Drivers waiting for a space in shopping centre car parks

[Lydiaatthebarre]

Earlier today there was a queue of traffic backed out onto the main road from my local shopping centre car park - all caused by a driver sitting with his indicator on waiting for someone to unpack loads of shopping into the boot of her car, get two toddlers strapped in and leave the trolley back at a nearby bay.

AIBU to think that, yes, finding parking can be difficult at this time of year, but no, that doesn't mean that common sense and consideration for others (including the very stressed looking mother trying to get packed up and out of the space as quickly as possible because she was probably mortified at the hold up) goes out the window?

YANBU. This drives me nuts. I had a ton of shopping to put into the car on Saturday, plus I had my young niece with me. Some idiot sat there the whole time, flashing his indicator and looking annoyed, while I went as fast as I could and a long line of traffic built up behind him.

He also stopped so close to me that it was really, really difficult to reverse out without hitting him and he couldn't move back because of all the cars behind, which caused another delay. I was hot, mortified and nearly in tears by the time I finally got out.

People need to use a bit of bloody sense.

Hmmm.

Driver is waiting for a space to come vacant. I'm not sure they're really obligated to give up on the space and chancing it elsewhere just so the traffic behind can move into the car park (maybe different if traffic is trying to get elsewhere).
As much as the driver is to blame for the queue, so is everyone else queueing with him.
As for the shopper - they have products and stuff to unload, so can just go about their business. Takes as long as it takes. But then, I feel no pressure whatsoever to vacate a spot quicker just because someone is waiting. I own't deliberately dawdle, but if they want the space then they can wait for it

It makes me go slower!

Unless you can pull over so others can pass then just drive on

YANBU!

I hate this. Happened to me at the hospital last week and I ended up late for my appointment .

Plenty of space on the road outside which I was on my way out of the car park to get to and some idiot decided to wait for a lady with a baby and another small child to get in the car so of course she had to pack the buggy up and strap the kids in etc.. (no issue with her of course, I had my own baby in the car, just the bloke holding everyone up waiting for her). Finally get moving again and the next car in front does the same bloody thing!!! Infuriating!!

YANBU

I know that we are lucky in that we can all walk across the car park easily, so I often just dive into the far end where there are more likely to be spaces. But the amount of people who will sit and wait for a space outside the door...Well, I don't believe that they all need the closeness, it's mostly just laziness

Saw this in a Car Park in Milton Keynes the other week. Car in front was frustrated by car in front of him waiting for a space, and dangerously frustrated. He was banging on the horn and generally getting more and more irate.
Finally car swung into space but wasn't quite at the right angle, idiot decides he's now going to floor it and screech past, only parking car reverses and hits idiot right on the wing.

We had it all on dash cam, and I guess it was the fault of space reversing guy, but I didn't offer the footage to help the idiot.

"As much as the driver is to blame for the queue, so is everyone else queueing with him"

The cars aren't queueing up with him, they're stuck behind him.

But I agree cars shouldn't be holding everyone up on the road and causing traffic jams to get into the car park either. A few years ago in Dublin City they used to have police out moving cars on at Christmas if they tried this. Not sure if they still do it.

Because I’m an arsehole, if someone does this while I’m filling the boot, I close it and walk back into the shop. I hate feeling rushed.

Sorry but if you need a space, what are you supposed to do this time of year? Drive round and round adding yet more traffic to an overcrowded carpark?

Yes, Bianca. Obviously if someone is hopping into their car and about to reverse out it's okay to wait for the space. But if someone is going to be a while packing shopping and strapping in kids, then it's totally inconsiderate to hold everyone up.
Just drive around. A space will eventually free up.

I quite often go back into the shop depending on how considerately to both myself and the other drivers someone waits. Besides can also guarantee my 4 year old needs a wee when someone is waiting 😂

I don't mind so much the waiting it is annoying but I live ridiculously close to one of the biggest shopping centres in the UK and ds2 actually attends nursery in it so you sort of get used to it

However it's annoying when they won't pull to a side , I would argue usually that an indicator on and stopped to one side bagsies the space when vacated so then everyone could get past

Although I was amazed at the CF the other day when I was very excited to get a parent child place whilst going with ds1 to pick up ds 2....pulled in , I had been the next in line...all terribly fair and just excellent luck

Chivying ds1 out if his car seat ( this is relevant to make clear I obviously had a youngish child with me and ds1 car seat was in the car in plain sight) when a very hooked bosom woman marches up to me

"I wanted that space " she demanded

I looked quizzically and said " erm right sorry about that but I was next in line "

She huffs and brings herself up to full height

" yes but I have children "
.I looked down at ds1 wondering if he had spontaneously turned into an elf of some description rather than continuing to be a small child

Have being assured he was still a child

" erm yes so do I and I'm going to pick up another one "

