It seems you cannot win, even when you park right at the back of the carpark.

[BackToBasics]

Today i took my dd swimming. I drove into the carpark and there were no spaces near the swimming centre, the front and the middle of the carpark was pretty full so i decided to park right at the back where there were loads of spaces, i don't mind walking.

I parked in a bay with an empty space next to me, then there was the bushes next to that space. Perfect for me as i needed the room to get dd out, i am heavily pregnant too so lifting her out is easier for me if i can open her door wide.

An hour later i get back to the car to find some plank has parked right next to me. There were still loads of spaces empty but they decided to park next to me!

So i flipped in their wing mirror so i could open dds door a bit wider and the woman who owned the car appeared and shouted at me.

"You've broken my wing mirror!" she shouted.

I explained to her that it wasn't broken, it flips back into position and that i needed to flip it down to get my door open wider to put dd in.

Then i asked her why she had parked right next to me when there were loads of empty spaces and she said "I can park where i bloody like, there are p&t spaces over there, why don't you use one?"

I said "because they are all full and i choose to park here so i would have plenty of room."

Then she just gave me a filthy look and got in her car.

So if you fight the good fight for a p&t space it's the wrong thing to do and if you choose to park at the back then that's wrong too. You just cannot win!

I can't belive everyone who is being unpleasant on here - The poor woman is heavily pregnant !!!!!!

I don't know why some people bother to post a reply when they clearly don't read the post in the first place.

What were you supposed to do - hang around and wait for a 'thin man' to help?!

I think you did the only thing you could. I understand the woman getting upset about her car being touched, but once she saw you were heavily pregnant and needed help, she shouldn't have been such a cow.

You'd think being mumsnet people would understand and not flame you

You were not BU

I parked over 2 spaces once when my boy was tiny, as P&T spots were all taken.
A well dressed young tart looked at me and said
"is that necissary?"
"what" says i
"do you have to take up 2 spaces?"
Yes says i, i cant get my baby seat out if people park right next to me....you will know when you have one.
Fecking cheaky cow.

Actually she just shrugged and said its all fair in love and parking isnt it, and was quite gracious,
she s still a cheaky twunt.

"I would have thought once you're in the car, you're in, regardless of what side you got in. You still have to lift your dd in whichever side you get in."

Well dd's car seat is fixed in the back, i wasn't putting her in via a removable seat like what you put babies in. There is a great deal of diffence in just lifting her and sitting her in her seat than having to put her in via the other side which would have meant leaning over the back seat and trying to lift her in that way. Not a manover i want to engage in when i am the size of an elephant!

"I don't think my wing mirrors move on my car so I'd have to take the chance on them being smashed if I parked (too) close to another car."

ALL wing mirrors move on cars, it's what they are designed to do. The only difference is on some cars you can "pop" them in using a button in your car and adjust them and on other, usually older cars, you have to do it manually. But wing mirrors are designed to fold in, i fold mine in regularly when parking or when when parked on a road where there is a chance a driver could drive past and knock it off.

I see what you mean about it being difficult to lift your dd in via the other side to where her car seat is. Trying to lift them in like that is tough anyway let alone when your pregnant.

I thought everyone who drove knew that wing mirrors folded in? I'm always folding mine in just in case someone goes past and damages it. It is amazing though how many people don't use their wing mirrors when driving! It's quite shocking actually. My friend was telling me the other week that she has difficulty parking her car and i said to her "don't you use your wing mirrors to line your car up with the curb/white line?" and she said no, she doesn't use her wing mirrors because her dh keeps moving them

I share a car with my dp too and he adjusts the mirrors like her dh does but i adjust them back when i'm using the car. It's the first thing i do when getting into my car, check and adjust the wing mirrors to suit me!

"Actually she just shrugged and said its all fair in love and parking isnt it, and was quite gracious,
she s still a cheaky twunt. "
so you took up 2 spaces and she's the cheeky twunt?are you a deliberate wind up or just completely obnoxious?

I hate it when someone parks over 2 spaces too. Dp and i went out last Saturday night to the cinema. The carpark was packed because it was one of those cinema/loads of restuarants/bowling places so you had lots of people driving around looking for a space. Luckily we found a space and as we were walking to the cinema i noticed someone had delibratly parked over 2 spaces. They were perfectly parked in the centre of the two spaces so it was on purpose.

I just thought what a selfish twat. There's people driving around waiting for others to leave to have their space and here is some selfish asshole parked across two spaces. It's times like that when you wish a warden would come along and ticket them.

