Car Parking Rage

It seems so strange that when people get into a car and drive, the devil comes out of some of them. People can get so worked up about other drivers and their actions. A common topic of conversation at work is about bad drivers.

One place where drivers get even angrier is when trying to find a parking. I remember back at uni where there was never enough spaces, there was a lot of crazy zooming around the car park to race to an empty spot first. One friend I knew had once lost a car park to someone else. He had been waiting for it first, but since the car backed out in his direction, someone else came from the other direction and stole the spot. When he honked at the other person, they just pretended that they didn't know he was waiting, shrugged their shoulders and continued to walk to class. My friend went to class, but at lunch time when he was recounting the story, he got really upset and stormed off to take action. The action that he took was to let out the air in all four tyres out of the other person's car and a big scratch down the side. I didn't really believe him when he came back and told me. But when I was going home, I happened to pass a car matching the description he had given. I also saw that the tyres all had no air in them, and there was indeed a huge scratch down the whole side of the car. To me, this action was an extreme case of car parking rage. It's only a parking spot for heaven's sake, not exactly life and death.

Car park rage is even more apparent in the city and during public holidays at shopping centres. During public holidays such as Christmas and Mother's Day, it's absolute chaos at shopping centres. People drive like madmen and do all sort of things to get a car park. Lots of people park illegal in all weird places. Then there is the constant honking trying to grab a parking space. I sometimes also leave my shopping to the last minute and get caught up in all this chaos. The chaos literally gives me a headache, which isn't helped by going round and round the car park as I get dizzy very easily. I now use the "stalk and catch" technique for parking. I wait in one of the aisles and when I see someone walk out of the shopping centre, I start to tail them immediately. If they are carrying bags, I ask them if they are leaving and where their car is. They will generally point to where their car is, and I can start driving in that direction. Even if someone else waits for their spot, they will generally point to me and say I was waiting first. This is a much calmer way then circling like mad and making myself all dizzy. The strike rate is also quite good.

In the city, the fight for a spot is at its most fierce. Free city parking is at a premium, and since no one wants to pay for parking, you have to perserveer and be patient. In Melbourne, there are sometimes parking in the middle of the road so that traffic from both sides can enter the parking. This causes lots of trouble, because even if you are waiting first on one side, cars on the other side might not see you, or just don't care and wait for the same spot. The person who gets the spot is always the one where the parked car doesn't leave in your direction. A classic example of cars fighting for the centre spot is shown in the photo below. I wasn't sure who was waiting first, but neither was going to budge. I stood there for a good 5 minutes watching them and they both did nothing, just sat in their cars with the radio on and waited. I guess whoever had the most patience and outwaited the other would get the spot. It was so funny so I took a photo of it. I thought that the first photo didn't turn out so well so I used the flash on my camera on a second photo (not shown). The dark street lit up like a light and I was worried that the guys in the car would get out and bash me up, so I ran away quick smart. The photo with the flash turned out even worse, so if you are going to take photos like this, being discreet and not using flash actually works best. Let that be a lesson that you all remember and you should end up safe and not getting bashed up.