To not want to be rushed out of a car park?

[MsMarvel]

Travel around for work, so regularly use public car parks to then work at client sites (hotels, bars etc) always arrive early so never have any issue getting spaces in busy car parks.

Because i work in a public area at a client site, when i get back to my car like to grab my lunch quickly and make some phonecalls before heading home (todays journey is a 2 hour drive home)

Im fed up of people trying to find spaces in car parks seeing me going into my car, amd sitting behind me waiting for me to leave! I normally end up feeling rushed and just leave, but today i decided to sit and eat the steak bake i bought on the way to the car. Woman sits behind me for like 5 mins, then goes past slowly peering into my car giving me proper evils. Should add, engine not on, so not sitting with idling engine.

Aibu to take some time before leaving a parking space??

I tend to sit in the passenger seat if I’m not going to be leaving immediately.

That is your spot until you are done with it.

YANBU I hate it when people do that! In my regularly used car park other drivers seem to wait just close enough that it'll be awkward AF to get out if one didn't reverse into the spot in the first place. As a result I'll always wait for them to move off before leaving as a) I'd rather have an awkward free exit and b) I don't want an audience.

To those of you saying op is bu how do you feel she is? Because you want the spot? Are you then nost just saying you feel YOUR time is more important than OPs?

OP if you have a valid ticket then stay as long as you wish. It wild be polite to indicate you are not leaving but evil stares or similar is their issue and their own self importance nothing to do w you.

A bit of courtesy goes a long way here. You are perfectly within your rights to sit there, and it's perfectly acceptable for them to assume you're leaving. So, sit in the passenger seat/catch their eye with a shake of the head etc to communicate.

I thi k you are really rude tbh.

I used to sometimes have my lunch or make a private call in my car when I worked in a busy hospital, I would always sit in the passenger seat to avoid people waiting for my spot.

I think it’s good manners to indicate you’re not leaving.

Ignore them. As long as you’re paid up to be there you can’t take your sweet time and enjoy your lunch.

To those of you saying op is bu how do you feel she is? Because you want the spot? Are you then nost just saying you feel YOUR time is more important than OPs?

Eh no, the OP clearly doesn't need the space anymore if she has finished what she went to do and returned to her car. When a car park if full, it is rude and selfish to purposely sit in a space you don't need when other people clearly do need one. Doing it just to piss people off its even worse and childish. People must have nothing better to do with their time.

Sit in the back seat and then nobody will be in any doubt at all. You could put your feet up to eat your steakbake then...

I think most people will indicate to a waiting car that they are not leaving. Saves aggro all round.

OP clearly doesn't need the space anymore if she has finished what she went to do and returned to her car.

She does need it. She needs to sit in it to eat her lunch before her journey. You don’t need it anymore than she does.

OP if people hover put your phone up to your ear and they’ll Realise you can’t drive away just yet.

But she needs it to eat her lunch If she'd sat somewhere else before going back to her car to eat her lunch, the end result would be the same anyway; the space would be occupied for the same time.

Tbh OP it depends on whether it was a Greggs steak bake or not.

I think in these situations it’s best to do something to indicate to waiting cars that you’re not leaving yet.

Like sitting in the passenger seat so it looks like you’re waiting for the driver.

If they know you’re not about to leave then they generally move on and look for another space.

Yanbu its rude and obnoxious especially when you've got time on your ticket! I had 40 minutes left on a ticket once and needed to feed my angry baby before setting off. Some silly cow kept beeping her horn at me. She just got ignored.

People could tell you YABU till they're blue in the face yet this OP isn't here to hear that.

What do you expect from this thread @MsMarvel ?

I agree. In a hospital car park eating my lunch, no where else to park as the roads are busy and I’ve a two hour drive home.

Going to eat my lunch after not having anything else to eat since 6am. Just leave me alone! but no they sit waiting even after I’ve signalled I’m not going yet.

Doing it just to piss people off its even worse and childish. People must have nothing better to do with their time

Eh? Are you reading a different thread to the rest of us? Where does OP say she did that?

I had a massively busy day on Monday and literally did not stop. I was in a car park with 20 minutes left on my ticket shovelling down a sandwich before going and picking my DC up from school. A woman actually came and tapped on my window to ask me if I was leaving.

She got an extremely terse response. I still think she was incredibly rude. My engine wasn’t idling and other spaces were available. This was not a hospital car park where she could have been running late for a crucial appointment. It was bloody Aldi (but a council run ££ car park)

I'v mixed feeling about this, I hate when I feel rushed putting pram into the car etc, and I'd never linger if it was clear someone wasn't leaving straight away in your case but certainly at the hospital near me it's one in one out. You need to linger whilst someone leaves the space otherwise you'd never make your appointment. A simple shake of the head usually moves people on if you're not leaving yet.

Aibu to take some time before leaving a parking space??

Yes, YABU. If there are no spaces and people are waiting for others to leave, then you should leave. It is a car park, not a restaurant.

In this situation, why didn't you indicate to the woman you were not leaving and let her sit there behind you thinking you were? I'd be giving you the evils too.

It depends on where you are and if there are more spaces. I was visiting my dad in a nursing home last week. There were no spaces at all and someone came out to leave. Three of them got in the car and didn't move. It looked like they were looking at something on a phone. Me and my mam waited for about 5 mins and no movement from them. Eventually my mam went over and asked them to move as it was the only space available. They weren't happy but they did move. I think in that case it would have been very selfish to stay.

If the ticket is valid, then why get annoyed because someone is sat in their car? Its the same as if they weren’t in their car, the car park will still be full, the car will still be taking that space, you will have to find another one.
Yes, maybe OP could have let the other person know they weren’t leaving for x amount of time, but people are being a bit entitled to expect someone to leave their space early just because they want that space!