[Closed] Parent and Child Bays parking VS Disabled Parking Bays

Do people really care? As long as there is a space SOMEWHERE? There'll always be people doing things that the 'rules' say they shouldn't.

Putting your car somewhere while you do something is really a big issue for many isn't it?

Who cares!

And the number of gym car parks that are full is a joke, a reflection on the type of people that make up a lot of the memberships (no reflection on everyone, just certain types!). Thinking pink lycra fat arses popping out of tiny Fiat 500 (with go faster stripes) seats wrapped in fluffy seat covers, waddling towards the door with big jangly keyrings swinging from the car keys.

Yeah mate I used to ****ing care... No unbroken sleep in a year or two, maybe hadn't slept at all in 48 hours and kids had been screaming for the last six of them..

Bickering with their mum cos we were so sleep deprived and then you get to the supermarket to find some pikey **** has parked in the parent/child parking because they are too fat/lazy/stupid to walk across a carpark..

You're damn right I cared.. I used to pray to catch someone just so I could maniacally scream abuse, hoping against hope that it would develop into a fistfight

Nah, I still don't get it. Park in a space, away from the door, get kids oot, go shopping, go home and cry... it's easier than stressing even more about the distance between the white lines around the car when you park it

Our local Tesco car park is never more than 60% full, so just make all the spaces 40% wider 🙂

My local supermarket is rubbish for pedestrians, and the pavement routes are illogical if you want to leave in certain directions.

However, if you made safe walkways between all spaces, you would end up with people reversing out with an obscured view (as 99% of drivers are too lazy to reverse into car parking spaces) whereas currently most people will try to drive through a double space to avoid reversing, and often if you park behind another car, they will have cleared off meaning again you can drive out forwards and not squash any kiddies.

People park nose in at supermarkets as you can't get a trolley to the other end of a space.

but if they had nice walkways up the middle with access to the trolley parks only from the walkway, ie not into the car part, then people would be encouraged to use them.

Sadly most people are unable to reverse into parking spaces, despite it being:

A) easier to get in
B) easier to get out
C) safer when leaving
D) less likely to cause any collisions with cars either side of the space you are getting into

Car parks are often not designed for people to reverse in which is wrong IMO. There should be walk ways up between cars, parked back to back, and zebra crossings from the shops to these walk ways and attempts made to discourage people from walking in the bits were cars drive up.

But that would mean less spaces too. I quite like the idea of companies making driving into a space, not reversing, a disciplinary offence as it reduces the risk of hitting people or other cars.

It is amazing how many people will continue to walk behind a car when you are reversing, even in cases were you are edging quite close to the car behind.

Keeping one child under tight control is relatively easy. Two less so.
And once you have more children than you have hands then you just have to pick your favourites

Sadly most people are unable to reverse into parking spaces, despite it being:

A) easier to get in
B) easier to get out
C) safer when leaving
D) less likely to cause any collisions with cars either side of the space you are getting into

andyl - Member

Sadly most people are unable to reverse into parking spaces, despite it being:

A) easier to get in
B) easier to get out
C) safer when leaving
D) less likely to cause any collisions with cars either side of the space you are getting into

All trumped by E) If I reverse in, I can't put my stuff in the boot. (especially since my perfectly sensible family car is generally at least a foot longer than the parking spaces)

You guys seem to be missing andy's first point that car parks should be designed with walkways between parking bays allowing access to boots when you reverse in. I certainly agree with you - and I think he does - that with current design reversing in isn't practical (I have the same problem as you NW - you also have a Mondeo?)

WCA - I have no idea what limitations you have as a result of your ankle and subsequent operations, but do you think you need a blue badge?

It's clear you never, ever have to load or unload anything from the boot.
Or ever do any shopping with the car.

Not sure how you come to that conclusion, and it's clear you can't read. I've got an estate car which is well used for lugging around work stuff, sport stuff and shopping, but don't let that stop you from jumping to conclusions with no basis.

Even if not doing any loading up of any sort most people will drive into a space, presumably as they don't like reversing or think it's faster (but then end up faffing trying to get straight).

@aracer - thank you!

I know people who won't parallel park as they can't do it or will only do it into a space that is 2x the length of their car.

