Special Snowflake Stories

[snowdragon]

<snip>

So it sounds like there was only 1 car to the side of you, which meant they could have pulled back a little and pulled forward out of the spot on the other side of you and been on their merry way. 

Right....but that would have required backing out somewhat. The horror of having to actually put their car in reverse was obviously far too much to comprehend.

And their opposite was the lady we observed in the mall parking lot, trying to back into a space.  And pulling out, and trying again, and pulling out, and trying again...  she probably spent ten times as long trying to back into that spot than it would have taken her to back out of it if she'd pulled in head-forwards.

My mother had a car problem that required her to always pull through (or take a pair of teens with her wherever she went) -- the rattletrap car that Dad had bought in Hawaii to use until our station wagon got there had no reverse gear.  And Dad was too tight-fisted to fix a problem that would be immaterial in a few weeks.

 I had a car like that too, it was horrible but at the time I could not afford anything else. 

[Adelaide]

<snip>

So it sounds like there was only 1 car to the side of you, which meant they could have pulled back a little and pulled forward out of the spot on the other side of you and been on their merry way. 

Right....but that would have required backing out somewhat. The horror of having to actually put their car in reverse was obviously far too much to comprehend.

And their opposite was the lady we observed in the mall parking lot, trying to back into a space.  And pulling out, and trying again, and pulling out, and trying again...  she probably spent ten times as long trying to back into that spot than it would have taken her to back out of it if she'd pulled in head-forwards.

My mother had a car problem that required her to always pull through (or take a pair of teens with her wherever she went) -- the rattletrap car that Dad had bought in Hawaii to use until our station wagon got there had no reverse gear.  And Dad was too tight-fisted to fix a problem that would be immaterial in a few weeks.

 I had a car like that too, it was horrible but at the time I could not afford anything else.

This was a very shiny, very new Jaguar. Although who knows, it might have had the same problem at the time.

[redcat]

That's road legal?!

[PastryGoddess]

That's road legal?!

huh???  Jaguars have been here in the US since the 60's at least

[faithlessone]

That's road legal?!

huh???  Jaguars have been here in the US since the 60's at least

I think Redcat meant cars without a reverse gear.

[PastryGoddess]

That's road legal?!

huh???  Jaguars have been here in the US since the 60's at least

I think Redcat meant cars without a reverse gear.

ooooooooh

[gramma dishes]

That's road legal?!

huh???  Jaguars have been here in the US since the 60's at least

I think Redcat meant cars without a reverse gear.

ooooooooh

LOL!    If it  makes you feel any better, Pastry Goddess, I wondered about that too!  So you are not alone.

[Otterpop]

That's road legal?!

huh???  Jaguars have been here in the US since the 60's at least

I think Redcat meant cars without a reverse gear.

ooooooooh

That certainly isn't safe, if not illegal.

That reminds me of the time I was waiting for a space.  A car in the next lane was waiting for the space directly in front of mine.  We were both pulling in facing each other when she lurched forward, through hers, taking MY space instead.  We nearly collided.  It seems she wanted to park facing out as well   (Is backing out all that hard?!!!)

Cue my jaw dropping to the floor, my husband leaning forward on the dash quizzically and the other lady smugly opening her car door to get out.  Until...her husband tapped her on the shoulder and made her back up.  At least HE had some decency...

[camlan]

Backing up out of a parking space isn't hard. But it is not as safe as pulling forward out of a parking space.

When you back out of a parking space, there could be pedestrians that you can't see, or small children darting about or a stray grocery cart or the like. If you drive a small car and end up having to back out of a space with much larger cars on both sides, it is very, very difficult to see if there is anyone walking down the aisle or any other cars are in motion. You have a very limited field of vision when backing out of the tunnel formed by mini-vans on both sides.

If you back into the parking spot, it is a tad more difficult because you need to be careful that you don't hit the cars on either side, but there is less of a chance that someone will be walking behind the car.

That's why some of us prefer spaces where we can pull through two spaces. All the ease and convenience of pulling forward in to a parking spot, plus the safety advantage of pulling forward out of the parking spot. You can see where you are going and are much less likely to hit someone or something.

