Don't honk at me and lie about it

[Julesy]

If someone honks at me, to try and hurry me up, I go into panic mode: deer in headlights, paralysed-flustered mode. I don't do it on purpose but yes, it will take me longer to get out of that parking space if they honk at me.

So I agree with you, it's very rude and counterproductive... and then her excuse. I'm kind of sorry that you ignored her. I'd have loved to hear her story as to who or what exactly she WAS honking at, then, if it wasn't at you.

[Merriweather]

My family had parking lot vultures in the 1970s!

It was around this time that I started hearing all kinds of road rage stories from various sources involving baseball bats, tire irons and crowbars, so naturally I was one worried and spazzed out preteen. But nothing bad ever happened to us; not a honk nor a ding.

Oh, there were plenty of vultures back then, probably have been vultures as long as there have been parking lots.

Your mention of the 70's reminded me of when I got to be a vulture myself. My ex was posted to a small base for a while, and the NEX (main non-grocery store on base) was quite popular, since the town itself was very small and had little shopping. Unfortunately, the parking lot had never been enlarged in years, and during peak shopping times (such as 9 - 5 most days, lol) it was full - all spots near and far, not just the premium spots. You had to play vulture to get a spot, all you could do was drive around and around hoping to get lucky sooner rather than later. On a good day you got parked int 5 - 10 minutes, on a bad day you could be there half an hour or more looking for an empty spot.

I do believe if this hadn't been a base (with MP's handy, and infractions affecting the military member's career), there'd have been violence quite often.

[elsporko]

I think pretty much all college parking requires being a vulture. College's just love the extra money that comes with giving tickets to those who illegally park, so they have no reason to actually have enough spaces for everybody.

[Magpie]

What I don't get is why, if the woman in the OP is inconsiderate enough to be willing to honk and swear at someone like that, she cares enough about what someone else thinks to go and make a claim like that. As for hurling insults like that, ignoring her is one of the most polite things I can think of doing. Your options are a) barefaced lie (oh, don't worry, I didn't think you were) b) calling her out on her behaviour or c) ignoring her

[Pagan]

I entertained the possibility of hopping on out and going back into the mall....

I actually did that once. Didn't need anything else, just the guy honking at me pissed me off.

There are several lots that I park farther away in so that I can pull across. I refuse to try to back out in them. Sometimes pulling out forward can be a challenge.

[AriRashkae]

The only time I wait for a parking space is when that car is starting to pull out as I am driving down the aisle. When I go some place I just park at the first space I see.

Same here. Although I seem to have good luck when it comes to prime spaces, I don't throw a fit if I can't get a close spot. Frankly, I care more about being next to a cart return so I don't have to wrangle the little one as far, esp in bad weather!

[Ashaela]

Same here. Although I seem to have good luck when it comes to prime spaces, I don't throw a fit if I can't get a close spot. Frankly, I care more about being next to a cart return so I don't have to wrangle the little one as far, esp in bad weather!

There are many benefits to taking a further-away parking space....

1) Less stress worrying about finding omigodjusttherightspot - is that one closer? Is this one? Can I loop around before someone else parks there?

2) For that matter, less chance of an accident - lower traffic area, not as many pedestrians to look out for, not as many crazy drivers trying to snipe a spot.

3) More cardio! Everybody needs a few minutes of exercise a day.

4) You can walk past the entitlement crazies who're still cruising the parking lot and sneer at them in your head for being dumb enough to waste 5 minutes driving to save only 20 seconds of walking.

Everyone would be happier in life if they didn't let the little things bother them. Nothing's wrong with giving the under-appreciated further away parking spaces a little love.

[drunkenwildmage]

You should see it when it comes to Handicap stops..It's about 10 times worse.When I'm with my wife, she will get into the van, and I'll load the groceries in the back. In the time it takes to load groceries we normally have 2 or 3 cars stalking us for the handicap spot.

