Parking when there are dogs around

[TheQuirkyMaker]

I was in our local park yesterday, talking to another dog owner, when an SUV swept in right beside us, halted, and reversed into a parking space. As it reversed, I slapped it on the roof. The driver jumped out, angry, and I think was ready to give me a slap. I said the car park was empty (it was, it serves about 200 cars) and he had no need to park next to us and potentially hit a dog. He said he was parking near the skate park for his children, and our dogs should be on a lead (they weren't). They are elderly, obedient little dogs, and don't need to be on a leash but they are little and could be hit by a car.
I told him to "F--- Off" and felt okay at the time but couldn't sleep last night for worrying who was in the right.
Was I the unreasonable one?

One of the people in this story was self absorbed, rude, entitled and aggressive - it wasn't the driver! You are the kind of dog owner that gives the rest of us a bad name and I am thoroughly sick of people like you, OP. You also need to rein your aggression in as the next person you direct it at might respond in kind.

I don’t think so. She said he swept in and reversed. Doesn’t say he was aggressive or fast. I’m not really sure what else the driver was supposed to do? He wasn’t driving quickly towards her. He parked next to her and the car park was empty 🤷‍♀️

Yep, clearly not everyone would get it, I said. Personally, I wouldn’t park my tank right next to people clearly packing up ready to leave, I’d give a little space if possible. I am aware that most people wouldn’t consider this and it wouldn’t surprise me if I was standing there, and I’d have my theoretical dog on a lead etc.

Well clearly you can't take responsibility for your dog. If you love your dog so much keep it next to you, preferably on a lead.
It's your responsibility to keep your dog safe, not random members of the public
I think you were lucky he didn't smack you. You probably gave him a heart attack banging on his car all because you couldn't be arsed to look after your animal.

You are completely wrong.
You don't control the car park.
You hit his car and verballly abused him when he did nothing wrong.
Yiur dog is your responsibilty.
Yoir dog wasn't on a lead.
He didn't even hit your dog.
You are very out of order.

Yes, not everyone would get it because it takes a particularly high level of ridiculousness to think parking a car in a car park next to a skating area is intimidating. Many people simply won't be capable of that level of reach.

You should be away from car park with loose dogs.. but the onus is always on drivers....if anyone did that in a test they would have failed!!....if you were already there they should have seen you and taken appropriate action...lawfully they were wrong but everyone has a duty of care

Well let's hope his kids aren't too upset about the horrible woman who banged on their car and swore at them because her dog was loose in a car park while she was chatting. All they wanted was to go on the skate park.

You should be away from car park with loose dogs.. but the onus is always on drivers....if anyone did that in a test they would have failed!!....if you were already there they should have seen you and taken appropriate action...lawfully they were wrong but everyone has a duty of care

Who lets dogs wander around a car park?! You’re clearly in the wrong and if you tapped my car on the roof I’d have been pissed with you. I have a dog and love dogs but get over yourself!

Car parks are for... parking cars in, not standing around wittering with loose dogs.

Presumably if the dog was under your control there was no chance of it being hit.

So U. Put your dog on a lead & get over yourself.

"... Life is hard enough without those little babies sleeping next to us..."

I think I can see what the problem is here.

A dog isn't a baby

First reply nails it.

They told u why - they needed to park near the skate park !!

I have said you are unreasonable because you were in a car park with a dog off the lead. Should have been on the lead and under control. That said, the car driver was thoughtless and should have taken note that dogs were present - it is a driving offence to hit a dog and must be reported as a traffic accident as dogs are property.
So you are both in the wrong.

It’s not parking in a car park next to a skate park that intimidated OP, it’s reversing the giant SUV in too close to her. Someone downthread states you’d have failed your driving test for this and I can believe it. I know someone who failed for driving through a puddle and splashing someone. But you see it all the time.

It’s not parking in a car park next to a skate park that intimidated OP, it’s reversing the giant SUV in too close to her.
Exactly. Even in a car park, if you're in a car you are in a position of power over a person on foot, and, even if you think they should have left the car park immediately, it's just common sense, isn't it, to give them a wide berth? Especially if there's acres of space as in this case.

The dogs shouldn't be wandering around in a car park. I always keep my dog on a lead near cars.

People can park in any space they choose.

You keep inventing things.

We have no information to suggest the SUV is giant, nor that it was too close. OP said the car was so close she could slap it and then that he was 2 feet away from them, but neither of those preclude perfectly legal parking.

Yeah and keeping dogs on a lead is the law as well. If the parking space was closer to the skate park, what makes OP more entitled to it than a parent with a child ? Do you really think this person deliberately reversed to harm the dogs?!

How dare he speak to you like that? He should be careful backing in, whether it's to watch for kids or dogs! And unless the person who owns the land says you should use a lead, there's no more need for your dog to have one on than for the man to!
While he CAN park next to the only car in an empty car park (unless someone in my car had a genuine need to be as close as possible, I'd not go right next to the only other car there), he does have a responsibility to back in slowly and watch out.

I definitely wouldn’t park on top of someone else in an empty car park, but neither would
i slap another car for doing so! And young kids are usually tired after fresh air and playing so either not willing to leave so have to be physically removed so distance can be key and also they have lots of stuff to carry usually! I am sorry your collie is elderly and it is hard to lose family, but you definitely were in the wrong.

So the driver was reversing at a speed... but also slow enough that OP could bang on the car's roof whilst next to it.

Driver could have missed the little dog because he wasn't looking... but the dog turns out to be a collie and therefore not that little , and the car is a SUV and possibly has reversing cameras, since it's pretty common nowadays.

I can think of many reasons why the driver decided to park there:

• Easier to reverse straight next to a car and ensure there's enough space to open the door
• Nearest spot to the skating area
• Familiarity/preference with that area of the car park
• Better to park next to someone and position yourself at a good distance than parking somewhere else and coming back to find someone has parked too close to you.
• Kids might also run around and it's better to stop next to the gate/path so they go straight into the area and not run around in the car park, neither there or back. This might be important for him if he had several younger kids, for example.
• It might be a spot I can easily check from where I plan to sit/stand whilst the kids play OR a spot from where I can easily check on my kids if I plan to walk back to the car to get stuff.
• Unknown here, but sometimes I avoid certain parking spots if they have lots of trees (falling leaves, polen and bird poo), or they are nearer areas where kids play with balls (more likely to hit the car), around bends or corners (more likely to get scratched when cars turn), or just simply where I park alone in an open space (just generally more visible and standing out vs parking where all other cars are, as in a way, other drivers keeping an eye on their car contribute to your car being safer as well).

Speak to her like what? OP was the one slapping the car and telling him to fuck off. She hasn't said he was swearing just he was annoyed because she hit his car, which most people would be.
Be more careful? He didn't hit anyone or touch the dog so was perfectly careful.