Why can't people park!!

igglou

I had a crap day at work today working on a stupid IT problem so was already stressed when I left the office and headed out to my car. Imagine my frustration and anger when I see some fool has scratched and scuffed the side of my front bumper and wheel arch on the passenger side!!! My lovely shiny new 5-series maimed in its prime!

Obviously someone not giving themselves enough room to pull out from the spot beside me. Now I will have access to the CCTV and as I always park under a fixed camera I know I will catch the culprit. My question is as this has never happened to me before, what do I do when I find the evidence?

Why do people just drive off?? :mad:

colm_mcm

igglou wrote: »

Why do people just drive off?? :mad:

Some don't realise they've hit you
Some don't care that they've hit you
Some panic and drive off

Kinetic^

People can't park because they're never thought. It's not part of the test. (at least it wasn't when I carried out mine in 2002)

P.C.

Kinetic^ wrote: »

People can't park because they're never thought. It's not part of the test. (at least it wasn't when I carried out mine in 2002)

I did not do my test in Ireland.
I had to parallel park, reverse park and do a three point turn. This was all done in a 'yard' with marked out parking spots and cones.
If you hit the kerb or cones twice, it was an automatic fail, and you did not even get to leave the 'yard' .

I passed my test first time .

As to why people leave after they have hit your parked car, I think most of the time they just don't care. They think that noone has seen them, and they will not be caught.

pred racer

Kinetic^ wrote: »

People can't park because they're never thought. It's not part of the test. (at least it wasn't when I carried out mine in 2002)

Thats a bit silly, lots of us can park and we were never taught either;)

edit: 1000th post.......only took 4 years....god I'm slow :-)

igglou

pred racer wrote: »

edit: 1000th post.......only took 4 years....god I'm slow :-)

Congratulations!! Don't feel so bad I'm waaaay behind you

As for parking, yes it's a major flaw that learners are not taught how to park. I mean its a fundamental part of driving. It's what you do at the end of every drive!

I recently did the Advanced Driving assessment (meant to update my thread on how it went) but it was very beneficial. The instructor said on a daily basis he has to tell people to drive back to the centre and sign up for basic lessons as they are so bad! Continued assessments would be very helpful for people especially as some drivers never had training on roundabouts and motorway driving etc.

Padraig Mor

igglou wrote: »

Why do people just drive off?? :mad:

Because they're assholes.

Johnny Utah

igglou wrote: »

what do I do when I find the evidence?

Once you have secured the CCTV footage, and you can clearly identify the car and registration number that hit yours:

(1) Try to contact the person- Security/management should know the car owner, or you might even know them yourself!

(2) Once you have contacted the person, ask them to cover the expense to repair the damage. You are entitled to have the car repaired at a bodyshop of your choice.

(3) If you are unable to contact the car owner or else they're refusing to pay up, then go to the Gardai with a copy of the CCTV footage, and make a complaint of criminal damage.

igglou

Cheers Johnny Utah,

Unfortunately, I work for a county council so its more or less a public car park with people coming and going paying motor tax, rents etc.

Johnny Utah

igglou wrote: »

Cheers Johnny Utah,

Unfortunately, I work for a county council so its more or less a public car park with people coming and going paying motor tax, rents etc. Though when I get the reg I can find out the owner from the motor tax office.

Well, once you have the CCTV evidence, the ball is in your court. Most people will pay up without hesitation to avoid a criminal prosecution!



Make sure you go to a reputable bodyshop btw- Crofton or Dennings have a good reputation.

joey54

I feel your frustration op. I don't get when people park so close to you that they don't leave enough room for them to get out of their door and they bang it off your car!

I mean, could people please just learn to park and take care of other peoples property. Failing to this, please just get off the road!

Thoie

igglou wrote: »

Though when I get the reg I can find out the owner from the motor tax office.

That's a handy facility, where do we get permission for that kind of thing?

Anan1

igglou wrote: »

what do I do when I find the evidence?

I'd go straight to the Gardai. Unless you know someone there the Motor Tax Office won't release any information to you.

Senna

Kinetic^ wrote: »

People can't park because they're never thought. It's not part of the test. (at least it wasn't when I carried out mine in 2002)

I done my test in 2001 and i had to reverse into a parking space (at the test center), is that not part of all tests? or do you just mean its not comprehensive enough?

artvanderlay

I've been driving 2 years, have the full license and I ashamed to say I am crap at parallel parking. It's not part of the test and when I asked my driving instructor can we practise some he said it's grand, once you can reverse you'll be fine. What horse****! Parking is one of the most important things and although I can't park confidently I still manage to do it better than most in this country. What is it with people in shopping centre carparks that take up 2 spaces or park along one of the lines thus cramping your space? You are given lines showing you where to park and you still **** it up.

