is it ok to hold a parking space for someone else by standing in it

lol I did this yesterday for maybe the second time in my life

only if you're trying to park a moving van

otm

fuck no

TS: Human being or chair

No, but I respect the audacity of anyone who tries and wouldn't be game to cause a scene in challenging the mad lad/lass

nor is it ok to stretch this poll out to the end of the year

I don't drive so my opinion on this is not drawn from experience, but I would've thought it would depend on how long you're holding it for, no? Obviously the person being prevented from parking wouldn't be able to tell, but I figure if you're just holding it for a minute while your driving friend is getting there or doing a difficult manouevre, that's not so bad. The extreme reactions already on the thread tell me I may be wrong, though.

I’ve never seen this but sure, why not

If a parking space has special signage, e.g. "Reserved for Dr. Bovine-L'ardeux" or "Staff Only", then it's not a public space. Otherwise, there's no question that 'public' parking spaces are first-come first-served. If the intended vehicle isn't present and the space is open for use, then having a person stand in it and shoo vehicles away is a breach of normal etiquette, but it isn't a hanging offense. Most of the time.

its closer to a hanging offence than a tutting offence tbh

Living, as I do, in a country where road rage incidents frequently result in serious harm, I hesitate to invoke violence as an admissible option in cases like this.

pay attention!

https://i.imgur.com/8xJXLDn.gif

My parents live right next ti the beach and did this once with traffic cones at the park right in front of there house when they had to leave to drop one of my siblings of in work. If you can get away with it in an incognito way like this, all the power to you. But if someone calls your bluff and moves the traffic cones all the power to them as well. It's really all just a game of bluff this stuff, whoever wins, wiis rightfully

This was like a 5 minute drop off and it was just one park out of a hundred at the beach (thought it was a pretty full day). If it was 10 minutes, I'd probably cheer against my family, but I'm happy for them to have the win on this very particular occasion.

Standing as a human being to shoo people though? Again, so audacious and embarrassing you almost have to tip your cap (unless you're the one that wants the park, in which case don't tip your cap, record a video for everyone to rage-watch)

When my brother was little, he got hit in the eye with a pencil, and my mother drove him across the city to the Eye and Ear hospital. My granny lived a short bus ride from the hospital, so she went down there, found a parking spot right outside the gates, and stood in it shooing cars away until my mother arrived. Heroic work.

That's what it's all about. Queen granny

I have literally never thought about this before, I may have seen it but it did not register as a phenomenon.

Ditto.

whether right or wrong it seems a slightly dangerous idea to do this in the US, lots of fatal gun violence seems to be sparked off by parking space disputes.

Now I'm curious about Dr. Bovine-L'ardeux

pay attention!

🖼

you can do that in DC, but not NYC

Idk this kinda has a self-limited mechanism already baked in, if you’re doing this it’s only going to be for a few minutes at most, not like half and hour. And it would be way less annoying and more amusing to witness than when people stop and put their hazards on when they see people getting into their car so they can signal “MINE MINE MINE THIS IS MINE” and block everyone

Is the moving van scenario one where there are lots of other spots available nearby, but you really need this specific one? In that case, maybe. Your shooing should be appropriately apologetic. And also, if the other car has even a minimal reason to prefer this spot, then imo that minimal reason may be enough outweigh your strong reason.

If it's the only spot left nearby, then moving vans get no special privileges.

as a person who doesn't normally have a car, but sometimes moves, fuck that shit tbqh

tangentially related but two weeks ago I was unloading some stuff from my van and put my lawnmower down on the ground behind it while i was sorting things out. then I went to the side door to grab something and while i was rummaging around i heard this horrible crunch. i looked back someone was parking their BMW right on top of it. there were like three empty spaces behind me too. kinda funny in hindsight i suppose, I was stood on the pavement helplessly doing this involuntary hands-raised, mouth-agog, wild-eyed, whatthefuckareyoudoing!?! crazy-man type of gesture. and the driver was just looking at me going 'well i didn't see it!' and doing the upturned palms shruggy thing. i am not good in those stressful situations though, I started getting tearful and that made the driver get tearful too and then we hugged and chatted and made friends and then I had to go and buy a new lawnmower.

My car's alternator died in the right-turn lane during rush hour. People kept lining up behind it and honking at it when it wouldn't turn, even though no brake lights or turning indicators were on (and I was watching from a nearby store, waiting on a friend.)

So I found a sidewalk sign for an upcoming Art Walk and placed it behind my car. No more honking! People now saw the sign as the obstacle, not the car.

Which explains why while the cops never stopped (which was a relief), it was a truck with yellow lights from the city's sign department that finally showed up and helped push me into a parking lot.

Park in the middle of the street? Whatever. Mess with one of those sidewalk signs? Someone's going to get to the bottom of this!