When the car next to you parks too close ...

[APmama2MAK]

unless he just decides to pick it up and put it in his pocket until he needs it again.....

lmao nice :ROTFLMAO:

 

[Guest]

I just buckle over the seat or crawl into the back from the front. DW is from SF. I'm used to not being able to open my door. I've gone in from windows and moonroofs before. Never with a kid tho.

I try and park next to car returns or islands too. If they're within the lines, and especially if the lot owners painted the spots too small (typical in SF), I'll contort myself to get in and out. Usually happens at the Downtown Macy's parking structure. However, if it's a big empty parking lot and I park in the middle with no one around me yet someone still decides to park right next to me (always a big truck/suv too), I'm not too careful with my cart, stroller, etc. I'll never bang their car with my door. It can scratch the edge of my door. Instead, my keys may accidentally be half hanging out of my pocket and I may accidentally brush up against their door while getting in. Several times.

 

[Rusty213]

Had this happen today. My friend has a sonata. She backed her car into a space at tgif's. Had plenty of room on both sides to get her 3 and 6 year olds out. When we came out from lunch, there was an suv parked so close to the passenger side that she couldn't open the door. She loaded in her six year old and I had to hold on to the 3 year old so she could move her car into a spot in front of her to get the 3 year old in his seat. I went back to the suv that was blocking her and saw that the driver was all the way over in the spot. I left a note saying they were lucky it wasn't my car they were blocking or there would have been a big ding in the side.

 

[canmom]

I was just thinking this the other day.... no matter what some moron has to park right on top of you!! I park far away on purpose so I have all the room I need (not to mention too many people can't drive or park) and it never fails, some idiot is right on top of you when you come out .

 

[mominabigtruck]

Seriously, ya'll would climb through a window or makes your kids climb through a window??

I admit to having some anger management issues and parking too close to me will probably end up with you getting your car keyed. I used to drive a dually, which is a pain to park to start with so I always parked away so I could have a spot on either side. Inevitably some moron would angle their car in so like this /l. So when I pulled out, which normally I had a pull through spot because I parked so far out they lost part of their front fender. Not my problem, that's the price you pay for being a crappy driver.

 

[Unregistered]

I had to do the exact same thing that you did once. Now that my ds is out of his infant seat I would just hoist him over the other seat or bring him in to the front seat with me and lean over to put him in his seat from the front and climb over to do up the harness if necessary.

 

[anysia]

some of these are so funny and i can definitely relate!

one thing i was thinking is that i would've been able to contort things enough or get dd in through a window or the other side of the car if i had a 4 door at the time when it happened to me. with a coupe, it changed things drastically. my driver's seat simply didn't go far enough forward to be able to get her in that way and i couldn't climb into my seat and hoist her over the seats either since the roofline was too low. i didn't think about taking her out of the seat and getting her back there without the seat or trying to lift her over my seat and into the passenger seat....

with my now 2 year old, i could've instructed her to climb in on her own, probably even through the passenger side since she's a bean pole, lol! or i could've opened the trunk, put the back seat down and had her climb through that small opening like i did the one time my locks were frozen (long before having dd).

i'm one who hates parking anywhere near people, so whenever possible i park away from everyone else (either off to the side of a parking lot and a little ways back or way back to the back end of a lot). so it's really annoying when you come out and find someone parked next to you, even when the parking job isn't bad!

 

[mykidsmylife]

Well I use to ram into the car doors just to get in.
But since moving to Germany that has changed big time. Since the parking spaces are small I usually have to park further away from the building. Occasionally though I am stuck having no choice but to park close to someone making their driver or passeneger side not accesible, or someone has to park that close to me. Since my van is twoce the size of most European cars I will suck it up and get in however I can.
Yes this means sometimes hauling my pregnant butt and 2 kids over my van seats to get in.

 

[Mama Jo]

Would it be bad to put a sign in your window, saying "If I can't get this door open far enough to load my child into her seat, your car WILL have a door ding. I am not responsible for door dings." :evil grin:

Someone should market this... paint it on the outside of the retractable window shades so you can't miss it - functional AND informative! lol

 

[Davids-Coco]

Frankly, sometimes the spot situation DOES suck... but if there is ample parking, it is a whole different story.

I drive a mazda cx-7, so it is a small cuv. But I do remember one time at the mall where I couldn't open EITHER side because people parked so close on both sides. I don't have a clue how the driver got out on my passinger side! I'm rather skinny and couldn't get in! It was quite the debocal as a new mom with an infant in a carrier... putting the bucket in the back cargo area, taking DS out and putting him on the back seat, getting the bucket jimmied over, putting him in and climbing over the backseat and center console to be able to drive. 20 minutes later, I had done all this and the guy on my driver side came out and looked at me like I was crazy with a now hungry, screaming infant in the back! Near tears, I rolled down my window and asked him to be more considerate about boxing people in and that I had spent 20 minutes trying to get myself and baby in because I had no room on either side. Maybe he got it. Just glad I didn't have to go in through my old car's trunk!

 

[skipspin]

I had someone park so close that I couldn't get in the driver's seat of my car when I was pregnant, and I'm pretty small even pregnant. DD was my only then and was in the middle so I could just put her in the other side. I remember fuming as I was trying to figure out what to do, but I ended up having to climb into the car through the other side. Not fun!

Another time someone parked so close on both sides that I couldn't get DD's infant seat in either side-even without her in it. I had to back up and put it in. Gr, made me so mad!