Voodoomelon

Anan1 wrote: »

I'd go straight to the Gardai. Unless you know someone there the Motor Tax Office won't release any information to you.

Indeed, you'll have to go to the Gardaí.
I'd take so much satisfaction in seeing the git burn.

ArphaRima

Though when I get the reg I can find out the owner from the motor tax office.

Eh I wouldnt be saying how you got the info. I may be wrong but there could very easily be a Data Protection problem right there. You could find yourself out of a job pretty quick!
Tread softly, etc etc.

highdef

If you want to see bad parking in its extreme form, pop down to the Superquinn Sutton carpark and prepare yourself!!! :eek:

seanybiker

Anytime I see a car/van etc parked with the white line going down the middle of then I park as close as i can to it on the drivers side.
got some funny looks doing it but with a bike its easy to fit it in no bothers. So far nobody has said anything. Got a few looks but I just point at the white line and show em that Im taking up a tiny part of the space and they are in two spaces.
its one of my hates, people not parking right. Fair enough if yer in a big van ya might not be able to help it but a car normally has loads of room either side in spaces.
and no its not a biker against car thing. If I see a bike doing what I do, I park right besdie them aswell haha

ArseBurger

Kinetic^ wrote: »

People can't park because they're never thought. It's not part of the test. (at least it wasn't when I carried out mine in 2002)

It is part of the test. And was in 2002. Usually the examiner will mark you on your parking when he/she asks you to pull in for the reversing around a corner or when you complete your test and park at the center.

joey54

highdef wrote: »

If you want to see bad parking in its extreme form, pop down to the Superquinn Sutton carpark and prepare yourself!!! :eek:

You take your life into your hands when you enter that carpark! On a few occasions I've nearly been mowed down, not to mention the abuse my car has suffered from trolleys, car doors and bumpers!

igglou

I have the CCTV footage but you are right I'll have to take it to the Gardai as I'm not allowed to know the owners details from Motor Tax. I'll be heading there at lunch.

What happened was she drove in the barrier with another car close behind, swung into the space besdie me and in doing so clipped my car. She quickly reversed and moved to the other side of the car park and then left 30 mins later.

Anan1

igglou wrote: »

What happened was she drove in the barrier with another car close behind, swung into the space besdie me and in doing so clipped my car. She quickly reversed and moved to the other side of the car park and then left 30 mins later.

Nice. Straight down to the guards with you, keep us posted!

stealthyspeeder

seanybiker wrote: »

Anytime I see a car/van etc parked with the white line going down the middle of then I park as close as i can to it on the drivers side.
got some funny looks doing it but with a bike its easy to fit it in no bothers. So far nobody has said anything. Got a few looks but I just point at the white line and show em that Im taking up a tiny part of the space and they are in two spaces.
its one of my hates, people not parking right. Fair enough if yer in a big van ya might not be able to help it but a car normally has loads of room either side in spaces.
and no its not a biker against car thing. If I see a bike doing what I do, I park right besdie them aswell haha

I have a big scrap down the side of my door from someone reversing their front bumper along it, now im a two spaces man (only if there is an abundance of spaces which there usually is as I park as far away as possible usually!) but when I go anywere with my friend (a biker) I park in the very left of a space and he parks beside me on the left! (you bikers have your uses eh!:D;))

BostonB

Anan1 wrote: »

Nice. Straight down to the guards with you, keep us posted!

+1

I had this happen 2 twice and both times the CCTV footage was useless/or unavailable.

dudara

My last car was driven into twice on different occasions, destroying the rear door the first time and leaving nasty dents on the front door the second time. It's a horrible feeling.

Gah! Couldn't get an CCTV footage either time.

Ferris

highdef wrote: »

If you want to see bad parking in its extreme form, pop down to the Superquinn Sutton carpark and prepare yourself!!! :eek:

Worst parking ever!

Seriously my mothers car has been hit numerous times there, and superquinn will not release CCTV to to the public. I park down the back anytime i'm in there, well away from the soccer mom SUV crowd.

no1beemerfan

I'll have to show this thread to my girlfriend. :rolleyes:

I NEVER on street park....I work in an office on a main street by a window and you should see some people parking :eek:.....and I ALWAYS park in an end space away from the car next to me.

Hope you get it sorted.

Wiley1

dudara wrote: »

My last car was driven into twice on different occasions, destroying the rear door the first time and leaving nasty dents on the front door the second time. It's a horrible feeling.

Gah! Couldn't get an CCTV footage either time.

