S/O parking for the disabled

[meggers5]

I was at a strip mall-esque place last night, and when walking to a store heard some yelling. An older woman had pulled into a spot between an SUV and a curb/traffic calming measure. The SUV was in the space, but on the line. The owner of the SUV was in it, presumably waiting for someone. The old woman began yelling at her that she was too close to the line and she had to move because her husband was disabled and would have trouble getting out of the car. The SUV was there first, and the driver basically said no, if he's disabled, go park in one of the 30 disabled spots (or at least one the many other empty spots not beside her).
The old woman got pretty enraged and said her husband used a cane, and then pretty much shook the cane at SUV, who refused to move.

Thoughts? Should the SUV have moved? Should the old woman have asked more nicely, or parked elsewhere?

FTR, the old woman was not in a disabled parking spot, and I don't know if she had tags to be able to park in one.

[RoxMonster]

I think the older woman could have asked nicer, but if I was the driver of the SUV, I probably would have moved so the man could have gotten out easier. Also, I tend to hate when people park right on the line and far over on one side of the spot because in many cases it DOES make it difficult to get out of your car, even if you are pulled in properly.

[speckledfrog]

This is another example of why arguing with/confronting assholes doesn't work. Also an example of why being overly impassioned by your cause works against you.

[lola]

I will never understand why people are such assholes. The woman should have asked nicely. The guy in the SUV should have moved. Life would seriously be so much less stressful if people would just be nice.

[lilybug]

As the SUV driver, I would have moved in a heartbeat. How hard is it to turn on the car and drive a few yards to a different spot?

That said, as the elderly woman, I wouldn't have parked in that spot when there were others open. The SUV was there first, surely she could see that the spot wasn't going to work for her.

[snickers]

The woman should have asked nicely, and yes the man could have just moved, but if he was there first it may have been a better option for her to pick a different spot.

[papie]

They were both wrong.

[ECB]

They were both assholes.

[Deleted]

everyone in this scenario needs to evaluate him or herself.

[mushmouse]

Jul 10, 2013 8:01:04 GMT -5 RoxMonster said:

I think the older woman could have asked nicer, but if I was the driver of the SUV, I probably would have moved so the man could have gotten out easier. Also, I tend to hate when people park right on the line and far over on one side of the spot because in many cases it DOES make it difficult to get out of your car, even if you are pulled in properly.

I think the guys should have moved, but sometimes you do end up on the line if you need to leave room between you and someone else who was parked on the other side.

Another good example of how you can't jump to a conclusion based on what's happening the second you arrive.

[whattheheck]

The SUV driver could have chosen to be the bigger person and moved his car to let the gentleman out and then pulled back in to wait for his passenger. Of course the wife could have dropped her husband off closer to the door and then parked the car.

[RoxMonster]

Jul 10, 2013 8:49:15 GMT -5 mushmouse said:

Jul 10, 2013 8:01:04 GMT -5 RoxMonster said:

I think the older woman could have asked nicer, but if I was the driver of the SUV, I probably would have moved so the man could have gotten out easier. Also, I tend to hate when people park right on the line and far over on one side of the spot because in many cases it DOES make it difficult to get out of your car, even if you are pulled in properly.

I think the guys should have moved, but sometimes you do end up on the line if you need to leave room between you and someone else who was parked on the other side.

Another good example of how you can't jump to a conclusion based on what's happening the second you arrive.

Yeah, I usually park elsewhere if the person on one side of me is far over or crooked because I am paranoid about my car getting dinged or hit. I've also had to crawl through the passenger side when I had to park crooked because of someone else, and then that made me far too close to the person who ended up pulling in on my driver's side. It was not pleasant lol.

[Deleted]

Was the SUV in the spot that has diagonal striped lines next to the accessible spot? If so, SUV was in the wrong. Those "spots" are part of the accessible spots, for being able to open the door wide so they can get out of the car, or a lift on a van.

[hbear]

Jul 10, 2013 9:22:36 GMT -5 rehabaddict said:

Was the SUV in the spot that has diagonal striped lines next to the accessible spot? If so, SUV was in the wrong. Those "spots" are part of the accessible spots, for being able to open the door wide so they can get out of the car, or a lift on a van.

It doesn't sound like either spot was for handicapped parking. Just regular spots, and she happened to pull into a tight spot even though there were plenty of other open spots.

I think the old lady was wrong. However, if she had asked nicely, I might have moved for her. But since I think she was being ridiculous AND rude, nope. No blame on the SUV.

[BaliHai]

I think the older woman was being rude, but I most likely would have moved regardless. Not happily, and I might even have pointed out that she could have been nicer about it, but, ultimately, I would have moved.

[meggers5]

Jul 10, 2013 9:22:36 GMT -5 rehabaddict said:

Was the SUV in the spot that has diagonal striped lines next to the accessible spot? If so, SUV was in the wrong. Those "spots" are part of the accessible spots, for being able to open the door wide so they can get out of the car, or a lift on a van.

Neither spot was designated parking. And there were 10 billion other spots.

[macmars45]

H and I had a similar non disabled parking experience. A girl screamed at us that she 'saw the parking spot first' even though H and I got to it first. We just pulled out of said parking spot and parked elsewhere. Getting into a yelling match about where you park is stupid.

Also, when I had a temporary disabled parking pass for my sprained ankle I got a lot of weird looks & questions. I just wore a brace on my ankle covered by my pants so apparently I was parking where I shouldn't be.