If a car parks so close you can't get into your car, what do you do?

[heregoesnothin]

Do you just open your car door onto the car and push yourself in if you can fit that way?

Whatever the answer may be, there is no need to commit a crime. Over an annoyance. They haven't touched your property, so why anyone is saying to key the car or slam your door into their car, is ridiculous. Grow up.

I have asked a stranger to get in and reverse the car out of a space. This was when I was 40 weeks pregnant and a car parked stupidly close to the drivers side of my parked car. I could have got in through the passenger door but absolutely could t have shifted myself across into the drivers seat as I was absolutely massive.

No - you absolutely don't just open your car door hard into the offending car's door. That is deliberate damage and you could be fined a lot of money - and get a criminal record. It might be possible to open it enough with your fingers holding the drivers side door so that it doesn't mark the other car's door and squeeze in that way. But if not although it's Hugely annoying, you either need to scramble across from entry through the passenger door and over the gear stick or wait for their return

I’m another victim of someone doing it to me when I was heavily pregnant - nobody came to move their car when the market lady put a call out for the owner of the other car, so I climbed over. It’s not fun doing that non pregnant, it’s definitely not fun with an even bigger belly than standard !!
someone was parked very close to me in the supermarket on Monday - he was sat in his car doing a crossword, so I very politely said “I’m flattered you think I’m that small mate, I’ll do my best, but I’m not making any promises” and when he apologized ( because to be fair, he did say sorry when I pointed it out) I told him the answer to four down. 🙄🙄🤣

Mumoftwoinprimary

Sounds to me like they're one of those drivers who would like to park right in the middle of two spaces, but is too much of a coward to do so blatantly - so instead, they park right up to the line in the belief that they've subtly rendered the next space unusable.

When a doughty person such as yourself 'thwarts' them and does indeed manage to park there, in their eyes, you are the selfish baddie.

although it's Hugely annoying, you either need to scramble across from entry through the passenger door and over the gear stick or wait for their return

Out of interest, how would you feel if somebody blocked you in on your drive? Would you patiently wait for them to return then, or would you start thinking of ways that, although not deliberately damaging their car, may lead to incidental damage?

It may be that the person you've blocked in has just gone on a jolly jaunt for no reason and is also quite partial to an unexpected stroll around a supermarket car park; but how dare somebody decide that their time and daily schedule is far more important than yours, so that whilst they can get on with doing whatever they want/need to do, you are forced to drop whatever plans you had in order to hang around waiting for a stranger?

Also, what happens if it's a pay car park and waiting for them forces you to pay for another ticket to spend more time in the car park whilst you need to be getting on with other things and absolutely don't want to be there?

You simply don't have the right to deliberately control anybody else in this way, especially a stranger - who could have any number of truly urgent things that they need to do.

I would never wantonly bash my door against theirs in a rage (don't want to damage my door either), but if their forcing me to squeeze in (if at all possible) led to their car getting inadvertently damaged, I'd say that's 100% their own fault and no more than they deserve.

In all but one of our local supermarkets there is not enough parent & child spaces… and more often than not there is a van or an ancient couple using said space, with ZERO children or pregnant women with them.

when I was pregnant, we had to use a normal bay because there no p&c spaces, and because DH was driving I said he should just use a normal one… anyway, as I fully open the door to get out (I was 38w & pgp was insane), a car tries to park in the space next to us… rather than wait for me to get out of the way, they try to squeeze in and nearly take me & the door out!

the a$$hole drivers’ excuse was that I shouldn’t be ‘out’ if I needed to use the door to its fullest opening???? I told him if he didn’t get the F out of my way I’d be encouraging myself to go into labour right there & use his car to steady myself… 🤣
his passenger was mortified trying to get him to go to one of the many other spaces (including the one on his other side which would have left a gap in the middle for us)

we have a tiny city car and still it’s hard to get out at times

I had to crawl across from the passenger side, on a Ferry once. It was really difficult.
Another time a car parked so I couldn't drive out. My DD needed collecting from Nursery and they locked the Hall after a certain time. It was outside a Hospital. Some firefighters came and lifted my car sideways out, so I could drive away!