Well, here's the thing, my van was broken into in Maynooth and power tools stolen (the usual), It was in a public car park covered by CCTV, I requested that Kildare Co.Council send a copy of the incident to Maynooth gardai, They did and the vehicle in question was easily idenfiable according to guy in Kildare, that was in April and i haven't heard a thing yet so tell me this, What use is CCTV footage when a crime takes place on camera and is captured on film and then the Gardai don't do anything about it. Vigilante time i think....Where did the Equaliser ever go?

Anan1

Wiley1 wrote: »

Well, here's the thing, my van was broken into in Maynooth and power tools stolen (the usual), It was in a public car park covered by CCTV, I requested that Kildare Co.Council send a copy of the incident to Maynooth gardai, They did and the vehicle in question was easily idenfiable according to guy in Kildare, that was in April and i haven't heard a thing yet so tell me this, What use is CCTV footage when a crime takes place on camera and is captured on film and then the Gardai don't do anything about it. Vigilante time i think....Where did the Equaliser ever go?

What did the Gardai say when you contacted them about it?

Drummerboy08

fluffer wrote: »

Eh I wouldnt be saying how you got the info. I may be wrong but there could very easily be a Data Protection problem right there. You could find yourself out of a job pretty quick!
Tread softly, etc etc.

It is easily available. All i need is a reg number and the last 6 digits of the chassis, and i can tell you the registered owner.

yupyup7up

happened me 4 times... except twice the actual panels were shoved right in.

Wiley1

Anan1 wrote: »

What did the Gardai say when you contacted them about it?

I kind of said in a round about way that these lads would never be caught and the Garda basically raised the eyebrow and said "oh we'll catch them alright". I left it at that. I'm sure they're very busy over there in Maynooth seeing as they only open the station at 6 in the evening...Anyway, Gardai are the good guys and maybe I'll be proved wrong, sure we'll see. Disheartening though, you try and be honest and get on with it and scum gets away with this kinda thing....I'll stop now.

Voodoomelon

The OPs first post reminded me of something that happened a few weeks ago.

I was up in David Prentice BMW in Portadown and was parked in the front car park which was full of BMWs for sale, from 1s to 7s, Zs to Xs. Was getting back into my car when a man beside me in an older E39 5 series was also getting into his. I heard a bang and looked up and saw nothing but your man pulling out of his space and away he went.

I walked over to the brand new gunmetal coloured E60 5 series that was parked beside him and low and behold he had walloped his door into the side of it, leaving a lovely sharp dent in it along with a sample of his own paint.

I went back inside and told them about it and several salesmen came out, ripping they were. Hope they got the arseh0le.

Third_Echelon

Happened to me as well in a car park in rathfarnham... Only had the car a matter of weeks.

There was a witness to it and the sales manager of the shop in question had just helped her load her 4x4 (of course) in the car park a few minutes previously. She had bought an extended warranty on the product she bought, so the manager had her details, but couldn't give them to me. He said he would give it to the garda though.

Basically, she reversed out of the space, couldn't judge the distance properly and did an 'austin powers' on my front corner bumper and wheel arch. Drove off :mad:

Went to the garda and gave the details etc and pictures. That was April 2008. Haven't heard anything since... Never got it fixed. The damage is not that noticable, but if you look closely you can see it... nice scrape along the bumper and the metal dented beside the light.

Wiley1

Third_Echelon wrote: »

Happened to me as well in a car park in rathfarnham... Only had the car a matter of weeks.

There was a witness to it and the sales manager of the shop in question had just helped her load her 4x4 (of course) in the car park a few minutes previously. She had bought an extended warranty on the product she bought, so the manager had her details, but couldn't give them to me. He said he would give it to the garda though.

Basically, she reversed out of the space, couldn't judge the distance properly and did an 'austin powers' on my front corner bumper and wheel arch. Drove off :mad:

Went to the garda and gave the details etc and pictures. That was April 2008. Haven't heard anything since... Never got it fixed. The damage is not that noticable, but if you look closely you can see it... nice scrape along the bumper and the metal dented beside the light.

That's really frustrating, when you know exactly who has done it and have the details to go forward with it and the Gardai don't do anything about it, I wonder if I took out a car or 2 on the main street with my tow bar would i get away with it, seems that you can do what you want in this country once you have a neck hard enough.

You wouldn't see the English coppers letting this happen i tell thee...

Rowley Birkin QC

A lad kicked in the rear passenger side quarter panel of my car at the student accommodation I used to live at.

Got him on CCTV, got his details from a sympathetic secretary, 2nd best phone call I've ever made!