I know that wing mirrors move for adjustment purposes so you can view the road around you - what I meant was that I don't think that they fold in against the side of the car. I may be wrong but I've never seen them like it. I'm going to ask my garage next time I take my car in.

I found that in our local town car park if you are pregnant or with a small baby they are more impatient with you.
When i was pregnant with DD2 and DD1 was 2yrs old, people would not even WAIT for me to get in my car.
They would just sit there beeping their horn and telling me to hurry up and these would be men and women.
I think they thought because i has a small child and was heavily pregnant that i would not retaliate.
I just went even slower and once sat in the passenger seat and said that i was waiting for my DH as i can't drive (total lie).
But you should have seen her face

lucky13 - Well said.

I would say that if there are times when people should just not mess with you and give you automatic understanding, is when you are at towards the end of the 9 month stretch.

Plus, I cannot understand why when I was PG first time round, I was made to feel so special, by friends and strangers, yet 2nd time around, when you're struggling with a child, people can be such arses...

Rol on Christmas spirit

BackToBasics, this is one of my mum's 'things'. She often parks at the far end of the carpark as she is trying to increase her exercise levels (and no, she couldn't walk to the shops, it's 5 miles) and she says there is always always someone parked next to her when hse comes back - she cannot understand it.

Anyway, YANBU - I would fold someone's wing mirror out of the way to get DD3's seat into the car (can only go in one side as DD2's seat is in the way on the other side). My last car had wing mirrors which automatically folded in when you removed the key, which was rather useful.

SimplySally I would be extremely surprised if your mirrors didn't fold in - it would have to be a very old car!

They probably do - but I don't know about it . Car was built in 2001.

Well mayorquimby i have never been described as obnoxious i dont think that you get what i was trying to say (obviously difficult in text)
So i shall explain to you,
in an otherwise empty car park, i opted for the far end with hundreds of empty spaces and parked over 2 so that i knew that i could get my baby seat out with ease, AND not disturb any one else.
It was the enterance AND the P&T parking that was crowded.

So NO i am not obnoxious, and it didnt bother any one else, except for this young woman who took great offence and felt compelled to have a go. The row i was on was completely empty, as was the surrounding parking rows.
And while i am at it, why the fuck should i struggle so that i dont offend any one, its hard enough!
Thanks for your support, but i feel that it is you who is bieng obnoxious in the fact that you jumped on me with such ease, not pleasant and NOt helpful.

i understood you the first time. to park taking up 2 spaces is obnoxious.

I was once in very busy car park and a Chelsea Tractor was obnoxiously parked over 2 spaces...I saw traffic warden and said, "This is Outragious!" He said, "Yes I am doing him!"

However, I think that OP is NBU - people will park in silly places, but how rude the other woman was.

If you take 2 spaces, you're supposed to pay for 2 if it's paying carpark unless that is just my council's opinion . I think sometimes they would ticket someone going slowly in heavy traffic.

No twas Asda on a monday morning, dotn have to pay to park there.
I really dont see why it was obnoxious???

I don't think yabu. I don't understand why people have to park next to another car in an empty car park. Its ridiculous.

I went to a diy shop early one morning and parked in a totally empty car park. When I came out there were 2 more cars - parked on either side of me! The rest of the car park was still empty. I couldn't help but laugh.

specially with a tiny baby in a car seat to manouvre in and out with the door only just ajar!

simplysally, this happens to me all the time,people park like knobs,over the line,so next one is even more over, when i come to park I squeeze in and am staddling two place, but when I get back to my car, everyother car has gone, just me looking like a total twat

Whilst were on the subject of parking, why is it when i am parked at the side of the road with double yellow lines starting at the back of my car do i then come back to find some twat has parked right on my bumper behind me? To bad if i wanted to get into my boot, which quite often i do to put the pushchair away.

I just wanna leave a note saying "you will still be illigally parked on double yellow lines whether you are parked on my bumper or 10 meters away!"

In our local town (same one as before) they give you a ticket if you don't park correctly in the lines. If your wheel touches the white line you are done for!

Once parked in a completely empty huge carpark & when I came back there was another car right next to ours! All other spaces free!!

Some one in convertible car blocked us in in a car park once,just parked directly behind us so we couldn't reverse out....so my husband reached in and took the handbrake off, put it in to neutral and moved it..........lol

I always have someone park next to me in a carpark FULL of empty spaces!!! I've pulled up into a space before and immediately someone else parks right next to the driver's side making it difficult for me to get out of the car. I assume it's because I have 3 kids and 2 large dogs and drive a larger car - it must brighten their day to make it difficult for me to get in and out of the car easily.