[quote=andyl ]Even if not doing any loading up of any sort most people will drive into a space, presumably as they don't like reversing or think it's faster (but then end up faffing trying to get straight).

There is an art to doing it well - the thing is, even if reversing in would be the correct way to park in other circumstances, the majority of the times when people park in a space like that is to go to the supermarket (it certainly is for me - maybe I'm incorrect to extrapolate?) so it's not that unreasonable to continue to do it the way you're most practiced in other circumstances. If you think people make a mess of driving forwards into a space and reversing out, can you imagine how bad they'd be if forced to do it the other way round which they hadn't practiced (irrespective of whether it's theoretically easier)?

aracer - Member

You guys seem to be missing andy's first point that car parks should be designed with walkways between parking bays allowing access to boots when you reverse in.

OK fair point, I would definitely reverse in if the car parks were designed to allow it.

[quote=GrahamS]Keeping one child under tight control is relatively easy. Two less so.
And once you have more children than you have hands then you just have to pick your favourites

I've found the solution for you

[img] [/img]

All trumped by E) If I reverse in, I can't put my stuff in the boot. (especially since my perfectly sensible family car is generally at least a foot longer than the parking spaces)

apart from you completely missing my point of having space up the middle...

you raise the points of:

1. spaces are a bit short these days

2. when people drive in I find they overhang into the space in front which means someone else coming along then has less room.

If you have a car park layout with a gap between cars then longer cars may overhang a little but you won't have the situation where you pull into a space to find some tit has overshot by about a foot into the space you are trying to get into.

An example of both types of layout here:

edit: corrected URL that should work http://goo.gl/unVv0Q

Central walk way (covered too which is a luxury) and you can see a lady using the crossing to go down the walkway. Sadly most of the cars by the walkway have been driven into their spaces 🙄

to the left you can see the central walkway is continued but again most cars are driven in. The Audi convertible is reversed in but that is due to the layout meaning it would be a very messy manoeuvre to get in an out any other way.

Looking round to the right there is a nice electric blue Rav 4 that looks like it's overshot it's space.

All those people parked in the middle 2 rows either side of the walkway are perfectly set up for reversing in but only a few have done so.

edit: on the far side of the walkway to the left there is a row of cars all reversed in. I have also noticed that when people come across one car that has reversed in, or doing so, they tend to copy. Most of my observations are made when sitting there waiting for someone to go in and out of a space correcting themselves as they have driven in and I have to sit and wait!

There is an art to doing it well - the thing is, even if reversing in would be the correct way to park in other circumstances, the majority of the times when people park in a space like that is to go to the supermarket (it certainly is for me - maybe I'm incorrect to extrapolate?) so it's not that unreasonable to continue to do it the way you're most practiced in other circumstances. If you think people make a mess of driving forwards into a space and reversing out, can you imagine how bad they'd be if forced to do it the other way round which they hadn't practiced (irrespective of whether it's theoretically easier)?

indeed. People will keep driving into spaces regardless as that is now all they can do. Only they will keep doing so badly as due to geometry it's harder to get a car in forwards. I do sometimes drive in - due to layouts of car parks meaning I have to if I want to load big stuff in the boot.

When taught to drive people are taught to reverse into spaces, as soon as they pass their test it all goes out of the window. Same goes for people driving into parallel parking spaces. There is a reason they teach you to reverse in and not drive in but most people choose to drive in and curb a wheel or go up on a the curb and drop back down, or take ages trying to correct a bad position too far from the curb as they drove in etc.

I think there is also an element of people seeing a space and wanting to claim it straight away. If you don't and go to reverse in half the time some pillock blocks you from reversing or tries to drive in while you are reversing in 🙄

[quote=andyl ]When taught to drive people are taught to reverse into spaces

That is relatively new - I'm not quite ancient yet, plenty of drivers older than me and I only had to reverse round a corner (and 3 point turn) in my test.

They're also updating the test to include driving forwards into a space and reversing out 😉

Tesco didn't get the trolley park right though as no access to it from the walk way meaning you can't put your trolley back and there is a risk of people dumping them:

http://goo.gl/sVXdv7

I didn't realise that blue badge holders were entitled to use the parent/child spaces..