Anan1

Wiley1 wrote: »

I kind of said in a round about way that these lads would never be caught and the Garda basically raised the eyebrow and said "oh we'll catch them alright". I left it at that. I'm sure they're very busy over there in Maynooth seeing as they only open the station at 6 in the evening...Anyway, Gardai are the good guys and maybe I'll be proved wrong, sure we'll see. Disheartening though, you try and be honest and get on with it and scum gets away with this kinda thing....I'll stop now.

Would you not pick up the phone and ring the Gardai again?? It seems to me as thought you're giving up on this very easily, TBH.

Wiley1

bigkev49 wrote: »

A lad kicked in the rear passenger side quarter panel of my car at the student accommodation I used to live at.

Got him on CCTV, got his details from a sympathetic secretary, 2nd best phone call I've ever made!

Nice, what happened the student, erm i mean did you get to "meet" him again and what was the best phone call????

maddogcollins

Senna wrote: »

I done my test in 2001 and i had to reverse into a parking space (at the test center), is that not part of all tests? or do you just mean its not comprehensive enough?

Did my test in 2004 and dont recall parking being part of the test. I do recall being told by they guy i got lessons off to reverse into the space when i initially arrive and that way you give a good impression and then at the end of the test because you have technically shown your ability to park you can just drive into a space. I do think parallell parking should be part of the test (if its not already part)..The amount of people that ABANDON the car 2 feet from the kerb is head wrecking!

Wiley1

Anan1 wrote: »

Would you not pick up the phone and ring the Gardai again?? It seems to me as thought you're giving up on this very easily, TBH.

No i'm not giving up, I will call them, the Garda that i was dealing with is on maternity leave, I will get on to them again and see how it goes.

Don't get me wrong, i have faith in the law but it's a dying faith from what i see around my home town at the weekends, Government should take money/dole off criminals that are caught doing bad stuff and use the finances to fund more Garda resources, or let us have the right to bear arms. I would be happy with either of these solutions....

Anan1

Wiley1 wrote: »

No i'm not giving up, I will call them, the Garda that i was dealing with is on maternity leave, I will get on to them again and see how it goes.

Don't get me wrong, i have faith in the law but it's a dying faith from what i see around my home town at the weekends, Government should take money/dole off criminals that are caught doing bad stuff and use the finances to fund more Garda resources, or let us have the right to bear arms. I would be happy with either of these solutions....

I don't mean to sound smart, but you haven't contacted the Gardai since April and we're now at the end of August. Mightn't another Garda be looking after the work of the one who's on maternity leave? A couple of phone calls to the station might be a lot more productive than a load of talk about vigilantes, lack of faith in the law, right to bear arms, etc etc.

Rowley Birkin QC

Wiley1 wrote: »

Nice, what happened the student, erm i mean did you get to "meet" him again and what was the best phone call????

Dealt with him over the phone as a face to face meeting would have ended up with me in handcuffs I'd imagine!

Got some quotes for the repair, and told him he would be dealing with me or dealing with the guards but either way I would be getting my money.

Which I got. Which was nice. :cool:

Wiley1

bigkev49 wrote: »

Dealt with him over the phone as a face to face meeting would have ended up with me in handcuffs I'd imagine!

Got some quotes for the repair, and told him he would be dealing with me or dealing with the guards but either way I would be getting my money.

Which I got. Which was nice. :cool:

Well done, you must be a persuasive man, secretary giving you his details and then getting sorted over the phone, good stuff, 1-0 to us....:)

igglou

igglou wrote: »

I had a crap day at work today working on a stupid IT problem so was already stressed when I left the office and headed out to my car. Imagine my frustration and anger when I see some fool has scratched and scuffed the side of my front bumper and wheel arch on the passenger side!!! My lovely shiny new 5-series maimed in its prime!

igglou wrote: »

Unfortunately, I work for a county council so its more or less a public car park with people coming and going paying motor tax, rents etc.

Will have to remember this the next time the public servants are complaining about the pension levee

Wiley1

Anan1 wrote: »

I don't mean to sound smart, but you haven't contacted the Gardai since April and we're now at the end of August. Mightn't another Garda be looking after the work of the one who's on maternity leave? A couple of phone calls to the station might be a lot more productive than a load of talk about vigilantes, lack of faith in the law, right to bear arms, etc etc.

I thought this site was designed to allow you to speak out, I was merely suggesting that it seems to me and some other people in this thread that nothing gets done about criminal damage to property, I am and have been calling the Maynooth station but it's like trying to catch bubbles, totally pointless, if i feel the need to express myself with talk of bearing arms and that surely you know i'm kidding, don't take yourself so serisouly, it's only a web forum after all....

Lighten up, we're living in the safest, greatest country in the world...
Peace out!!