I usually park further away as well. The only difference is if there is a chance of rain. I’m never bright enough to have an umbrella when I need it!
But it’s that weird laziness. There’s got to be a name for it. Misplaced laziness, perhaps?
As others have said, most of the time, it’s actually faster to park a little father away and walk than to park closer.
This exact thing happens to me all the time at the grocery store. People circle and wait for a spot close to the doors, but I’ll go around them, find a spot a little farther away, and be inside before they’re parked. If they’re really in a hurry, they’d park in the first open spot and get inside that much quicker.
I like to park at the far end of the lot. The walking is good excercise! Also, I don’t think my car is in as much danger of getting hit or rammed with a cart, since all the nuts are trying to get a parking space up toward the front!
Our daughter has RA (in the beginning stages) and if she’s with me, I’ll try to find somewhere a bit closer, but it doesn’t really matter, since she’ll have to walk around in the store anyway!
What do you mean “they” are lazy? Do any of you start looking for spaces from the BACK of the lot?
Not to mention even driving there in the first place - especially if it’s a shorter distance than they intend to ‘walk’ on the treadmill. I can understand the safety, security and weather aspects, but I don’t believe they need be a deciding factor for the majority of people. Oh well.
Another vote for laziness and ignorance on the general topic; I know people (not in America, BTW) who will drive short trips that would be quicker to walk - it takes me about five minutes to walk (via direct footpaths not accessible to cars) to the village square and shops; it would take about the same time to drive there and park on a good day (including the time taken to hunt a space) on a really bad day with lots of traffic, it might take a lot longer.
In the hot country at least, parking in close is more than just lazy. It’s no picnic walking halfway across an asphalt lot on a humid 90° day. If you stumbled, you’d grill a body part.
Just to bolster what C3 said … it’s not always laziness, when it comes to us mamas with children. Parking lots are scary places with little ones. I want to be in them as little as possible. Even with my big kids, ages 10 and 8. I hold their hands, or have them hold on to my purse, since I’m holding the baby.
Some of us are obsessed about making the optimal choice every time. It’s not the extra walking itself that bothers us, it’s the thought that that effort was unnecessary, a consequence of a bad choice. Those are the people who don’t mind a long line at the checkout counter as long as other lines aren’t moving faster.
I’m going with “They’re too lazy to walk”, and I have an anecdote to back it up -
- I work at a drive-thru restaurant that sits atop a hill accessible only by a private road. To get to the road, you must first pass through the parking lot of a 7-Eleven - there is no other way to the road. The 7-Eleven sells the exact same fountain drinks as we do and at a price of 20-30 cents less for a cup of the exact same size. Despite this, people frequently come to my drive-thru just to order a drink.
Make of that what you will.
I never thought about it, but I think this is the explanation for me. That, and it is damned hot in parking lots in the summer here, as Beware of Doug pointed out. I won’t circle for long, but I try not to park in the boonies. Interesting how annoyed and judgemental some of you seem. I never thought of it as a big deal.
I’m sure this applies in many cases. But it seems puzzling that optimal is so often defined as ‘least distance to walk’ instead of ‘least time spent’. What is optimal about spending two minutes waiting for a parking slot that will save 15 seconds of walking?
It also seems a bit unreasonable to employ a calculation that disregards your effect on others. It’s strange to call a strategy ‘optimal’ when it leads to blocking the flow of traffic for minutes at a time.
Maybe I just live in the land of big parking lots, but seldom does someone waiting block my way. I just go around. YMMV.
I don’t try to park close to the front- I’m too lazy to spend all that time circling around looking for the best parking space I can get.
When I’m on one of my marathon shopping excursions (usually twice a year–back-to-school time being one of those), you’re damn straight I’m going to try to get the closest parking space I can. I usually have to make at least three trips to the car to unburden myself of shopping bags.
The rest of time, I’ll circle around to see if there’s something close, and then park where I can if nothing closer’s available.
That’s exactly my issue with it. I frequently see people blocking the aisle waiting for a space when there are spaces just a short distance away–and except for holiday time, there are almost always spaces available. Sure, I’ll take a close spot if there’s one open, but I don’t consider it optimal to wait for a space in an instance when I could simply park 20-30 feet farther away and be about my business that much faster. Time is far more important than a small amount of effort, in my calculation.
And yes, it is very annoying when people are in my way because they’re not willing to walk that short distance. Even if they’re not completely blocking the aisle, they’re usually far enough out that it forces me to go up the wrong side to get around them, which is impossible if there’s traffic coming the other way. If you want to circle to find that closer spot, I don’t really give a crap, but blocking traffic is inconsiderate.
I drive a big truck so it is easier to park further out than to swing into a space.
My wife, OTOH, is offended if you park far away. She considers it unacceptable to get a distant spot.
Now we have a small child, which provides a real justification for wanting a close spot, but she was like that before our kid was born!
I’ll give on the ‘judgemental’ part (but I’m not that judgemental - it’s a pet peeve), but I’m not annoyed by the behavior. Rather, I find it amusing.
As others have said, especially when people are going to the health club to work out or walk on the treadmill - what’s the point of parking close to the door? Or the mall. You’re going to be walking around the mall for a couple of hours? What’s 20 or 30 more feet, if it gets you inside faster? Why spend 10 minutes ‘stalking’ someone for their parking spot, or circling the lot looking for a spot, when you could just park in the first spot you see and be done with it? I’m not saying you need to park in the boonies or at the far end of the lot, but go down an aisle, and park in the first open spot you come to. It’s that simple.
Heh. I thought I was the only asshole that did that.
Also, when I come out of a store and I notice that someone is following me for my parking spot, I will walk into the lot toward a closely-parked car, then go past it to the next lane. That seems to irritate the followers, too.
You’ve hit on one of my pet peeves. Well, not quite. I don’t mind the people that circle looking for a close spot. I never do, but that is me. I would rather just park and get to where I’m going.
But the ones that make me nuts are the people who park in the fire lanes and the no parking zones because “I’ll just be a minute.” And of course, if you aren’t handicapped, don’t use the handicapped spot! (It is not so easy to spot someone who is handicapped though, so if they have the proper placard, I try not to be annoyed. My father, for instance, had emphazema and could not walk far, but he didn’t look like he needed a handicapped spot.)
I often park in the “heart healthy” section; that’s waaaay out there. I never get dings in the door, and I never have to squeeze between me and another car to get the groceries in.
On “defensive parking,” I always grab the cart nearest my car and take up the store. Sometimes the wind or other cars will send a stray cart into another car.