Sheep Mentality Parking
Discussion
I fear car parks. It's not car park's fault itself, but the idea that I have to leave my car, which I've worked hard for and cherish, unguarded whilst people who simply don't care attempt to navigate a vehicle, their simple utilitarian tool for getting from A to B, within inches of my P&J's bodywork.
There's the odd post about this in the Bad Parking thread, but why do people feel the need to park their mundane, unloved sh*tboxes next to nice cars? If it's the only space available then fair enough, but I always park my car right out of the way in any car park I go to, be it a supermarket car park, multi-storey, etc. If it's on one open level I park right at the back as far away from other cars as possible. If it's a multi-storey I'll deliberately park on a level with no other cars, preferably with a clear level between and enjoy the extra walk. I also try to make a judgement of which space is likely to avoid having a mouth breather park next to me, e.g. so as the spaces next to me would require a little effort to park whereas other spaces would allow them to plonk a Picasso straight in.
So why, no matter how much effort I go to, do I return to my car to find, 4 times out of 5, a f
king stty, bashed up, piece of st, stbox clearly owned by some moronic fking, 2 GCSE grade D, procreating machine parked within a foot of my door? What is the fking mentality of going out of their way to park their fking Espace with bald tyres and booster seats right next to my car?! There are literally hundreds of other spaces in the car park, all closer to the shop/exit and many of which with no cars either side meaning they, or their darling offspring, could fling their car doors open with gay abandon and it wouldn't matter a jot. It would have been easier for them to just drive into one of the other spots, but they've obviously performed some kind of acrobatics to squeeze in, at an angle, next to me. WHY?!
What benefit does it bring them? What reason are they cooking up in their head to justify doing that? It can't simply be a case of "Ooh, that's pretty and shiny, I want to be near it." I appreciate a glance at a sportscar as much as next bloke, but I don't need to be so close as to risk damaging it before I'm satisfied. I have pulled into car parks, found such a clear spot as above and then just as I'm about to get out of the car I've seen people zero in on where I am and rather than just drive straight into the spot 2 bays away actually perform some multi-point turn, "no-idea-where-my-bumpers-end," parking manouver, just to be next to me. This has happened with every nice car I've ever had. I can see them coming and as they're about to try out their limited spacial awareness I drive away and find another spot much to their confusion, only to find another tt has unnecessarily squeezed their jalopy in where it needn't be by the time I return. s.
There's the odd post about this in the Bad Parking thread, but why do people feel the need to park their mundane, unloved sh*tboxes next to nice cars? If it's the only space available then fair enough, but I always park my car right out of the way in any car park I go to, be it a supermarket car park, multi-storey, etc. If it's on one open level I park right at the back as far away from other cars as possible. If it's a multi-storey I'll deliberately park on a level with no other cars, preferably with a clear level between and enjoy the extra walk. I also try to make a judgement of which space is likely to avoid having a mouth breather park next to me, e.g. so as the spaces next to me would require a little effort to park whereas other spaces would allow them to plonk a Picasso straight in.
So why, no matter how much effort I go to, do I return to my car to find, 4 times out of 5, a f
king stty, bashed up, piece of st, stbox clearly owned by some moronic fking, 2 GCSE grade D, procreating machine parked within a foot of my door? What is the fking mentality of going out of their way to park their fking Espace with bald tyres and booster seats right next to my car?! There are literally hundreds of other spaces in the car park, all closer to the shop/exit and many of which with no cars either side meaning they, or their darling offspring, could fling their car doors open with gay abandon and it wouldn't matter a jot. It would have been easier for them to just drive into one of the other spots, but they've obviously performed some kind of acrobatics to squeeze in, at an angle, next to me. WHY?! What benefit does it bring them? What reason are they cooking up in their head to justify doing that? It can't simply be a case of "Ooh, that's pretty and shiny, I want to be near it." I appreciate a glance at a sportscar as much as next bloke, but I don't need to be so close as to risk damaging it before I'm satisfied. I have pulled into car parks, found such a clear spot as above and then just as I'm about to get out of the car I've seen people zero in on where I am and rather than just drive straight into the spot 2 bays away actually perform some multi-point turn, "no-idea-where-my-bumpers-end," parking manouver, just to be next to me. This has happened with every nice car I've ever had. I can see them coming and as they're about to try out their limited spacial awareness I drive away and find another spot much to their confusion, only to find another t
t has unnecessarily squeezed their jalopy in where it needn't be by the time I return. s.Had that with our Smart Roadster as soon as we got it, go to morrisons, be sure to park miles away from anyway. Come back after 5mins to find a st box family guy car parked up right close, they even reversed parked just to make sure it was even harder to get out of their drivers door - spins my nuts big time that does!!
t box family guy car parked up right close, they even reversed parked just to make sure it was even harder to get out of their drivers door - spins my nuts big time that does!!BrewsterBear said:
There's the odd post about this in the Bad Parking thread, but why do people feel the need to park their mundane, unloved sh*tboxes next to nice cars?
