To think if you drive a massive wide car you have to accept parking issues in narrow spaces...

[Botanicum]

Often when I arrive at swimming there’s only one or two spaces left in the small car park outside (more spaces in a larger car park the other side of the small carpark and round a building).

I take whatever space is left, and it’s often between two huge tank-like 4x4 cars. I have a small car and I’m small so I can get out without contact. I can see that it’d not be so easy easy with the higher car... but then I don’t feel like Parking further away when there’s a space I can use. Especially if the owner has chosen to risk parking their wide car in a small carpark with narrow spaces. I think it’s inevitable someone will park next to you when it’s busy.

Today a woman was there when I got back and had a right rant she couldn’t get it from how I’d parked (a straight park equal distance from cars either side in the only available space). She reckons I should park in the next car park if I can see I would make it difficult for car next to me entirely filling their spaces. My view is if you chose such a big car, and you aren’t one to squeeze, you should go in the emptier carpark further away. I ignored her pretty much, got in easily and quickly and drove off.

What would you do? Park in the available space? Or park in the next carpark over?

I’ve got a massive car (three young DC and needed 3 isofix points in the back so limited options!). If no wide mother and baby spaces I always park at the back of the car park/in the overflow car parks where there are fewer cars to make it easier for everyone getting in and out.

It was pointed out on that other thread that many people choose a larger vehicle (4x4 or people mover) because they have to fit children and their required car seats into the vehicle they buy.

You could park leaving a bit more space on the driver's side of the car beside you if you want to be a considerate parker when you can see that space is tight.

YANBU. But car parks should be adapted to fit the size of modern cars. The spaces are generally too narrow these days.

I have a large 4 x 4 pick up and am careful where I park, because it's not always easy to reverse in or out of spaces. But width wise I am always fine, though have noticed lots of SUVs and other types of 4 x 4s struggle to fit in small bays without being slightly over to one side.

However, not all drivers own 4 x 4s because they are status symbols and some actually need that type of car for whatever reason. And if you can make someone elses life a bit less difficult by not proving a point you should.

Don't go out of your way to be a dick.

I'm with you too!
I would have laughed at her!

YANBU

I waited 20 minutes in a department store’s basement car park on Saturday while a driver tried to manoeuvre their flash SUV round a corner. I’m guessing they won’t be using that car park again.

There’s quite a narrow road on the way to school and a man in a huge car pipped his horn and made various gestures at me for trying to drive past him when he was over the middle white line. (The school run makes me very ‘assertive’ and I’d decided not to hold back just because he couldn’t manage the bend). My husband commented that the car was bigger than his capabilities 😆

YANBU. As long as you’re within your space, you’ve done nothing wrong. If she’s got a car that’s too big for the parking space then it’s up to her to find somewhere more suitable to park it.

And I say that as someone who used to have a Land Cruiser size 4x4 (which I used for towing) - I never ever had a problem getting it into a parking space, nor did I ever feel I had the need, never mind the right, to ask others to park further away from me.

As far as I can see, the problem is that a lot of people driving these massive vehicles have no spacial awareness or willingness to take responsibility for putting them in a suitable sized space.

Silly cow.

Owning a large car does not make you “entitled” you knob heads.
Maybe it makes you a person with lots of kids????

Owning a large car does not make you “entitled” you knob heads.
Maybe it makes you a person with lots of kids????

Generally, if that's the case you're better off with a people carrier. The huge 4 X 4s often still only have five seats, same as your average fiesta.

Although, some would also argue that the act of having lots of kids also makes you entitled.

Maybe it makes you a person with lots of kids????

Well exactly. If I could fit all my children safely into a smaller car I would. I have no desire to drive a large car! I don’t think I’m ‘entitled’ (entitled to what, anyway?), I drive it carefully...

Owning a large car does not make you “entitled” you knob heads.
But being an arse to other people in a car park because you feel it's your right to use one space absolutely is entitled.

The OP was in the lines. Why should they go elsewhere and be inconvenienced because someone chose to get themselves a large car. If they're that bothered about other people parking in a car park then perhaps they should park in the arse end of nowhere instead.

She was clearly being an entitled idiot but I chose a giant car because I needed to fit 3 full size baby car seats in a row. To transport my dc safely that's what I had to do. Parking can be awkward.

some would also argue that the act of having lots of kids also makes you entitled.

Or a parent with unexpected multiples.

Definitely YANBU. She's the one with the big car: she should park further away. I used to drive a LandRover Defender (luckily not that wide, but terrible turning circle) and I never expected other people to give me any consideration at all.
Mostly the problem is people who can't park - someone posted on here back a while about getting shouted at for parking at the end of a row of on-streets spaces. Basically the shouter couldn't reverse park so thought she was entitled to the end of the row!

You can have a giant car for reasons of needing to transport several children, unexpected multiples etc without ranting at other people that they should park elsewhere for your convenience, is the important point here. The first part doesn't necessarily make you entitled, the latter does. If she's going to tell complete strangers they should go elsewhere because she deserves the space they're occupying more than they do, she would probably also be objectionable in a smaller car.

Or a parent with unexpected multiples.

Yep. Or a foster carers with lots of charges, or if you've inherited someone else's kids on top of your own...

But, let's face it, that's not the case for the majority of people in huge 4 X 4s.

wellbutter

👏👏👏

Very very true. Owning a large car doesn't mean you are entitled. Behaving like an entitled arse and thinking people should be inconvenienced around the fact you have a large car absolutely makes you entitled.

I have 5 kids btw. I’m hardly on a crusade against large families (obv I never put all my kids in the car at once- I can’t, but I go it regularly with the youngest 3)

Not that I noticed any child seats in her car, though she may have older ones.

I have 3 kids and a 7 seater. It’s a small one for what it is, you can’t tell it’s an MPV from the outside. A little old lady hit me one night (she’d reversed on to on my drive) and they lent me a Qashqai while it was being fixed. My kids had less room in that and it was harder to park. A bigger car these days does not equal more room. It’s not really about how many kids you have either, it’s about considering how well you can drive and park the car you have. If you have a large one which you struggle to park, maybe it’s not suited to your lifestyle. Not many people need a 4x4 in our very flat and urban London Borough, yet I see them over 2 spaces everyday.

Why should car parks across the U.K. all change sizes because some people buy cars too big for them to handle 😂

In my company, since we enforced reverse park only, minor accidents went down by 83% because people were careful parking

That's interestingevil.
Friends of ours had a qashqai and they traded it when they had their second child because they said although it looks big and roomy, the boot wasn't as useful with 2 kids and it wasn't as roomy inside as the estate they traded it for. They liked being slightly higher up, but the consensus was that it looks bigger and more spacious than it actually is.

YANBU. But car parks should be adapted to fit the size of modern cars. The spaces are generally too narrow these days.

Wouldn’t that mean fewer spaces all round though? How would that be fair on people who drive normal sized cars