1. I’m turning right. You’re turning left. But I got here first and my car is bigger than yours, so I’m going to go first.
2. Sure, I can park here on this corner. Why not?
3. Sure, I can park here. Why not? Pah, pedestrians, school kids? Who cares?
15 replies on “Arrogance”
Ha! Both 4WDs!
Had my own little incident this morning, technically my fault perhaps.
Was going up a hill in the slow lane and just as the lanes were merging, I could see a lady in a Rav4 trying to squeeze past at the last momment. She came out of nowhere and must have been doing at least 120 and probably 10 more by the time she was just behind me. By then I had been indicating for a while and had started moving over. She probably would have made it past but I just didn’t expect her to come up so fast.
I would not categorise either as 4wd, but rather all wheel drive, and the subaru is about the size of a standard falcon/commodore wagon. Lets not start jumping on the ol ‘4wd bashing’ wagon.
What does the law say about parking across the footpath like that?
I know I’ve had my fair share of moronic drivers this week. First of all, it was people parking in 1/4 hour parking spots in Box Hill who were obviously taking more than 1/4 of an hour (i.e. restaurant goers) when all I needed was to pick up some take away with no other free parking spots within half a kilometre (I would almost have been better off walking from home). Though being a Saturday night, the lack of public transport is probably the best explanation for this.
Then riding my bike along Mont Albert Rd the other day, a car appeared to be turning right. Either way they probably should have waited until I had passed. Though I saw them coming out of the street I assumed they were turning right into Mont Albert Rd. So I continued to look down as you normally do when climbing a hill. Instead they ducked into a drive way and had I not slowed down marginally I would have hit them. At least it would have been a slow speed collision so I would have been able to pursue them through the police and seek to have their license removed, having not been hurt.
Pfft. Both are bigger on the outside than they need to be to carry the people they carry, both are bought because someone wants to feel like they’re in a 4WD, neither is particularly useful off road. That satisfies the major requirements for one of the two groups worthy of bashing. The other group certainly has off road ability but is hated for its aggression rather than show-off factor.
And the law says it is illegal to park across a footpath.
In case you’re wondering, the car in incident [1] was also a 4WD.
And I didn’t mention the guy at Freedom Moorabbin last weekend who decided he didn’t need to find a parking spot; he could just park on the grass in front of the store.
All this kind of behaviour isn’t unique to suburban 4WD owners… but they certainly have their share.
The kids will love you for this one. Assemble them to march over any car blocking a footpath. Better still if it is a 4wd as there will be some extra gymnastics involved.
People parking across footpaths is a major bug bear with me. When you have a pram and they park so that they only way around them is to go on the road, that really peeves me. If I can, I always go around them via on their property.
And don’t get me started on 4WD bashing…. :) Last weekend, on the way to the market, there were 2 on the road with only one person in them. And the second was driving like she owned the road – no indicators, but changing lanes and driving along a wide road, weaving from one side to another, without indicating. Like I said, don’t get me started!
Like Rae, I go on the property side if possible.
Whenever I see this, I think how fun it would be to be (preferably deaf) on an electric scooter equipped with a 130dB beeping horn which could be sounded as long as the path remained obstructed.
It would create quite a scene, with all the neighbours peering out to see what the ruckus was about.
I second (or third?) the extreme opprobium for footpath-blockers. Wheeling a double pram, pushing a minimum of 25 kilos in weight (more if there is groceries in the undercarriage), having to laboriously make your way onto the road is both difficult and dangerous. Can I ask you, footpath-blockers, to THINK OF THE CHILDREN ;-)
You can have fun if you push a shopping trolley around in front of you. Those things can be awfully hard to pull up in a hurry….a guy discovered that recently when he failed to stop for me at a ped crossing in a shopping centre carpark.
First stupuid parking but a CR-v is infact smaller than the average 4 door saloon car and for most of the time 2WD the 4wd only kicks in when there is a lack of traction.
I remember going to the pub one night, we came across a car with the bonnet blocking the footpath. I know we left footprints on the bonnet, not sure about dents :-)
Might be an idea to stick some “infringement” notices on their car – a-la The Chaser’s Citizen Infringement Officers. (There’s also a site: “You park like an a–hole” but I’ll leave that for the reader to find)
Will, I like that idea! Maybe the photocopied page out of the driver instruction book, to remind them of how it’s meant to be.