I had to crawl across from the passenger side, on a Ferry once. It was really difficult.

Ferries are a bit of a weird scenario, I think. Wouldn't people be leaving at pretty much the same time - or were you right at the front of your line and in the middle?

I'd have thought it would be really easy for ferries, as they're all pointing the same way - usually with somebody guiding you in - so they could ensure adequate room on the driver's side of all the cars, even if very minimal on the passenger sides (although foreign cars could scupper that, I suppose).

The big problem with supermarket/town centre car parks is that people arrive at different times, park in opposite directions, leave at different times and there's nobody official guiding (forcing) them to park carefully in the first place.

....Just to clarify, that was a criticism of the ferry company procedures - not a criticism or disbelieving of you.

This happened to me at the gym. I got the receptionist to tannoy and after 20 mins of calling a lady had to leave her class to move her car. I tried to get over the gearstick but as the middle panel was too high my head was in the way. Also wouldn’t have got over the car seats to get in the front from the boot. Modern cars are all safety panels now so isn’t as much room as you’d think. She was a bit huffy about it until I proved how close she was as my door as it wouldn’t open more than a few inches after the safety padding inside was taken into account. BTW my car is just a mid sized Nissan qashqai

I will still squeeze in, dont care if the door hits theirs, dont care if my bag scratches up their car getting in, dont park so close

Can't believe people on here are recommending keying the car. Criminal damage!

Steady on.

I had this situation in a hospital car park a few years ago. Their parking spaces are ridiculously tight at the best of times, but I was driving a Ford Fusion at the time, so hardly a large car! Someone had parked with about 8 inches to spare between my drivers door and their passenger door, and then someone had reversed in the other side and gone the same to the passenger side. I’m disabled, so no chance of climbing over through the boot. I sat in the open boot for over an hour in the pouring rain before someone offered to climb through for me and reverse my car out.

I’d open the door normally but not worry too much if it hit theirs, and try to squeeze in. If I couldn’t do that I’d then try climbing over from passenger side.

If someone is too close to my car, it’s definitely their fault as my car is tiny and I never park to one side of a space, always in the middle. If they’ve got a stupidly wide car it might accidentally get hit. I wouldn’t do it on purpose though.

@JudgeJ just wanted to say that your use of coniption has brought me great joy. It is a long time since I last saw that word used!

I usually do this in car parks deliberately, if the parked car is not completely in the centre.

When I travel to a shopping centre, parking is always a problem, and especially on the busy weekends. When I do find a space, I would say 3 out of 5 times the empty space is extrememly difficult to get into because someone has parked over the white line or, extememly close to it. Therefore, I need to now park offset because if I park correctly, my door will not open.

However, screw that! I am going to park correctly, and in the centre. This now means the car next to me can't access their doors and neither can I. But, it's the principle.

There's been a few occasions where the other driver has turned up while I'm still in the car. They'll give me the dagger stare because they can't get in. But, I'm not going to move. A few people have even knocked on my window and asked me to move, and my reply is, "I've parked correctly, you haven't, not my problem".

I think this makes you a bit of a duck

dick
(I like ducks)

It may make me a dick, but not a bigger dick than the person who didn't park correctly in the first place. Therefore, I am perfectly happy with that.

Has it crossed your mind that they may have parked slightly over to one side because when they arrived at the car park the cars parked alongside were not perfectly central

I am fat and it is a nightmare when this happens, I try and park at the end of a row where possible.

I want this! What car do you have?

I do the same, or maybe a bit off centre if they have chosen to park so badly they are over the line. I make sure I can get out but I don't need a lot of room. It's doing the right thing not to pass the problem on to the next space.

LimitIsUp

Eh? If you then can't access your door either, do you just park up and then wait in your car until the neighbouring bad parker returns - or do you get out by the passenger door?