To park next to tank-like cars

[Getmoveon14]

When collecting my son I like to park in a certain area so he knows where to find me. Today when I arrived there was only one space in this part of the car park so I parked there. Trouble is, it was very close to a monster BMW car. When the driver got out she bashed her door against my car. Luckily it didn't cause any damage and I decided to move before things got worse, but it made me think is it really reasonable for certain cars to need two spaces in a car park?

I used to move to another space if I was going to be tight up against a Chelsea tractor's driver's side. But now I don't care. My car is old-ish, so I just make sure I can get the door open and in or out. Most people are incredibly precious about scratches because they lease the cars so its unlikely that they will deliberately smash their door into mine.

Yes cars are bigger, but people don't need to drive tanks.

However, I agree with a pp who said that even the humble Toyota Yaris has got a lot wider! Still much smaller than some of the ludicrous cars people insist on driving (badly), though.

You don't need an SUV for health reasons. There's a reason many elderly people drive a Honda Jazz, for example. Because of the leg room, the head room and the comfortable seats. You don't need a car twice the size.

Needing a car that can fit 3 car seats is a key reason we had a massive car (older dc then twins). Car parks aren’t fit for car sizes in 2024. We’ve slightly downsized now but I still need to fit 3 tall teens.

This is a huge issue, even if you have reversed into a parking space it is impossible to check when pulling out if some “my motor is on steroids” status car has come and parked next to you. You have to inch out slowly and hope any oncoming driver has their wits about them.

@parkrun500club that's true although a Honda Jazz won't be perfect for everyone and the fact that's the only obvious one is a bit of a damning indictment! Things like the BMax have been discontinued so if you don't want a Honda Jazz, what options are there? Again, I'm not talking about the genuine tanks (does anyone remember the phase in the early 00s when you used to see Hummers on UK roads??) but things like Tiguans, Atecas etc.

Exactly. Drives me bonkers where I live as the fancy SUVs with one person in them refuse to drive anywhere but the middle of the road to avoid hedges, mud, puddles, etc. Whilst my Mini has to go up the verge to not get crushed when they speed around the corners. If I can drive my Mini across some fairly rough country terrain in all weather, you can suffer a little mud or a tiny scratch on a car that is literally built for rough terrain... Plus, if you need to rely on the safety features of the bigger car in a rural village, it's likely because you're not driving safely.

They really aren't tho, a tiny basic polo doesn't have half the pedestrian safety features of a modern SUV. Mine use's AI and multiple cameras for impact prevention, blind spot detection etc. Just look at some of the heaviest cars (Tesla) and their automation. Residential street local to us are less than 10mph due to design and parked cars, our kids use the green spaces to play not the roads maybe older estates need updating. The towns and cities they get the bus to when older are all pedestrianised anyway so again no risk.

When buying a family car I want something that is safe so if the worst happens it's a call to the insurance company and car shopping not a trip to A&E! It's not rocket science when they announce a multiple car crash, list the model/make of the cars and you can guess which one the poor fatality was in. Hint it's rarely a Land Rover, X5, f-pace, Volvo etc

I currently have two cars my pride and joy that I think about where to park usually the back or top floor to avoid it getting banged. I will also put it in space other people avoid so no one parks next to it.

The family SUV gets dumped as people always manage to hit cars at work or open doors on it, we have cosmetic damage cover on its so will be polished out at the next service anyway.

People feeling impregnable and invulnerable in their cars doesn’t help road safety. Any car is only as safe as the driver.

@sleepyscientist you mean the safety feature that’s racist AI? Doesn’t recognise black people as human?

@sleepyscientist right so you people are buying massive tank cars for pedestrian safety because it had AI? How considerate. And smaller cars on the market don't have any built in safety measures? I don't know, but I'd imagine they absolutely do (unless SUVs are so dangerous that they are the only cars that need AI)...

The best safety measure is the driver actually paying attention and being able to see what's in front of them. Maybe I'm just old fashioned, expected things like awareness from Ranger Rover and BMW drivers

Oh such harsh words for a beta system of total automation being sensationalised whilst it's still in Beta. You mean the is it 7% discrepancy that is due to camera/learning limitations not racism. I would be more worried that it missed 20% of kids however it's still safer than no system at all which is what you get in a lot of smaller cars.

Wasn’t it a coding issue?

Agree though the children issue is concerning.

Even my 12 year old Polo can manage to beep if someone walks out behind me. For the rest I use my eyes...