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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Car park road rage!

33 replies

harriethoyle · 18/06/2023 14:58

Was at the supermarket this morning and parked on the end of the row. A taxi driver stopped to my back right which meant I couldn't reverse to that direction to get out. No problem I thought, I can reverse to the back left and take the other way out of the car park. As I'm doing this, to slip out of my space and onto the road, a man drives up smack bang over the white line so blocking the whole road behind the taxi driver. He then proceeds to gesticulate furiously at me before reversing back so he's on his side of the road. His reaction was so OTT all I can think is he thought car park was one way (which it isn't) and I was pulling a fast one... or have I broken some unwritten carpark rule I was unaware of?!

Yes I've done a diagram. Yes it's rubbish 😁

Red: angry man
Dark blue: confused me
Light blue: blocking taxi driver

Car park road rage!
OP posts:
WonderfulUsername · 18/06/2023 15:01

How long have you been driving?

I only ask because I don't drive, but I would've thought you'd know whether you were in the right or not?

Either way, he shouldn't have been rude/angry towards you obviously.

Original poster
harriethoyle · 18/06/2023 15:02

@WonderfulUsername driving for 6 years and I'm pretty sure I'm in the right but his fury has made me wonder if I wasn't?!

OP posts:
WonderfulUsername · 18/06/2023 15:04

harriethoyle · 18/06/2023 15:02

@WonderfulUsername driving for 6 years and I'm pretty sure I'm in the right but his fury has made me wonder if I wasn't?!

Oh I don't know then.

Maybe try to work it out next time you go?

TimeFlysWhenYoureHavingRum · 18/06/2023 15:09

The diagram doesn't make sense with what you have described...

RobinHumphries · 18/06/2023 15:13

The diagram makes perfect sense with how you’ve described it. I don’t think you were in the wrong

TheRussiansAreComing · 18/06/2023 15:21

You were perfectly fine.
I think angry man wanted your space, but because your direction of travel would be towards him, that then leaves the possibility of someone else nabbing the space from the other direction.
Just use your middle finger next time.

RoachFish · 18/06/2023 15:35

Was the red angry car traveling towards the taxi? If so maybe her was angry because he would have to come over to your side to pass as the taxi is blocking the road and he expected you to wait to pull out until he had passed?

Still a massive overreaction and it should have been directed towards the taxi which isn't parked properly.

Againstmachine · 18/06/2023 15:47

It looks like you are coming out of your space sideways rather than driving forwards then turning.

Deathbyfluffy · 18/06/2023 15:57

Probably just a twat, the world is full of them - this morning some daft bint cut across the centre of a give way (nearly hitting me) as I was waiting to turn right.

Give them the middle finger and move on

Sigmama · 18/06/2023 15:59

Could you get your food delivered?

KrisAkabusi · 18/06/2023 16:06

If red driver was in the middle of the road it means he had already started to manoeuvre around the taxi. You should have waited until he had gone past before you started moving.

HamstersAreMyLife · 18/06/2023 16:06

Couldn't you drive straight out from where you were as it looks like a roadway in front whereas I imagined you were directly facing another car? Either way I can't see why the man was angry as you were maneuvering on your own side of the road, taxi appears to be in the wrong. Perhaps it's just that angry man wasn't expecting you to be moving, it looks like one of those situations where neither of you could easily anticipate what the other was about to do. I wouldn't fester on it, just one of those random encounters.

PuffinsRocks · 18/06/2023 16:08

Againstmachine · 18/06/2023 15:47

It looks like you are coming out of your space sideways rather than driving forwards then turning.

This. In which case YABU and anyway red car was already on the road so should have had right of way. According to your diagram you could have pulled out by going forwards or backwards, just not by turning in the direction of the taxi.

Boomboom22 · 18/06/2023 16:11

From your diagram yabu, wait until he's passed or drive straight forward swing round to the right then indicate left?

ChateauxNeufDePoop · 18/06/2023 16:45

I think it depends where he was when you started your reverse as I'm assuming he's in the middle of the road to get round the taxi? If he wasn't there then I think you're fine but if you were aware of him then you shouldn't have pulled out. It's not a car park thing as such, it's just being aware that traffic would have to adjust because of the taxi so the road wasn't safe to join (similar to not pulling out of a junction in the same circumstances).

KateyCuckoo · 18/06/2023 16:50

Why are you leaving your space to the side? Drive forwards and then turn your wheel. They have right of way due to being on the 'main' road.

EVHead · 18/06/2023 16:53

Sigmama · 18/06/2023 15:59

Could you get your food delivered?

😂

Butitsnotfunnyisititsserious · 18/06/2023 16:58

You're in the wrong, he's already on the main road and trying to move past the taxi driver. It's on you to wait until the roads clear to exit your space. You should have let the man in the red car go past and then when the road was clear, moved out.

woodhill · 18/06/2023 17:02

I think they could have cut you a little slack

Difficult when people make it hard for you to manoeuvre out of the space and won't give you a minute

ChateauxNeufDePoop · 18/06/2023 17:04

woodhill · 18/06/2023 17:02

I think they could have cut you a little slack

Difficult when people make it hard for you to manoeuvre out of the space and won't give you a minute

But if the OP knew he was there she shouldn't have been trying to manoeuvre in the first place but that can't be established from the diagram.

woodhill · 18/06/2023 17:17

Yes it's very confusing

WrigglyDonCat · 18/06/2023 17:23

You appear to be orientated with the long axis of the car, so nose to tail, up and down the diagram. In which case your description makes no sense.

If it is nose down the page, just drive out round to your right (so bottom left as we look at the diagram)?

If it is nose up the page, there's no excuse for not seeing the other car (not that there is if you were nose down - you still need to be aware, but it's harder).

As others have said if you're leaving a parking space, you are joining a road in effect, so need to give priority to those already established - regardless of whether their road position is correct or not.

However I try and visualise this, it comes back to 'Should have gone to specsavers'. Or with my ADI hat on - simply ineffective observation. You may have looked but you either haven't interpreted your visual information correctly, or perhaps more likely, there's been a gap (either physical or temporal) in your observation.

SerendipityJane · 18/06/2023 17:35

Was the lane you were reversing into one way ?

Original poster
harriethoyle · 18/06/2023 19:31

@Sigmama 🤣🙈

I think my really shit diagram has confused things, sorry! I reversed back to the left and then was on the correct side of the road. I didn't pull out sideways or over the car space lines.

Angry man pulled up after I'd reversed and as I was then positioning on the correct side of the road. He then sat stationary behind the taxi and wasn't trying to overtake it. Perhaps he didn't realise he was over the middle line?

Middle finger will be polished for next deployment if necessary 🤣 @HamstersAreMyLife lack of festering definitely the way forward!

OP posts:
JenniferBarkley · 18/06/2023 20:37

I'm a bit confused, but I think the problem was going directly from your space into the main road (as it were), rather than reversing out of your space to the left of the diagram so that you would get your manoeuvre done on the side road and then be driving forwards to turn onto the main road. Which you shouldn't have done until the other car was past the taxi.

But I might be misunderstanding the scenario.