. This makes sense as you can clear the parked car and ease into the lane in front of it to turn.
I picked Massachusetts at random and checked their road rules which specify that you may not park within 20 feet of an intersection: http://www.mass.gov/rmv/dmanual/chapter4.pdf page 34.
Even though the OP has returned and added a little bit of information that *completely *changes the dynamics of this discussion slightly, some points have raised been that merit further discussion.
Jodi, are you saying there is no valid issue that a stranger point out that would be worthy of your considering a change?
NajaNivea, until your second post, I was beginning to wonder whether you had read the thread.
don’t ask, the issue was the note-posters’s ability to see oncoming cross-traffic, not the ability to make the turn.
I’ll bet the info you got from the police is wrong. I’ve never seen parking allowed so close to an intersection as 8 feet. National standards require parking to be no closer than 20 feet to the nearest crosswalk line and then there is another line on the other side of the crosswalk. Granted this is hard to comply with if the crosswalk is not marked but there is (in most if not all states) a “crosswalk” across each aproach to the intersection, usually in line with the sidewalks or unpaved sidewalk areas leading up to the side of the road.
cite: FHWA - MUTCD - 2003 Edition Revision 1 Chapter 3B
You can enlarge Figure 3B-18 to see what federal law (U.S. Code) says about it.
If you seriously want to get the facts, consult your state’s drivers’ manual and or find a copy of the pertinent statute.
Could you share with us what is the state?
No. But I have little respect and little time for people who leave anonymous notes. That doesn’t mean I’m so militant about it that I will cut off my nose to spite my face, by ignoring information common sense would suggest I attend to (YOUR BACK LEFT TIRE IS FLAT). But it does mean that I am unlikely to respond well (if at all) to matters that are requests or suggestions, if the means by making them is an anonymous note.