(Come to think of it now that sounded dodgy I should have pointed out I was related to the second one and not planning to randomly pick up a child )

"Yes but I have a child and I wanted that space "

Now thoroughly confused I said

" well I don't know what to say I was there first and I have children with me so needed the space , I won't be long"

She simply huffed and said

"But I wanted it "

At this point I didn't really know what to do and needed to pick up ds2 so just said

" well ok then"

And walked off with ds1 to hear her say

" well some people are rude"

I mean I can be certainly , I'm probably a bit of an arse sometimes but I was genuinely confused why her need came first

People are very odd in car parks this time of the year

DH and I always park as far away as possible to avoid idiots that hover and lurk for closer spaces.

DH gets a bit flustered if he is driving and someone starts pestering for our space but I tell him to take his time because it isn't his fault that the other driver has taken a liberty and is causing a queue. When I am driving I tend to ignore them or wave them on with a cheery smile and then sit there whilst my car defrosts or heats up and check my emails and messages before I set off. Passive aggressive? Sure! But I refuse to pander to morons and allow them to cause a tail back based on their assumption.

Oh I hate this. I regularly park in multistoreys and can't believe the number of absolute dicksplashes who won't drive up a few floors (there are lifts) where there are 100 free spaces and instead sit and wait on someone about to leave, or try to reverse into the first space they see, however awkward, and hold everyone else up. It can add a good 10mins to a morning rush hour commute for everyone, including themselves, it's so bizarre! There's a special place in hell for those people.

I think it's fine to wait, as long as there's space for people to get past. What really annoys me is the people who don't seem to feel they can go past. It happens at my local Aldi and Lidl - traffic backed up onto the road, but n one will go past the first person who has stopped. I get a lot of dirty loos when I drive past and around, but I'm sorry, I'm not blocking the traffic on a major road because a driver thinks that by stopping at the entrance to the car park he now has first dibs on any car park space that comes free. Ditto, when I'm at the front of the queue, I drive forward. Sometimes that means I land up missing a space that came up further behind me, but I know one will come up ahead in time and it's better than blocking the main road.

Usually there is space to wait at the side with your indicator on while allowing others to pass.

I don’t mind so much if there’s no other space available, I certainly don’t rush myself though. What boils my piss is if there are other spaces but they’re further from the door. On more than one occasion in the latter case I’ve either just dumped my bags and gone back into the shops or sat in the car drinking my coffee for 20 mins so they get fed up and bugger off

Because I’m an arsehole, if someone does this while I’m filling the boot, I close it and walk back into the shop.

Glad you know you're an arsehole because that is just twisted.

Take as long as you need and leave when you are ready, unless they tell you to hurry up or beep their horn there is no need to be arsey and just make the parking situation worse.

Ha ha! I have done similar Schmoobarb! I feel a little bit unreasonable and rude after yet still satisfied.

Waiting pulled over so other drivers can get past I dont have a problem with. Sometimes in a packed car park it’s the only way to get a space and some peoples need for a space in a particular position is worth a wait for them rather than driving straight into an empty space at the back or something. But I won’t be hassled by it and holding up a whole queue of traffic unnecessarily is totally out of order.

If you pull over that's fine. Also tbh it's a bloody nightmare driving round like a twat trying to find a space do in the end I just wait if it's busy.

I had one the other day - multistory hospital car park before 9am (I had been in and out for a prescription) and a guy stopped and gestured at me to see if I was leaving. I was parked right by the up-ramp so it caused chaos. I shook my head as I was just sorting my bags out before I left and popping my phone on to charge, etc and he carried on.

I wouldn't have minded, only there was about 75% of the spaces free on that floor if he had just carried on a bit.

All the pay on exit car parks where I live only let you in if there are enough spaces, so once you are in the car park there will be a space somewhere if you just look for it. Which is why people pulling stopping to wait, and blocking the traffic, drives me mad.

I can kind of understand it in pay and display car parks where there is no guarantee that there is actually a space free.

That is annoying! Why should the girl become stressed because of some prat. I would go slower, even sit in the car and read the news till he moved lol. Just like at the hospital two weeks ago I was ready to park after driving round for half an hour. Some girl stood in the middle of the space saying this was her friends space, they saw it first! 😂😂😂

Certain shopping centres around us have notices that queueing on the road isn't permitted, and police will enforce that.

Hard to think of a better incentive to shop online, really.

treaclesoda - the only flaw to the car parks that regulate the inward flow is that they can't take account of the size of people's cars and the people who cannot park properly, thus rendering some spaces usable only to someone in a Smart car

My favourite multi storey car parks have lights above each space that indicate whether they are vacant or not, so you can glance down a row and see whether it's worth driving down or not. I wish all big car parks had this system