to think that just because your car is in the lines does not mean you have parked well?!

[holdmybeer]

Just had an run in with a woman who parked in the space next to me whilst I was paying for parking. She was not straight in the space, so she could open her drivers door but I couldn't open my rear door to get my sleeping toddler out. I called her out on her terrible parking and moved my car to another space.

She followed me and started shouting at me "do you want to look? I'm in the lines" I think she wanted a medal?! to which I replied "Yes but only just and it's more the fact that your car isn't straight but not to worry I've moved my car" she just kept saying "take a look, I'm in the lines!" She was right in my face and only backed off when my child woke up. Although she carried on shouting things at me when we crossed in the street later "child spaces!" I'm thinking she's never had to find one in a busy car park

AIBU to think she is crap at parking and that she should have been grateful I said anything and was prepared to move my car rather than waiting for her to walk off and then ramming my door into the side of her car which my partner may well have done?

Parking within the lines can still mean parked badly and inconsiderately. I think we can’t say if you were reasonable or unreasonable as it depends on what “calling her out” amounted to.

🤷🏻‍♀️

I love Mumsnet

There are threads upon threads of people revelling in shit and inconsiderate parking. The offending drivers are cheeky fuckers etc etc etc.

But all of a sudden it takes a dramatic twist, and someone parks inconsiderately in a carpark making it difficult for someone else to exit their car and it's the OP who is unreasonable because they were still in the lines!

In the lines doesn't mean it's automatically correct.

Op, YANBU, the other driver was either a shit driver/Parker, sloppy, lazy or inconsiderate, or all of the above.

^^ exactly!

For me, it depends on what and how you said it. Personally I wouldn't have said anything, I'd have just moved. It didn't achieve anything by saying anything, just escalated things.

YABU to criticise her parking if she was in the bay completely

YANBU to get upset about the aggression she gave you. I park close to the line on drivers side so I can get kids/dogs out the slidey door on the other side, I’ve been asked to move and happily have, wouldn’t dream of shouting at a stranger over parking.

In the lines is quite easy with small cars but can still make it a nightmare for the owner of the car in the adjacent space. It really pisses me off when people pull into a space at a wonky angle, wheel on full turn and expect everyone else to avoid their car just because they can’t be bothered to straighten it up.

It's totally lazy parking not straightening your car up and try and not be as close to the line as possible! YANBU

I am not the assertive type and would never normally have said anything. As I said earlier, pregnancy hormones played their part... All I said to her was that I had a sleeping child in the car and that I wouldn't be able to get him out. (Yes, I was irritated buy I wasn't rude) I then got in my car and moved it as a space had come free on the end of the row.

Some people are just thoughtless! But it is extremely annoying when people park so close you can't open the doors. It happens to me a lot, as I have a two seater car with very thick doors. I once had to climb in via the roof (it's a convertible), when 2 4x wheel drive cars parked right up to my doors on either side. I hate to think what's it like trying to extract a toddler in this situation.

Just not sure I deserved the abuse for not damaging her car?

Whatever she did,. you have NO RIGHT to damage her car. That would have been criminal damage and you'd have been liable for her costs. You have an attitude problem if you think you've done her a favour by not damaging her car!

Staggering levels of self righteousness on here. So someone parked a bit wonky in a car park, all the people with lacking lives come out to moan. Get a life. As for pregnancy hormones, not an excuse for approaching people and being hostile.

I still remember the battleaxe woman who had a go at me over my parking 20 years ago. I was 18, childless and had only just passed my driving test, so had near to zero experience on leaving enough space to get in and out of the car. I parked my very small car at a wonky angle (but within the lines) and got out to get my ticket. Woman with mahoosive giant vehicle filled with children then parked alongside me and had an almighty go at me, really shouting at me for being a bad driver and not leaving enough space for her children to get out. Even though I was parked there first and there were many other spaces she could have chosen. According to her it was also my fault that she had a huge car...