Reminds me of that line from Gremlins."Will the owner of vehicle number (whatever) please remove it from the Trump car park. Your car is old, and dirty."
used to pop into aldi in a grotty place called haverhill once in a while - there was an 's' reg ford cortina that had been 'cherished' by its simple owner since its/the owners birth. you know the thing - turtled to death with polished chrome exhaust, door edge plastic chrome trim etc etc...he/she always parked the car on the lines over two bays so that no one else came close. amusingly sad.
i do think that there are annoying idiots out there who, when they see a 'cherished' car parked obviously away from the pack in a safer secluded spot, will deliberately park right next to it to piss the coveting owner off.
seems it works? never underestimate how annoying shallow folk can be....
i do think that there are annoying idiots out there who, when they see a 'cherished' car parked obviously away from the pack in a safer secluded spot, will deliberately park right next to it to piss the coveting owner off.
seems it works? never underestimate how annoying shallow folk can be....
ceriw said:
he/she always parked the car on the lines over two bays so that no one else came close. amusingly sad.
I wouldn't dare do that for fear of being deliberately vandalised. This could all be solved by the supermarkets if they put a few of Parent and Child sized spaces right at the back of the car park, but allowed them for anyone to use. I'd gladly walk 500yds to leave my car in a space which meant door dings would be avoided.I also try to park at the end of a row at the back of a car park if possible so I can pull right over in the bay leaving as much room as possible on the only side a car could possibly park. This, however, makes very little difference as the car does park in the available spot pulls over their line anyway so they're still within inches of adding another dent.
I'll happily park right at the back of a carpark where there's few cars, if it means a slightly reduced chance of my car getting damaged by some drooling idiot. I don't particularly mind that I have to walk for another 30 seconds. It usually works too, as these people are generally pretty bone idle.. 
Rawwr said:
You're right, there should be special parking bays just for you.
BrewsterBear said:
This could all be solved by the supermarkets if they put a few of Parent and Child sized spaces right at the back of the car park, but allowed them for anyone to use.
Rawwr said:
In fact, I believe there already are; they're the ones with the little wheelchair dude painted in them.
Says the man who can't spell roar/raw.BrewsterBear said:
Says the man who can't spell roar/raw.
You know what capital letters are and how they work, right?Seriously, you're getting annoyed about people parking near you? I mean, not actually doing any damage, just parking next to you?
If you care that much about your car and are that worried about it, why don't you try not leaving it in public carparks? Buy a £500 snotter instead and relish in the joys of not caring.
This has got me thinking.
You can order 250 business cards for the price of a Big Mac. I might just have some printed up along the lines of "Please park your piece of crap far away from a nice looking car next time."
The words need a bit of work and it's unlikely to be effective in any way but it'll make me feel better when I leave it under someone's windscreen wiper.
You can order 250 business cards for the price of a Big Mac. I might just have some printed up along the lines of "Please park your piece of crap far away from a nice looking car next time."
The words need a bit of work and it's unlikely to be effective in any way but it'll make me feel better when I leave it under someone's windscreen wiper.
Pints said:
This has got me thinking.
You can order 250 business cards for the price of a Big Mac. I might just have some printed up along the lines of "Please park your piece of crap far away from a nice looking car next time."
The words need a bit of work and it's unlikely to be effective in any way but it'll make me feel better when I leave it under someone's windscreen wiper.
Yes, I'm sure upon reading that, they will in no way even think about taking their keys and running them across every body panel of your nice car.You can order 250 business cards for the price of a Big Mac. I might just have some printed up along the lines of "Please park your piece of crap far away from a nice looking car next time."
The words need a bit of work and it's unlikely to be effective in any way but it'll make me feel better when I leave it under someone's windscreen wiper.
Rawwr said:
Pints said:
This has got me thinking.
You can order 250 business cards for the price of a Big Mac. I might just have some printed up along the lines of "Please park your piece of crap far away from a nice looking car next time."
The words need a bit of work and it's unlikely to be effective in any way but it'll make me feel better when I leave it under someone's windscreen wiper.
Yes, I'm sure upon reading that, they will in no way even think about taking their keys and running them across every body panel of your nice car.You can order 250 business cards for the price of a Big Mac. I might just have some printed up along the lines of "Please park your piece of crap far away from a nice looking car next time."