The chief problem with backing into a space is that other drivers frequently don't like waiting for you to back in slowly and get impatient.

[bopper]

I'm hoping that once she uses it a time or two she'll feel a little better. Sadly, she hasn't had a chance to yet, between weather and other logistics. Hoping maybe soon, though! Glad to hear it's not totally out of the realm of 'normal' though... I was a bit worried. LOL

Well, I have a friend who has OCD and she would definitely think that way.

[PastryGoddess]

Backing up out of a parking space isn't hard. But it is not as safe as pulling forward out of a parking space.

When you back out of a parking space, there could be pedestrians that you can't see, or small children darting about or a stray grocery cart or the like. If you drive a small car and end up having to back out of a space with much larger cars on both sides, it is very, very difficult to see if there is anyone walking down the aisle or any other cars are in motion. You have a very limited field of vision when backing out of the tunnel formed by mini-vans on both sides.

If you back into the parking spot, it is a tad more difficult because you need to be careful that you don't hit the cars on either side, but there is less of a chance that someone will be walking behind the car.

That's why some of us prefer spaces where we can pull through two spaces. All the ease and convenience of pulling forward in to a parking spot, plus the safety advantage of pulling forward out of the parking spot. You can see where you are going and are much less likely to hit someone or something.

The chief problem with backing into a space is that other drivers frequently don't like waiting for you to back in slowly and get impatient.

Then its up to you (general) to find a space you can pull forward out of, either by backing in or finding a spot you (general) can drive through while parking.  Not get all huffy and puffy because the person in the spot in front of you won't move on your time frame.

[gramma dishes]

Also most of our parking lots have slanted parking slots.  The parking aisles are reversed one ways -- in other words parking aisle one goes north, parking aisle two goes south.  So if you pull straight through to leave, you'll find yourself heading down a one way aisle in the wrong direction. 

Oncoming cars have nowhere to go!  One of you has to move.  Since you're the one going the wrong direction, they will usually expect that one to be YOU.  So instead of backing out of a parking space, you'll end up backing down an entire aisle of parked cars coming from the other direction.

[CakeBeret]

I just returned from my history final. The teacher had to throw out one student because she brought her three year old child who.would.not.shut.up.  He was so loud that  even putting the mother and child in the hall was still too loud for most.  The mom was furious about it because we were discriminating against her, as a mother, and "just because I have a child does not mean I should fail the course" - So the rest of us should?
 
  Even after being told she could take the  exam in a room alone she was not satisfied...and went stomping off, yelling about how we were discriminating against her because she is a parent.
  It would have been annoying but not fatal for her to bring the kid, if he would be quiet so we could take the exam...but allowing your child to talk in an "outside voice" during a final exam, while you answer him in a normal,conversational tone, plants this person firmly in the SS  territory for me.

As the parent of a 3 year old, I am completely aghast. What...why...I don't even understand. Even if I had the quietest, calmest, most docile 3 year old in existence, I still would not dream of taking them to a college final!

[EmmaJ.]

Also most of our parking lots have slanted parking slots.  The parking aisles are reversed one ways -- in other words parking aisle one goes north, parking aisle two goes south.  So if you pull straight through to leave, you'll find yourself heading down a one way aisle in the wrong direction. 

Oncoming cars have nowhere to go!  One of you has to move.  Since you're the one going the wrong direction, they will usually expect that one to be YOU.  So instead of backing out of a parking space, you'll end up backing down an entire aisle of parked cars coming from the other direction.

My parking lot at work is laid out like this.  And there is one person who always pulls through, so he is now forced to exit that row going the wrong way. 

I cannot figure out why he does this - and it isn't a one-time oops.  The same car is parked the same wrong way every day.   

[artk2002]

That's why some of us prefer spaces where we can pull through two spaces. All the ease and convenience of pulling forward in to a parking spot, plus the safety advantage of pulling forward out of the parking spot. You can see where you are going and are much less likely to hit someone or something.

Doing a pull-through has its own risks and is not any better than the alternatives. I've been surprised, on at least two occasions, by someone pulling through a parking space that I was trying to enter.