I've never forgotten her and have tried to park fairly evenly between the lines ever since. She was damn rude but I don't want to get accosted like that again!

It's frustrating OP but I do think you were being a bit U to "call her out" on it. I couldn't get into my car through the driver's door the other day because someone had parked stupidly close, but they were still (just) within the lines. I just had to grumble to myself, glare at the other empty car and shuffle in over the passenger seat.

she should have been grateful I said anything and was prepared to move my car rather than waiting for her to walk off and then ramming my door into the side of her car

Grateful? Seriously? Grateful that you didn’t deliberately damage her car?

I don't really understand why the wonkiness is a particular issue, as she'd have been equally close if she'd parked straight but very close to the line, and that's clearly legitimate parking? Also, I'm pregnant too and still manage to not go around starting arguments with random people in car parks - I'm really not sure that it's the iron-clad excuse to be aggressive that you think it is.

Couldn't you have got your child through the door on the other side?

I'm really bad at parking, I'll try my best to leave a decent amount of space but don't always manage it. I think it's considerate to park straight and give the neighbouring car breathing space but if you're within the lines your technically parked OK.

hat she should have been grateful I said anything and was prepared to move my car rather than waiting for her to walk off and then ramming my door into the side of her car

She should have been grateful that you only "called her out" (translation: poked your beak in where it wasn't wanted) and didn't criminally damage her car?

I would have told you to sod off.

btw "pregnancy hormones" are not an excuse for anything, and def not here.

Totally with you on this OP! I have 2 neighbours that are completely unable to park in the middle of their spaces (either side of my space in our flats' car park) which means I am often completely blocked in on both sides despite them being "within the lines"! I'm a rather slim build but in the past I've had to leave DS in the pram whilst I climb through the boot of my car to get to the front seat to reverse car out.

Oh and there was this awkward incident in a public car park when I was heavily pregnant and unable to get into my car due to a car parking on the edge of the white line... had to ask someone else to climb in on the passenger car and drive my car out for me

YADNBU.

As I have too much time on my hands I have drawn you a diagram.

InspMorse love the little people in the drawing

OP, ignore the posters calling you UR.

I'm always careful to park in the centre of a parking spot. This woman was an inconsiderate twat.

I was parked in a spot the other day and came back to my car to find a woman had parked her car parked next to mine.

She opened her rear car door and RAMMED it into mine. If she had asked me, I would have moved my car to let her access the backseat.

I was tempted to ram my door into her car as well but it was a momentary feeling that passed.

The people having a go at you for having a momentary wish to ram her car are being sanctimonious, we all have impulses we don't act on.

Thanks InspMorse I do love a parking diagram she was parked on the other side of me but yes.

I'm not surprised by the replies on this thread. I was fully prepared to hear that I was BU. She was rude, inconsiderate and aggressive but then she probably thinks the same about me.

I park regularly, in a private car park that marked out with quite small spaces, but everyone who uses it is generally polite and considerate. There are sufficient disabled spaces and there are no children involved. I arrived this week to find —my special space gone, how dare they— the car park almost full with a visiting conference. Fine, but one person had parked like a twit, right over to one edge, at the beginning of a row, so everyone had to follow suit. I parked in the last but one, which was the last normal length space. The last was shorter but wider. A car parked right after me and the driver got out and berated me for parking too close to the line. She was in a tiny car, Noddy would have found it a pinch, and there was plenty of space all around her car. She was also very small and apparently very agile. I just let her rant and pointed to the other cars. She looked and said ‘oh, I see, okay then - but I shan’t be coming here again !’ And flounced off. I can only think that she had had a bad start to her morning.

I'm also loving the fortunate people who have never suffered hormone related mood swings. I hope you know how lucky you are? It's not an excuse, it's an explanation. I'm the timid doormouse kind of person normally. I avoid confrontation at all costs and am usually very considered in what I say overthinking before I speak. I am horrified at what comes out of my mouth at the moment! It's like I have no filter and can go from laughing to crying in seconds.