Car seats and car parks

[Planeticket]

We went to get some groceries and the parking was very narrow. There are parent and child spaces but these were full, many with people who do not have kids but that's fine, maybe they need to be closer to the front of the car park.

We chose to go to the back of the car park because we have twins in car seats who need to be carried and placed in (one of our twins is physically sn). The area we chose to park in had no one else in either of the spaces around us. Anyways, when we came back out of the store we were packed in. There were still spaces around the car park.

I go to put my son in the car but the gap is too narrow to get him in, so I open the door wider and it touches the car next to us. In the car was a lady who was just waiting in the drivers seat, and she came out very upset and confrontational.

She said she would appreciate if I didn't touch her car or whatever. I told her that we specifically chose this space because of our situation and I needed to get my son in the car and she could have chose to park somewhere else without being so close to another car with car seats in it. Nothing happened to her car.

AIBU to think she was being a drama llama for getting so confrontational about it? She didn't have to park so close to our car and this was particularly unwise if you see it has car seats in it!

What do you do if you drive into a space and there’s a car seat so you have to leave but then all the other spaces have car seatted cars beside them.

As a non small child person am I supposed to go home and leave the car park to the people with car seats?

What if two car seatted cars need to park beside one another?

Sedan? Are you American?

Why won’t you get the rubberised strip that I linked to that would mean if you did touch the other car you’d do no damage?

Or is that just too simple a solution ?

I have to say your updates about people basically being at fault for any damages made to their car by other people just because they park in a "tight" car park and it's to be expected. Um, no. Parking spaces are small, yes, but I've never, ever hit another car getting into my own because I take care. You're talking like it's unavoidable, it's really not. Where would you like these people to do their shopping op? maybe you should shop online.

Sedan? Are you American?
Umm, I’m not American. I’d call it a sedan.

but I think it's unreasonable to expect that cars parked against yours will never be touched.

I have never touched anyone else's car. If it comes to that I put my hand between my door and the other car to make sure.
Or use the other door and go over.

Nothing to say on the rest of my suggestions?

I’d say saloon, not sedan. Season I thought was an American term?

*sedan

You're talking like it's unavoidable, it's really not.

I’ve been in situations where it is unavoidable. Opening the door gently so it touches isn’t exactly a hit, and doesn’t do damage, isn’t a problem.

@Babyornotbaby I think it doesn't matter who uses a tight car park as long as they realise it's a tight car park and not get confrontational if another car door touches their car... Doesn't matter if they're parents or not. There's no damage, no issue and if you want your car in a bubble then maybe don't park there.

Also why does it matter if I am American if I am a British and live here? I ask these questions because I am trying to understand the thought process when a car park is tight, are people not aware of what could happen? It just goes with the territory.

Yabbers, I just put my hand between my door and the other car. OP is talking like this is a regular occurrence.

No I’m not prepared to accept someone being negligent and damaging my car. HTH.

And if I knew you’d done it and could prove you’d damaged it (paint, photos) I’d take your number plate and report it to my insurance to claim against you.

You could call your insurance but you would have to pay your deductible which would cost more than your non existent damage lol.

Anyways, I'm saying if you came back to your car like this in the middle

d2t6ms4cjod3h9.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Tesla-Summon-Mode.jpg

It's a bit unreasonable for the people who parked next to you like that to get upset if their car is touched.

You mean my excess?

Yes, but I currently have a car that needs a complete respray on the drivers side thanks to a twat who has scraped all my wheel arch, so that will be way more than my excess.

YABU. It wasn't her responsibility to check for car seats.

I had this situation the other day. I was parked outside DHs work and somebody opened their door fully in to my car so that their 6/7 year old could get in. I'd literally had my car for a week and was livid. I was sat in the drivers seat with engine running so there was no excuse. She also didn't apologise.

Actually it can and does damage other cars. Rest your door against a wall and get in, what happens?
I deliberately park well away from others and if I get out of my car and discover I am next to a car with child seats in I will get back in and move if there are spaces. Purely because of the amount of door dinks I've received and witnessed happening thanks to selfish drivers.

Well that's different, if your car is damaged like that because the person can't park then that sucks and the person should not have done that. If a person hasn't damaged another car though then I think it's unreasonable to get upset if you parked in a tight car park and their door touched yours.

But you don’t care to make sure the door doesn’t touch. And if it does, and does damage, then yes, I’d go after you to get it fixed.

Yes. It does damage the doors.
I'm serious, rest it against a wall and get in the car. The car drops scraping the door down the wall

@toomuchtooold I do this with one child who needs a car seat.

However I tend not to go shopping on a Saturday and Sunday by car with children as it isn't fair to take up to spaces then.

@Climbingahoneytree I purposely park at the back of car parks or at the top of multi-storeys so this is less likely to happen.

Saying that I had a woman reverse right into my car once at a petrol station. I had been sitting there before she even appeared for about 5 minutes waiting to pump up my tyres and she just reversed into me. Luckily my car was old otherwise she would have been paying for any dents.

I actually do care, that's why when I saw there was no child & parent spots, we chose to park all the way in the back of the car park where there were plenty of empty places. There were still plenty of other spaces but she chose to park in a way which blocked our door. It wasn't like we intentionally touched her car but it happened, there was no damage and if she wanted to call her insurance, she would pay excess to fix nothing. Anyways, now I know there's not much understanding when it comes to tight car parks and will try to adjust accordingly but I still think it's unrealistic for people to expect their cars to never be touched in every situation of tight car parks. I've seen many gp surgeries packed with tight parking, no space on driver or passenger sides, and I didn't know it would piss off people this much to have car doors touch considering the circumstances. I think they would also be p**d off if a person took 2 spaces. You can't win. You just have to make sure no one sees you get in your car lol.

Lol? Totes hilaire innit?

No. You get rubber strip. Or you reverse back a wee bit. Or you go and get your DH.

You can't win. You just have to make sure no one sees you get in your car lol.
That is so unkind and disrespectful.