Please ex-squeeze me
It’s bad enough when other drivers do things to us and our vehicle that makes us annoyed, but when you do them to yourself, you just have to ask yourself “Why?” every now and then. I work downtown and every now and then will walk past vehicles that are parked at the side of the road as I work my way to the parking lot. In the residential area just outside of the main core you can park for free but only for a few hours at a time. Many people try to do this and will cram their vehicle into a tight parking space. Have you ever done this, especially if you know your vehicle is probably a bit too big for that space? The difficult thing is how they can leave that spot safely without hitting the other parked vehicles.
Recently I was walking to my vehicle and used a short cut through the residential area. I spotted a driver about to enter his vehicle which was parked between two other vehicles. The space between his front bumper and the other car was about 6 inches (15 cm) and there was about a foot (30 cm) between his rear bumper and the next vehicle. I stopped and asked him if he needed any help to get out of the space. He smiled and respectfully said he would.
I went to front and back of the vehicle a few times and helped him inch back and forth to get out. He thanked me profusely after I was done. He said he squeezed into the space when he got there but then someone else came up behind his car and parked very close. Imagine that; someone else parked as close to his vehicle as he parked to someone else’s vehicle?
I see this happen often, but it doesn’t have to happen. To give yourself enough room to exit your parking space at the curb, park with roughly a third to a half of a vehicle length of space in front of your vehicle. This will give you the needed space in case someone parks close to your rear bumper while you’re away from your vehicle. It’s always best to park in the centre of your parking space as much as possible. This helps give you the space in front and behind when you’re about to leave.
While I continued to my vehicle, I wondered what kind of scrapes and bumps he would have received to his vehicle and done to the other two vehicles if I wasn’t there to help him leave. Having those scrapes and bumps may add to the driver’s negative mood for the day. If that’s the case, why do it?
I guess they should issue a ticket or a fine for this, too. Squeezing in and out is time-consuming. I’d rather pay a parking fee and save my time and not disturb others.