The words need a bit of work and it's unlikely to be effective in any way but it'll make me feel better when I leave it under someone's windscreen wiper.
No? Just me then?
BrewsterBear said:
This could all be solved by the supermarkets if they put a few of Parent and Child sized spaces right at the back of the car park, but allowed them for anyone to use. I'd gladly walk 500yds to leave my car in a space which meant door dings would be avoided.
They have these at my local Sainsburys. There are a bunch of extra wide spaces right at the far end of the car park and I always try to plonk mine in at one of the spaces on either end as close to the edge as possible. I normally end up with enough space to stick a motorbike between the two cars.My car's nothing special but I still try to look after it.
BrewsterBear said:
So why, no matter how much effort I go to, do I return to my car to find, 4 times out of 5, a fking stty, bashed up, piece of st, stbox clearly owned by some moronic fking, 2 GCSE grade D, procreating machine parked within a foot of my door? What is the fking mentality of going out of their way to park their fking Espace with bald tyres and booster seats right next to my car?! There are literally hundreds of other spaces in the car park, all closer to the shop/exit and many of which with no cars either side meaning they, or their darling offspring, could fling their car doors open with gay abandon and it wouldn't matter a jot. It would have been easier for them to just drive into one of the other spots, but they've obviously performed some kind of acrobatics to squeeze in, at an angle, next to me. WHY?!
How do you know that the"fking stty, bashed up, piece of st, stbox clearly owned by some moronic fking, 2 GCSE grade D, procreating machine parked within a foot of my door? What is the fking mentality of going out of their way to park their fking Espace with bald tyres and booster seats right next to my car?! There are literally hundreds of other spaces in the car park, all closer to the shop/exit and many of which with no cars either side meaning they, or their darling offspring, could fling their car doors open with gay abandon and it wouldn't matter a jot. It would have been easier for them to just drive into one of the other spots, but they've obviously performed some kind of acrobatics to squeeze in, at an angle, next to me. WHY?! king stty, bashed up piece of st" is not their p & J?Much as I hate to disappoint you, your mum lied when she said the world revolved around you.
Pints said:
Think about that - surely you'd leave it on their car when you return to your car and are about to drive away?
No? Just me then?
That did occur to me as I hit the submit button No? Just me then?
Why not just wait around for the owner to get back and them tell them to their face? They're surely more likely to remember that and take note.
Maybe there would be on benefit of the proposed "tax on car park spaces" - perhaps car park spaces will suddenly grow bigger as stores/offices/firms try to reduce the number of spaces and their tax burden. Of ocurse, then we'd get loads of threads about not being able to park anywhere
Seriously, part of the problem is car park spaces have stayed the same size but cars haven't. However, the main problem is that some people just don't care about others' belongings. You need to decide whether your "pride and joy" remaining pristine is more important to you than the convenience of driving it to the shops with the possibility of it being damaged. Reading many of the threads on PH, I find myself thinking I'm fortunate that I don't worry too much about it.
Another option - have a child! then you can park in the parent & child spaces guilt-free. OK, it may be a bit extreme, but you know, anything goes when protecting that paintwork although you might want to think about the potential of pram-scratches... 
Yeah, what was I thinking. Someone on Pistonheads going to some lengths to try to protect their cherished car is ridiculous. To then complain about someone deliberately undoing that work for reasons unknown is even more ridiculous. The selfish bds not wanting their car covered in dings and scratches.
It almost makes you think this place might attract some trolls.
ds not wanting their car covered in dings and scratches.It almost makes you think this place might attract some trolls.
I will always leave my unloved heap of st next to a decent car firstly I am aware that someone with a lovely car is less likely to open their car doors and further damage my paint job and also having a non heap of st car that while you may see the disgust in seeing my car next to yours that I have no kids and will be exceptionally careful with my doors. Personally I am all in favor of child and parent parking spaces because having people with kids park next to me has already stopped me caring.
Keep your child locks on the car doors at least until your children have their first car. It may sound extreme but sulky careless teenagers are just as bad as two year olds.
t next to a decent car firstly I am aware that someone with a lovely car is less likely to open their car doors and further damage my paint job and also having a non heap of st car that while you may see the disgust in seeing my car next to yours that I have no kids and will be exceptionally careful with my doors. Personally I am all in favor of child and parent parking spaces because having people with kids park next to me has already stopped me caring.Keep your child locks on the car doors at least until your children have their first car. It may sound extreme but sulky careless teenagers are just as bad as two year olds.
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