Oh, and a PSA. Don't park too close to Jeep Wranglers with the half doors and soft/zippered windows. The doors swing freely and don't "stop" half opened like normal vehicles. I'm really careful with mine and don't let DD open her own door if another car is close, but a lot of people aren't so careful. I'll admit if someone parks really close to our 97 I'll just gently rest it on their car, but I usually stick a towel or something between them since it wiggles when I climb up the side to buckle the kids in. (It's tall!) It's especially bad if it's windy or a two door with back seat passengers. The doors are short, but some people just park way too close.

 

[rodentranger]

I know I know I know. Holy bumped thread. I've been thinking a lot about this thread.
Those of you who hit the car next to you or key the car...
Do you *tell* your kids two wrongs make a right or just *show* them?
Do you tell them that when someone is inconsiderate it's okay to be a jerk back or just show them?
I'm not claiming to be a perfect parent. But, I do try to think about what my actions might teach my kids, even when I think they aren't looking or don't see me.
Just my two pennies. Rub 'em together and you still only have two cents.

 

[aclayton74]

I usually leave a note thanking them for being a jerk!!

 

[Mom to a few]

Yes, it's incredibly frustrating and inconvenient when someone parks too close. However, being rude, causing damage, or making a scene just isn't worth it. People are so depressed, frustrated, and angry these days, and you just never know what might push them over the edge to do something crazy. It's better to just do the best you can to get your kids buckled in, and leave the situation peacefully. Please don't take stupid chances with strangers--especially with your kids in the car

Dispute over parking space This case just happened on February 10th.

 

[babygirlsmom1005]

Another big truck driver here, with an '01 Suburban. I can't for the life of me figure out why people can't park the vehicles they drive everyday. Especially it seems the little ones. Whenever I have to pass up a perfectly good parking space, it is almost always because of some very small/compact car that is parked over the line or really crooked in the space. Or because the vehicle head on in the space has pulled too far forward. Surely if I can park my Suburban, centered in a parking space, and pulled forward enough to be out of the lane behind me but still not over the line in front of me, surely those out there with small cars like a Focus can do the same!

I hate when people park practically on top of me...happens every once in a while, but right now thankfully I don't have an infant carrier. But I will soon, and I always dread that, because of people parking too close. I don't purposely bang their cars, but I am also not very careful either!

YES, I drive a 92 Surburban and well, I get the little cars parking on top of me out in the back of the parking lot, all sideways or just inches from the doors in the parking spots ALL THE TIME - I totally agree, if I can park this tank strait, why can't that little bitty car figure it out, they have more room in the parking space, you'd think it would be easier. The worst I had was when I parked with no one else around me (front, sides, etc...), came out with not only on one side, but both sides, little compact cars both within inches of my doors, I couldn't get in on either side, all 4 doors blocked....luckly I have the back that I opened up, climed over the 3rd row seat, into the 2nd row seat (lugging the bucket with me with my daughter in it) and latched it into the base and then climed into the front. I make sure when I park, usually away from others (though she is old, she still looks good with only a few little dents in her from a previous owner) so not to get dinged and to make sure that I not only leave myself enough room but others aswell.

 

[Maedze]

I know I know I know. Holy bumped thread. I've been thinking a lot about this thread.
Those of you who hit the car next to you or key the car...
Do you *tell* your kids two wrongs make a right or just *show* them?
Do you tell them that when someone is inconsiderate it's okay to be a jerk back or just show them?
I'm not claiming to be a perfect parent. But, I do try to think about what my actions might teach my kids, even when I think they aren't looking or don't see me.
Just my two pennies. Rub 'em together and you still only have two cents.

I agree. Even when someone has parked inconsiderately close, I still try very hard not to damage their paint job when I'm getting in and out.

When I find myself inconvenienced, I try to imagine that maybe the other person has a good excuse.

For example, if someone cuts me off the highway, I imagine to myself that they just got laid off and are totally distraught. If someone parks like a jerk, I imagine to myself that they are enormously pregnant and suddenly had to go to the bathroom very very badly and so just ditched the car and made a run for it (which may have happened to me more than a few times )

As for KEYING someone's car, that is beyond the pale and totally unacceptable.

 

[Mommypooh]

I know I know I know. Holy bumped thread. I've been thinking a lot about this thread.
Those of you who hit the car next to you or key the car...
Do you *tell* your kids two wrongs make a right or just *show* them?
Do you tell them that when someone is inconsiderate it's okay to be a jerk back or just show them?
I'm not claiming to be a perfect parent. But, I do try to think about what my actions might teach my kids, even when I think they aren't looking or don't see me.
Just my two pennies. Rub 'em together and you still only have two cents.

Well I don't make a scene out of it, but I am not going to contort my body and try to protect their car. I open my door if while putting my kids in I happen to have to push against the door pretty hard to get myself in, oh well, I really don't think my kids are aware of that. It is not like I am opening the door and tossing it as hard as I can against the person screaming profanity. I Am aware that kids are always watching, I have 3 but on the same token I really doubt they get that I am hurting the car next to me unless I make it a big deal. Until I got my van I had no other option for getting in my vehicle. It was not humanly possible to climb through my trunk as the opening to my car was only about 6inches by about 12 inches. So no my giant butt would not be able to climb through.

If they see it, it is not like a real big deal as it is part of a choice I had to make, My kids have never asked about it and my kids are the first to ask about things that they want to know why I did that. I really doubt they made the connection between my door and the vehicle next to me getting scratched.

Now I would never key a car cause that can be caught on film and used to sue me. But door dings and door scratches are not really something they can do much about.