The worst case I was involved in was when we went to Wally World a few years ago. At the time we had a Dodge Dakota (How many of those do you see with Hand-controls?) and I was loading up my wife's chair on a carrier attached to the back of the truck. (Normally a 5 minute process) Right when I started and older lady roll up, kinda pulled to the side, and flipped her signal on waiting for us.. No problem.. She was out of the way... In the time I got the chair loaded and tied down, some <insert favorite negative adjective for a female> driving a Stupid Useless Vehicle roll up behind me from the other wait. She parked so close, that I had to direct my wife to back out to keep from hitting her. (in which I tried in such a way to keep the SUV driver from getting the spot) In the process of backing out, once the spot was clear, the SUV driver swung into the stop(about hit me), jump out with her spawn, yelled 'thanks' to me and fricking ran into the store I walked up to the other lady to apologize, and all she said was 'I was waiting for the sport first'

[Primer]

I think pretty much all college parking requires being a vulture.

I pretty much have a choice of where I can park, space availability permitting. As faculty, I can park in the students' lots, and I also have handicap parking. I still arrive on campus by 6:45 every morning just so I don't have to think, and I can slide right into my favorite spot. I do leave the closest spaces for those who need them worse than I, but I don't have to worry about just finding a spot!

[Kogarashi]

As faculty, I can park in the students' lots

This always bugged me in high school, though more for bureaucracy cluelessness than the faculty themselves.

At our high school, there were two lots students could park in, one on either end of a fairly sprawling building. One lot was the faculty lot, and the other was the student lot. Because of the size of the building, though, faculty with classrooms on the student lot side were allowed to park in the student lot. Students were, of course, restricted from parking in the faculty lot. On top of it all, the office oversold the student lot to students (assuming every space was taken by a student car), since not all students drove themselves each day, as most families lived far enough away to qualify for the school buses.

This lead to the quite frequent sight of a nearly empty faculty lot and a full-to-bursting student lot with cars parked on the grass when space ran out. Sometimes cars even took the bus spaces in the middle, though these always had to get moved before the buses could pull in to pick up students.

It strikes me now that my high school parking lot was a breeding ground for young parking vultures.

[ADoyle90815]

The only time I wait is if I see someone actually leaving a space, as I prefer the farther spots anyway. There's less stress, and I get a little bit of exercise by walking farther. I've also gone back into the mall when someone honked when I got back to my car, just because their honking pissed me off.

[sprocket79]

I just remembered a story from 15 years ago when I was with my cousin (who was driving) at a mall.

We were cruising around the parking lot trying to find a spot as there were literally NONE - not even far away ones. We were finally really lucky. We spotted someone leaving in the aisle we were driving up. We pulled in and got out. At that point this other car screeched up and started screaming at us. He was saying that this was his parking spot and we better move. My cousin told him fat chance, he wasn't there, so he had no claim to the spot. So he yells that it's his spot because he had been waiting for a spot for over 20 mins. WTF, dude? You snooze you lose. Just because you've been waiting doesn't mean the spot is yours. It's not like take a number! You have to be there when someone is getting out!!!

[Ravenzfire]

I used to have a roomate back in college that was basically a "backseat vulture". He didn't have a car and I did so if he needed to go out somewhere and I was free I would give him a lift. Now I have no problem parking in the back of a lot as I'd rather just park and get into the store. Everytime, without fail, I would get whined at becuase we weren't parking close enough. I would make a beeline for an open spot and he would want me to find a closer spot. He had no physical handicap or anything, he was just lazy. I would just give him a disgusted look and park in an open spot and then he would get all sulky and mutter to himself as we walked into the store. Let's just say his rides tended to vanish after a few times of that.

[Pagan]

Now I have no problem parking in the back of a lot as I'd rather just park and get into the store. Everytime, without fail, I would get whined at becuase we weren't parking close enough. I would make a beeline for an open spot and he would want me to find a closer spot.

I had a friend like that and, frankly, she could have used the extra walking. I finally had it one day when she started complaining about where I chose to park. I looked at her and said, "Would you care to walk home?" This is the same ex-friend that got annoyed when I wouldn't turn on the air conditioner for a 5 minute drive.