That explains a lot.. it used to infuriate me when my kids were tiny

Technically anyone can as they aren't legally protected, they're just a courtesy.

Pah...spaces any actual parking spaces are for plebs, the latest trend at our local Tesco is to abandon the Range Rover/X5/Q8 directly outside the store entrance.

I think it's part of the "who can be the biggest ****" escalation process.

Wilbert I genuinely trump that we have a supermarket with a zebra crossing in the carpark right outside the door one family park their merc square across the zebra crossing one sits in with the engine running while the other does a full shop.

[i]People park nose in at supermarkets as you can't get a trolley to the other end of a space[/i]

I normally drive through a double space and unless its busy, its fairly rare someone has parked behind me, but I see where you are coming from...main problem I have is you push the trolley up the central walkway and then are unable to get off it between the cars, so you have to keep walking until you can double back 🙂

And everyone (including in disabled and child spaces) park nose in to the walkway, probably encouraged by the use of those stupid short bollards that are too low to be seen through the rear window.

[i]WCA - I have no idea what limitations you have as a result of your ankle and subsequent operations, but do you think you need a blue badge?[/i]

Sometimes not but quite a lot of the time yes.

Getting in and out of the car is a problem. I have to fully open the door so I can swing my body round and then use the door surround to pull myself upright onto my good leg. I can't do the normal slide and swivel.

Once I am out of the car I am okay for a short while as long as the floor is level, the cross slope on pavements kills me. I can normally get about half way round the supermarket before I am leaning heavily on the trolley and sweating.

Tramadol is my friend although it dulls rather than block the pain
Alcohol seems better as it means I don't give a toss about the pain

Sounds bloody horrible.

As I was walking away from the car a yummy mummy complained loudly to the whole car park that I was stealing her spaces (there were 3 other free). I explained about the blue badge and she said it was immaterial and marched up to reception to file a formal complaint.

I have to fully open the door so I can swing my body round and then use the door surround to pull myself upright onto my good leg. I can't do the normal slide and swivel.

The ****erishness of modern Britain never ceases to amaze me.

Life changing certainly but better than the alternative

Currently in the process of losing 4 stone I put on since doing it so I can have another operation to fuse the ankle completely.

That will reduce mobility further but also, hopefully, reduce pain

Some pics on this thread http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/wca-ankle-update-for-those-who-are-interested

Wilbert I genuinely trump that we have a supermarket with a zebra crossing in the carpark right outside the door one family park their merc square across the zebra crossing one sits in with the engine running while the other does a full shop.

Hmm, I would carry a weighted white stick (ball pein on end?) and find profuse difficulty in navigating round said tosser parked on the zebra. With the hopeful outcome being something like this:

[img] [/img]

The rows separated with walk ways is a good idea, but as pointed out the there is more to it to make it work effectively. Trolley parks only accessible from the walkway. No bollards that prevent opening tailgates. One way traffic flow and angled bays so the only viable option is to reverse in and drive out.

But you just know you'll be stuck waiting as the one way system is blocked by dear old grey haired Doris doing a 19 point turn intent in driving into a space.

Never mind the parent and child or the disabled parking spaces, what about the twunts who park in the drop off point and go do their weekly shop. Why don't the likes of Tesco do something about them !!

[quote=mark90 ]No bollards that prevent opening tailgates

No bollards between the parking spaces and walkway? I can see an obvious flaw with that plan and the sort of drivers we're talking about!

Raised kerbs?

Anything which stops people accessing or opening the boot/tailgate does kind of defeat the object, and goes back to why (some) people drive into spaces in the first case.

Our local Tesco has a complete upper level car park that remains permanently empty!
Reason being as they overestimated the usage of the store by driving public (its built right next to a big council estate so they do get a lot of foot traffic instead)

However they have closed off the access ramp to the upper level as they wont supply the manpower to police the upstairs store entrance so even though there are loads more Parent and Child/Disabled spaces etc up there you can't use them.

I am not sure of all the details but ID on badge against personal ID seems reasonable UNTIL I say I don't have any other ID on me. What then? [DAILY MAIL MODE] Traffic Wardens targeting poor innocent raspberry ripples!"

Damn - I should have known there'd be a flaw in my cunning plan. 🙁

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