Pulling out of a parking space

[C0FFEE]

Something that really bugs me!

Today parked in the street, pulling out the car in front was really close and so was the one to the rear, so I checked nothing was coming, street was clear so I began pulling out, concentrating on not hitting the car in front, suddenly Mini appears from behind squeezing though the gap between my car and the car parked on the other side of the road ( must have missed it by an inch), the woman giving me the v sign as she passed.

The same is true when in a car park, when you start to back out of a space and nothing is coming they should stop and give way not carrying on assuming that they have been seen

Surely I am IANBU to presume that if someone comes across a manoeuvring vehicle I would expect them to give way

YABU to expect them to give way, however it is often common sense to do so in order to avoid an accident.

In the circumstances you describe, technically the other vehicle does have right of way and you would be liable if they hit you.

In practice though I think the roads would be a better place if there was a bit more give and take and common courtosy applied.

The only thing you can safely assume on the road is that every other car is potentially driven by an idiot, particularly in car parks.

I agree with absolutely everything that Shakirasma just said

yabu - no wonder this is really bugging you as it is not your right of way so I expect it happens to you all the time! many people would stop out of politeness but it's not your right of way - you are supposed to stop your manoeuvre - of course that might mean you are blocking the road completely and then they would have to stop like it or not

I assume you were indicating to pull out?

One of my biggest annoyances when driving is when I am driving along a road and someone is fannying about trying to get out but no indicators!!

Are you sure?

Once I started manoeuvre I am no longer parked and have entered the carriage way, if a vehicle then arrives it is up to them to pass safely or stop, is it not?

If I ru8n into a back of the vehicle because they are doing 15mph and I was doing 30mph, I can not claim it is their fault because they were driving to slowly, can I

Same as on a car park

????

PS I do look out for other cars, if I am in my Range Rover it is easy to see a car coming, if I am in my MR2 it is loads harder!

reverse into spaces and then you can just pull out forwards, which is far safer. I reverse into spaces for this reason.

but you can't reverse into spaces that are slanted. You have to drive in forward

yes you can. I do. the car park outside my youngest's school has a row of slanted spaces (long story there about a fight with a horrible man because the lines were so faint and I made a mistake )

Anyway, I reverse into those.

if you can go in forwards, you can reverse in. if you can reverse out you can go out forwards.

and people are, funnily enough, more willing to wait while you reverse into a space than they are willing to give way to you to get out of one.

anyway, I am not criticising you don't think that. I was just trying to give you an alternative to try to make things easier for you.

Having just passed my test (last Friday ) I know that you don't have right of way I'm afraid. When you're out of your space and driving then yes. But while you're still manuevering then no. You have to check allthe time and move slowly enough that you can do your observation. The tip about keeping your window open is a good one as you can hear cars before you see them. Your mirrors are there for a reason!

Thanks Giddy yes it is!

like iggly - i passed my test recently (just before xmas)

you do NOT have right of way, if you did this on your test (ie try to pull out and not stop for oncoming vehicles) you would fail.

Coffee - sorry - you sound a nightmare driver!
LOL at needing the RR because you can't see on the other one.
Shudder.

That probably sounds horrible, sorry, but it frightens me, people being so dependent on Big Metal rather than skill, experience and knowledge.

I hope this thread helps

I judged when I read about the range rover

you have to give way to the traffic already moving on the road COFFEE. most people are good about letting people out in your situation but you do have to be careful and not take it for granted.

the mini driver sounded intolerant and should slow down a bit as well but it would have been your fault had she hit you.

Also it is not enough to check nobody is coming just at the start of a manoeuvre. You should be going slow enough to be checking in all directions and not just concentrating on getting out of the space.

I agree! Instead of 'concentrating on not hitting the car in front' you should be going REALLY slowly and looking in every mirror every second, so you are aware of any cars behind you. In fact you should have been looking over your shoulder and THEN having a look at car in front - always look behind you if you are reversing.

And of COURSE it's possible to reverse into a slanted space

Surely if you are still needing to concentrate hard on the car parked in front, you need to do more chops and angle the car more so you can pull out more easily at the front?

Agree you don't have right of way, though she was very rude to make a sign at you and should not have been coming up so fast and close between parked cars.

BUT she could have possibly been very exasperated with you OP, if you were ploughing into the road without properly looking - hence flicking you the V's!

I have nearly hit people who seem to think that they shouldn't have to stop whilst a car is reversing, nobody has nay patience or manners at the moment.

They shouldn't have to stop though Mamatomany - the person reversing should be driving slow enough to stop if another car is behind them.

And rather than people not having manners or patience perhaps you might need to brush of your reversing skills?