05 December 2008

A Crooked Car Or A Crooked Driver?

I parked my car at the open-air carpark near Blk 83 Marine Parade just now and went to the food centre at Blk 84 to have dinner. (This carpark has perpendicular parking, i.e. the carpark lots are drawn perpendicular to the curb.) Because the adjacent cars were all parked out of alignment to the lots, I had no choice but to follow accordingly.

When I came back from dinner, I was surprised to find a white car parked very close to my car's driver side. The gap was less than a foot wide and hence it was almost impossible for me to get into the car through the driver's door. I checked on the other side of the white car and found that there was a large gap from the adjacent car. Just then, the driver of the white car came along and opened the boot of his car.

I said to him, "How can you park your car like that? How am I supposed to get into my car like this?"

What irked me more was actually not how he had "misparked" his car but his reply: "But look at my car - it is parked right in the centre of the lot. It's your car that's crookedly parked."

I said, "Hey, look at the car on the left side of mine - it is also parked out of alignment so I just have to follow him."

What he said next almost caused a parking-rage incident. By then, it seemed evident to me that he had purposely parked his car that way. I couldn't believe my ears when he said, "You can climb in through the other side."

I was lost for words for a moment. I felt my blood boiling inside me. After a while, his conscience seemed to prick him and he asked, "Do you want me to shift my car?"

Hey, I thought that was a no-brainer, right? But instead I said, "No, it's alright." And then I went away for 15 minutes to buy something sharp. That seemed to have worked - when I came back, the white car had been driven off.

Now you tell me who was the crooked driver?

20 comments:

Lam Chun See said...

I think it was wise of you to exercise self-control. Big problems like that Everit Road case usually grow from small problems like this.

yg said...

it has happened to me before. sometimes, such drivers may not be aware that their vehicles have been parked too close to yours, especially at night, as they normally take their bearing from the driver's side.

since i am small build, i will get in from the front passenger's side - just like what the other driver had suggested to you. but, i still grumble about the other driver being not so considerate.

because most s'pore cars are new and they cost a lot, most drivers will try to park properly - with allowance on both sides - as they do not want the sides of their precious cars to be dented by someone's else carelessness.

next time, before i park, if the next car is a scenic, i must sure not to park too near to it.

Lam Chun See said...

Some car parks in Spore, the lots are so narrow that even if everybody parks properly still it's a squeeze to get in; especially if near the pillar. I think many of the new HDB multi-storey car parks a like that.

Anonymous said...

dude, its a lose-lose situation.

to the other driver, follow parking lines = correct.

to you, follow how other cars are parked = correct.

no point arguing about it =)

Anonymous said...

This type of situation will surely make your blood boil. Better play cool and don't let your heart rule your head.

Anonymous said...

I think he got scared his car will get scratched by Victor.

U like to see how my neigbour's car parked with his headlights into my driveway? I left a note on his wind screen" No guarantee your car will look the same again if you continue to park this way" He got the message.

Icemoon said...

Moral of the story: buy a convertible.

PChew said...

You said all adjacent cars parked out of alignment and you did likewise. First, two wrongs did not make one right. Secondly, by the time the white car parked his car, his parking lot and the adjacent lot might be vacant. So he was able to park correctly. If he were to park his car closer to the adjacent vacant lot, it would be unfair to whoever came next. To him, you might be an inconsiderate driver for parking your car out of alignment for he was not there when you parked your car. Always analyse the situation before thinking that other is wrong.

Icemoon said...

But Uncle Chew, the white car was next to Victor's car and the latter was there first. =)

PChew said...

Icemoon, that is what I meant. Perhaps by the time the white car came, there was only one slot between Vic's car and another car. The white car could not park like Victor did and had to park withing the slot. He didn't want to park nearer to the adjacent car as he needed to get out of his own car. Would you not do the same?

Icemoon said...

Victor did say he checked the space between the white car and its neighbor .. and realized the gap was large.

Maybe the white car had two neighbors. The previous one forced the white car to have a small gap from the driver's side. So every man for himself .. lol

If that's the case and the owner knew he would be back soon, then I'd say it's worth taking the risk. After all Victor's car not the pai kia zhng type. Haha, you know a nice man will be driving it.

Icemoon said...

But that cannot be the scenario I must say. The owner wasn't apologetic when confronted.

IMHO, the man's only crooked 'cos of his inconsiderate behaviour. Which was why his conscience pricked him in the end. Honestly, if a stranger confronted you about your perfect parking, you'd also feel dulan and start to get defensive.

Ok, let's guess what did Victor eat before the episode? Some 'explosive' food? Haha.

PChew said...

Why must the white car driver be apologetic. Victor should not confront him in the first place when he did no wrong. Talk to him nicely that you could get into your car and he would comply as he did later. I know young blood are hot. Luckily all went well and nobody got hurt.

My advice to you youngsters, there is no point to get one up in this kind of incident or regret later. I had been through it. I am glad that I am still in one piece.

Icemoon said...

Haha, I do think Victor was a bit explosive.

But the situation did not favour the white car driver. He willingly took the risk and thus had to accept the consequences. It was also his fault that he didn't check whether Victor's car was crooked on purpose. Luckily Victor remained a gentleman to the end. The owners of the other crooked cars might not be so kind.

PChew said...

It's a matter of opinion.

Anonymous said...

crooked in his mind. there are all kind of ppl in the world.

Victor said...

Oh my, I nearly started a blog-rage incident here.

Nowhere in this blog post did I say that I was right and the driver of the white car was wrong. I had left the judgement call to the readers.

I agree with some of you that the best way to avoid such a conflict is to walk away from it. Which I did.

Anonymous said...

I am glad that Victor behaved like the gentleman that he is.

He had no choice to park the way he did - i have encountered this situation myself b4.

Vic's words to the white car owner ("WCO") do seem a tad accusatorial though. But i agree that the WCO purposely parked like that, to teach Victor a lesson for his "bad" parking.

What wld i have done? Well, since i've lost some weight, i would put it to good use and climb thru the front passenger side.

So Vic, dont indulge too much over christmas and NY ok!!! hehehe

hgv said...

I guess you wont be exchanging Xmas Cards

HGV Training UK said...

Any plans to kiss and make up?