To be annoyed at people in large 4X4 pickups to complain that parking spaces too small

[Ripeberry]

Hi, I had parked my car neatly within the lines marked out for the parking bay and was just returning back to it when a woman in a MASSIVE pick-up truck parks right next to me and so i have to wait as she gets out of her car.
She almost bashes my side of the car and then she gives me a look an says "Its not my fault these spaces are not big enough"
I had to really bite my tongue as she had two school age children with her as i would have loved to have said "well, most people drive normal cars and we don't all have a fat arse like you"
Because, no kidding, she was a fat arsed lady, almost totally round, no wonder she can't fit in spaces.
God help her if someone blocks her in, should be a funny sight trying to crawl in the boot to move the car.
Sorry about the rant, but she really got on my goat.
AB

well, funnily enough you're half right, icing. despite havig a smaller car i have been forced to park up on 2 wheels more often recently IN ORDER THAT 4x4s CAN GET PAST on the road. i feel like a shit for doiing it and i always leave enough room for buggies to get past on the pavement side.
but if i park on some roads here now stoopid 4x4 drivers will clip me because despite it being a 20 mile an hour zone they never seem to stay under that limit. plus the cabs (i think) are so high up that they actually have more trouble judging distance on either side.
so what were we saying about us all being fucked? i'm having to be a less considerate driver in order for 4x4s to stay on the road?

Okay Aitch, I give in you're right.
I'll sell my car and get a small car.

I'm selfish to want to keep my family safe without an ounce of thought for the rest of society, I only have it to make people jealous and when I park of course I park as stupidly as possible to annoy as many people as possible.

I'm sorry for my wicked ways and have informed dh that we will be buying a smart car asap as the nice lady on mn says we should.

(actually we will be buying a smart car/mini for dh as all he does is drive to the station)

HI....JUST TO ADD TO THIS....THEN I WILL RUN!!!

i am a 4x4 driver, size 10 with a small arse.

i park in the spaces and get shouted and screamed at for.....'parking', its all in a days work. ha ha

i have a 4x4 because.............no reason just liked the look of it.

running very fast............

will you really sell your car muppetgirl, or what? because nothing of what i've said is untrue.

Very succinctly put post, 'muppet' girl.

What a great nickname, too!

see lucykatie that's the kind of honesty i can live with, lol... it's what i suspect most 4x4 drivers think.

Of course Aitch. I take on board all your points and totally agree with them.
I thank you for pointing out all of my faults as I was driving round in a pure selfish haze.

SO sorry to have offended so many people, I never realsied this was such a contentious issue.

Brought to you by the legacy of Thatcher's 'There is no society' era!

Nickname form uni -even etched it one drunken night on the side of my car (astra, not 4x4)but, unfortunately, spelt it wrong!

That was the same astra I accidentally grew rice in the front passenger foot well.

TMI, muppet.

also, i am a considerate driver, despite my 4x4....honestly i am, i dont speed and if i was to clip anybodys car i would leave a note or try and find the person.

i do try and park out of the way of busy car parks, in fact just the other day i parked and my 4x4 was all alnoe in huge car park......some fella parks right next to me despite loads of other spaces.....he does no more than wait for me to have a 'go'. hey ho, i did explain the above and he says that he has more rights than me to park where he wants!!!!!!
odd.

Muppet girl, i'm quite good at spotting sarcasm, that was sarcasm wasn't it? I bet it was. You're not really getting rid of your big car are you - hahahaha. Very good.

So, look this is very good at explaining what is wrong and why 4x4s are NOT safer for anyone, even you

hhhmm, i don't know muppetgirl, i think there's a little something in your tone that suggests you are not being quite truthful...

anyway, seriously, why is your child's safety more important than mine? you never did get round to answering that.

If you're looking for a reason, Aitch, just repeat the following mantra: 'There is no society'.

Agree with Aitch. The price you pay for your perceived "safety" in driving these enormous cars around towns (excluding those that need them in the sticks) is that a majority of people will think you a selfish git.

Speaking as someone who was nearly knocked over by one whilst 9 months preg and on crutches. Who needs these in North London for goodness sake?

Always make a point of making them reverse if we meet in a road that would have been passable if we both had average cars. The number of people driving them that cant manoevere (sp) them properly is quite amusing.

I drive a small car (a polo) and my dp drives a van for work, plus he has a jeep, which we use if we go out altogether.

I love my polo, i am too scared to drive anything bigger and it's very good for driving round town. My dp is 6ft 5, he doesn't fit in my polo as he is tall and massive (not fat by the way just massive). He is also disabled. He has a jeep because it is easy for him to get in and out of because the seats are high so he can just sit down and twist his body round to face forward. This also means he doesn't have to bend down to get in the car and be pulled up to get out.

Have to go as have m/w app at 11.30. Will be back later to catch up.

Might be tmi but don't want to be seen as running away.....

well muppets child safety isn't more important Aitch - if it was she wouldn't get a 4x4 - in USA one child A WEEK is killed by being reversed over by their parents in their 4x4. That's not very safe.

I sold a Ford Mondeo because it was a PITA to park in crappy little English parking spaces only 6 inches wider than Fiesta. I used to have to let my passengers out before parking because you couldn't open the doors both sides when parked. Couldn't be arsed to drive a 4x4 in a city. BTW, Dh got a 60 grand Range Rover (not ours) stuck in the South Yorkshire mud this morning. Too cocky, thought it could go through anything (obviously even a mighty Range Rover has its limitations).

I must admit to a liking for some of those 4x4s, though . At least I'll never be able to afford one - far more interesting things to spend my (pitiful) money on!

We used to carry a wood plank in our boot to help 4x4 eejit drivers get out of the snow, Grumpy.

YES, you STILL get stuck in them, folks.

YES, if there is ice on the road, you will slide.

YES, in high cross-winds, you are much more likely to flip/roll the car, as when taking tight turns on bendy roads.

Aitch your post yesterday 22.37 is spot on

kerala you've just reminded me of the time when a 4x4 was 'parking' and hit a massive wheelie-bin on the pavement which then toppled over right beside me and dd (in her pram). god, no wonder i hate them. and no, a normal car wouldn't have toppled it if it had bumped it. it's the height, y'see?
saw that about the one child a week dying by their parent's car... tragic.

on the way to school today, a co op lorry reversed parked, mounted the pavement as myself and my children werewalking along it, they had run of slightly ahead of me , there is no way he could have seen them, how wankerish is that?

from that website -

Ground-level pollution from 4x4s is just as damaging as carbon dioxide emissions, and much more immediately dangerous.

4x4s can emit twice as much carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen dioxide as passenger cars. These chemicals cause ozone and other pollutants to build up around cities, leading to poor air quality and dangerous smog.

Despite the congestion charge, air quality in London is still way below minimum health standards on a regular basis. Professor Mike Pilling, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Leeds, said that London and other major cities would suffer most from the rise in dangerous emissions from car exhausts. "It's clear that we are not going to meet the objectives that the government has for air quality in 2005 and 2010."[1]