Twitter account shames 'D-bag' Calgary parkers

[TheyCallMeBruce]

A friend of mine was recently given the "4 inches door to door" treatment, which resulted in him having to crawl into his front seat from the passenger side. He had white chalk that he bought for his kids and decided to put it to good use. He wrote, in giant capital letters on both sides of the car, "CONVICTED RAPIST". LOL, I wish I was there to see the owner's face.

[Barbecue]

Originally Posted by polak

What. Is this conversation actually happening?

In no way is it okay to baseball bat someones car as the first reaction to them blocking you in.

not that i'm condoning baseball batting a car, but what about driving your car out and hitting the obstructing cars along the way?

that seems to be where the conversation is going

[Knut]

^ I remember when i was 18 a group of 15yr olds decided it would be funny to block my truck from moving and proceeded to kick the sides of my truck while taunting me.

I blasted the front and back washer fluid and they moved out of the way after one kid got soaked from it. A week later he was trying to get me to pay for a new jacket and shirt for him. Fat chance of that.

[polak]

Originally Posted by Barbecue

not that i'm condoning baseball batting a car, but what about driving your car out and hitting the obstructing cars along the way?

that seems to be where the conversation is going

It would be the last resort unless they were doing it as less of a prank and more of a "f*** you". I still wouldn't go as far as baseball batting it though. Slashing tires or something would be my reaction.

If it was just a prank then I'd think of something equally annoying to get back at them with.

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Originally Posted by polak

I agree 100% with Pylon.

Nothing worse than that. I got a massive door ding the first month after I got my Genesis when I was parked at the back of a parking lot all alone.

That d-bag was worse than Hitler.

I agree with any car owner who has a source of pride in their vehicle to do the best they can to avoid crowds if they want to try and avoid "dings", makes total sense.

LOL to the part about "un-written" rule to keep your distance when you see a "nice" car parked far away. I'm sure many folks take pride in their vehicles and would like to drive a car with no dings or not have to spend money on getting those dings fixed, what difference does it make if its a Luxury vehicle or a Honda Civic? The Civic driver may have just as much pride in their car as BMW owner, and actually might have less means to fix their vehicle than the BMW owner (although not necessarily).

Bottom line is, makes no difference what you drive, you have to accept the risks when you drive out, and assuming you have more desire to avoid dings than the next guy because your car is "nicer" is ridiculous, and expecting others to "accept", "know" or obey some "un-written rule" about giving luxury cars space is hilarious. If you can't afford to "fix" your luxury vehicle if it gets dinged in a parking lot, the same way those that don't drive luxury vehicles also have to do when they get dinged, then either don't drive your car to the parking lot, or maybe don't buy a luxury vehicle if you can't afford to maintain it and assume the risks that come along with driving.

Otherwise, just deal with it and stop expecting the rest of the world to give more of sh#t about your car than others because YOU think it's nicer, nobody wants their car to get dinged regardless of what type of car it is.

[Jimmy Stang]

^ My wife's boss actually asked my wife to park beside her Porche SUV so it wouldn't get dinged (implying that my wife's Mazda should take the dings for her).

Yeah - nope. She no longer works there, for other reasons.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

Ha I don't know what his case was, but for me, being a car guy, I'll park every vehicle I own like that. I absolutely abhor door dings, so even if I'm driving my truck which sees gravel roads and hauls loads of lumber, I'll still park in the middle of nowhere. If I see a nice BMW out there that just had a cut and polish I'll gladly park beside it, because I know, being a fellow car guy, he'll be respectful when opening his doors. Not only that, since I'll show the same respect when opening my doors, his car is now protected from someone else who may park beside him who won't show that mutual respect.

Alternatively, when I'm out with my car and I'm parked in the furthest spot away from the entrance, and come out and there's some 17 year old that parked his 1992 Honda Civic beside me that's seen better days, I think "You know what, there's a kid that may not have the best car on the road but he's a car guy and cares for it - kudos".

Same here, I prefer to park at the far end of the lot but no matter what someone with a 85 Buick always seems to magnet to the space next to me.

If I see a well cared for car, I'll park next to it because I know I'm not going to ding it and he's not going to ding me so I'm limiting my risk by 50% and doing the same for the other guy in the process. Then I'll pick his driver side so when 85 Buick comes along and parks on my other side I'll be on it's passenger side and since he's at the far end of the lot, odds are he doesn't have children or his grandma as a passenger swinging doors carelessly.

[Looch City]

There's an obvious solution to all of this:

http://www.doorshox.com/

[photon]

Originally Posted by Iggy City

There's an obvious solution to all of this:

http://www.doorshox.com/

Lol that's actually a pretty clever solution, though I'd fear having them would actually draw MORE door dings.

[Free Ben Hur!]

Originally Posted by Cleveland Steam Whistle

I agree with any car owner who has a source of pride in their vehicle to do the best they can to avoid crowds if they want to try and avoid "dings", makes total sense.

LOL to the part about "un-written" rule to keep your distance when you see a "nice" car parked far away. I'm sure many folks take pride in their vehicles and would like to drive a car with no dings or not have to spend money on getting those dings fixed, what difference does it make if its a Luxury vehicle or a Honda Civic? The Civic driver may have just as much pride in their car as BMW owner, and actually might have less means to fix their vehicle than the BMW owner (although not necessarily).

