The 7 most annoying parking habits

This is a great topic, one we can all relate to and, unless you’re new to the road, have been affected by in some way.

Straight away, it brings images to mind of social media jokes, rants and videos that mock bad parkers.

But before I join the fray and let loose on them as well, what exactly is the definition of annoying?

Well, according to the Macquarie online dictionary, to annoy is to disturb in a way that is displeasing, troubling, or slightly irritating.

Annoying barely covers it then really, and a turn of phrase that may surface when directly faced with those with terrible parking habits might be: ‘This is infuriating’, or, ‘This is really infuriating’, or perhaps, ‘This is @#$king infuriating’, and finally, ‘Where’s my gun?’

Why do bad parking habits annoy us so much?

• You usually run into it at the most inconvenient time
• You get stuck in traffic jams due to incompetent parkers
• They stop you getting where you need to be
• You feel they are inconsiderate and don’t respect other people
• You worry they will damage your vehicle if they attempt to park next to you
• The annoying parkers are probably oblivious to how they make us feel. They may even believe they have a good reason for doing what they do. But geez, it does make you wonder what they were thinking when you witness some of their decisions.
• Here are some parking habits that might make your blood boil and leave you shaking your head in disbelief.

Parking in more than one space

Seriously, if you think your car is too good to have neighbours, then don’t drive it.

Stick it in the shed, surround it in bubble wrap and be done. However, if you’re taking up two spaces because your vehicle is too big for just one then too bad, you can’t park there.

If you want to own a truck, then park it on the street with the semis.

Boxing in

“Look mum! My car did fit in that space!”

The object of the parking game is not to park as close as you can to the person in front or behind.

If you do, don’t expect the front or rear of your car to be dent free when you get back from sipping your latte.

Parking across a driveway

How inconsiderate are the driveway parkers?

You’ve just done your weekly shopping, there are 3 kids in the car, and you can’t even pull into your own driveway because some dimwit has parked across it.

Now, you’ve got nowhere to park, dropping the kids off on the street is a bit dodgy, and the meat is going off in the back . . . what do you do?

Parking across a footpath

Footpaths are designed so pedestrians can walk safely off the road.

It’s a system that works very well. Except, that is, when some prat climbs the curb and plonks the family jalopy all over the pathway.

Too bad for the person in the wheelchair trying to get somewhere.

Parking in disabled parking spaces

If you are not entitled to park there, don’t!

Disabled parking spots are there for a reason and those vehicles need space around them so the occupants can get in and out.

This is high-level rudeness and if you park in a disabled space when not entitled, there is no excuse, even if you did do squats at the gym the day before and your legs are sore.

Space invaders

Space invaders are the idiots who park so close to you, you wonder how they made it into the spot in the first place without hitting your car.

They leave you with no way of getting into your vehicle unless you are able to contort like a circus performer and squeeze through the gap you’ve managed to open in your own door.

At its worst, this scenario could end up with you gaining access via the passenger door, or even through the boot.

The waiters

No, sadly this doesn’t mean they will serve you as they park. Quite the opposite.

These are the people who wait for someone to serve them up with a parking space.

They sit in the middle of the car park thoroughfare watching and waiting while you’re stuck in a traffic jam behind them.

You can see them spot their intended victim and you have to watch as they proceed to slowly prowl after their prey, ready to launch their attack on the free parking space before the bitumen has even felt the sun.

Meanwhile, one row further back, there are 20 free parking spots and behind you are 20 thoroughly frustrated drivers.

I could go on with more of these, and I’m sure you have your own stories of parking hell you could share.

How can we reduce the annoyance?

We all acknowledge the frustration, but how can we diminish it? Here are some tricks that I use in an attempt to avoid the annoying parkers.

• Park in an area where there are plenty of empty spots. A little extra walking is great for your health
• When you pull into a shopping centre car park, avoid driving past the front entrance where ‘the waiters’ lurk and traffic jams occur
• Whenever parallel parking on the street, always park next to a driveway or a no parking zone so you’re less likely to get boxed in

The number one sure-fire way of keeping calm in these situations is to practice patience.

To be honest, we all have parked atrociously at times, be it because we were running late, missed a sign or just had a really bad day.

A little patience and understanding goes a long way to keep level heads and the blood pressure down.

When you're not tearing your hair out finding a great parking space book a service with  for an awesome service experience.