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Improve Your Parking Etiquette

From Brian Sy, Featured Contributor
Posted on May 21, 2008
Filed under Industry, Humor

Some pointers for keeping city life civil.

Too many cars, too few spaces. It's a problem endemic to just any major city, and when combined with a lack of manners and consideration, can lead to many more (dings, dents, insults, fights, insurance claims). Metro living would sure be more harmonious if everyone abided by a common code of conduct.

So do your part. If you ever find yourself hunting for a parking spot in a busy area, here are a couple points to keep in mind:



  • When parallel parking, pull up within a foot of the next car. Extra space is space wasted.
  • No stalking. If you've ever had a car follow you, breathing down your neck as you walk to your parked car, you know it's unnerving.
  • Don't get mad when you see a motorcycle "taking up a whole space." By law, they're supposed to. Instead, focus on being grateful that there's one less car on the road.
  • Keep the "love taps" to a minimum. If you find your car squeezed in tight between two parallel parkers, you sometimes can't help but bump your way out. Just remember that some bumpers crumple in 5 MPH impacts, which for some cars spells an instant $1,000 body job. Please keep your bumps to half-idle speed.
  • Don't cheat by having your douchebag friend stand in a spot to save your space. Or at least don't protest when another driver gleefully mows him down in contempt.
  • Don't wipe the chalk from your tires -- you know, the chalk that cops leave to mark how long you've been parked in time-limit zone. You can get fined.
  • Spaces marked "COMPACT" mean no car bigger than a Camry, no SUV bigger than a RAV4, and no trucks, period.
  • Avoid the hills if you don't have the skills. Some people just can't handle parallel parking on an incline, whether it's inching backward while fighting gravity, or remembering precautions like setting the parking brake and pointing the car's wheels in the proper direction relative to the curb.

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Brian Sy is a featured contributor for vLane.
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Comments for this article

Displaying 1-2 of 2 comments
  • Flag
    From Anonymous
    Commented on May 25, 2008

    haw haw

  • Flag
    From boob_man
    Commented on May 29, 2008

    The "compact" space declaration is &#!@. Regular spaces these days are tight enough, and the compact space simply add to the dings and dents we all suffer from careless drivers who have no regard for those around them.

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