Bottom line is, makes no difference what you drive, you have to accept the risks when you drive out, and assuming you have more desire to avoid dings than the next guy because your car is "nicer" is ridiculous, and expecting others to "accept", "know" or obey some "un-written rule" about giving luxury cars space is hilarious. If you can't afford to "fix" your luxury vehicle if it gets dinged in a parking lot, the same way those that don't drive luxury vehicles also have to do when they get dinged, then either don't drive your car to the parking lot, or maybe don't buy a luxury vehicle if you can't afford to maintain it and assume the risks that come along with driving.

Otherwise, just deal with it and stop expecting the rest of the world to give more of sh#t about your car than others because YOU think it's nicer, nobody wants their car to get dinged regardless of what type of car it is.

I totally don't get this and why it's important to be so obtuse. Time and distance are the most basic risk reduction techniques known to man so when someone obviously parks ten spots away from anyone else does that not signify anything to you? This person is making every other persons life easier by leaving spots closer to the door front and he should be repaid for that consideation by people deliberately parking beside them when its not in any way necessary? I was at an event on Saturday night and there was an old (50's) Ford pick-up there that obviously was a labour of love for the owner. He parked 3/4 of way to the back of the lot in an area well away from everyone else. When we came out there were lots more vehicles in the lot but none within 2 spots of this beautiful truck. I'd say that there was an unwritten rule that nobody out of several hundred drivers had any difficulty with. Seems elementary to me.

[Vulcan]

Reading all these complaints it's one time I'm happy to be old and have a handicap card.

[Wormius]

To be honest, this rule never crossed my mind whenever I saw a lone car in a section of parking lot. I guess I just assumed a bunch of cars were once parked there too and had left.

Maybe if it was a *really* special car, I might have thought about it more, but BMWs, Mercedes, Audis, etc. are so pervasive, you see them parking everywhere; why would you think some occasionally go out of their way to park away from everyone?

[photon]

It's less an unwritten rule and more gaming human psychology.

You go somewhere where there's a waiting area, you take your number, 30 chairs available, it's empty but for you, you pick a chair and sit down.

Another person comes in, takes a number, where are they going to sit? If they sat right beside you, doesn't that make you uneasy because it would be so unusual?

Or when there's 10 urinals, you're the only one there, and a guy walks in and uses the one right next to you.

I'm sure I read somewhere that it's a psychological phenomenon; people will fill a space generally maximizing distance from each other.

So if a car is parked all alone with dozens of spaces to the nearest car, parking right next to it is like using the urinal right next to someone... something that goes against the norms so discomforting or even aggressive.

[photon]

I think it was related to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_space, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxemics

People have their preferred public and social distances, and intruding into them causes anxiety. If the waiting room is full then there's good reason to not feel anxious about someone in your personal space, but if the waiting room is empty, then the other person is invading your personal space for some unknown reason.

So parking far away is to try and play on this. People that park right next to the car parked far away probably do it on purpose to antagonize . I've never done it (or even thought about it in either direction), anyone done it?

[Wormius]

I agree, Photon, but I think maybe people are reading too much into it if somebody happens to park next to them. Let's say you were going to Costco, and saw an awesome spot near the door, as you are circling back around, somebody snags it. You exclaim, "screw this!" and immediately pull into the closest spot. At least that is what I would imagine people are thinking, and not some maligned plot to irritate somebody.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I agree, Photon, but I think maybe people are reading too much into it if somebody happens to park next to them. Let's say you were going to Costco, and saw an awesome spot near the door, as you are circling back around, somebody snags it. You exclaim, "screw this!" and immediately pull into the closest spot. At least that is what I would imagine people are thinking, and not some maligned plot to irritate somebody.

Oh I agree, I very much doubt people are doing it on purpose. To me it just seems like a lack of awareness and/or maybe even respect for other peoples cars.

It doesn't even cross their mind, but to a car guy it's a fairly big deal

[photon]

Maybe we can get a grant to study it!

I think because of the basic human psychology someone that does it either does it on purpose or some other external factor is working against their innate drive to maximize personal space, but I have no facts to base it on. Other than people are jerks.

Seriously this would be a cool science fair project for some kid.

[Chill Cosby]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Oh I agree, I very much doubt people are doing it on purpose. To me it just seems like a lack of awareness and/or maybe even respect for other peoples cars.

It doesn't even cross their mind, but to a car guy it's a fairly big deal

I think lack of awareness might be true, but maybe not lack of respect.

I always park far away, just because I like the walk. Sometimes I park close to someone else even though there's nobody around if I like the spot. I never ding doors or anything like that, so it being disrespectful never occurred to me.

Honestly, living in Calgary, I don't notice "nice" cars. BMX, Audi, even Porsche (unless it's a classic) are all pretty dime-a-dozen here, so it never occurs to me that it's really an exceptional car I should show more respect to.

[photon]

You like the spot because subconsciously you resent the person who parked the car there.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Oh I agree, I very much doubt people are doing it on purpose. To me it just seems like a lack of awareness and/or maybe even respect for other peoples cars.

It doesn't even cross their mind, but to a car guy it's a fairly big deal

Dinging up someone's car or parking right on their door when they are properly between the lines demonstrates a lack of respect. Simply parking next to someone does not. "Car guys" need to get over themselves.