[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by SilentEngine

In this case neither you/your friend nor the Ikon owner has authority over that.

Dont agree with that. On a public street everyone has right/authority to park the car.

As mentioned in this thread earlier, this is not allowed only in certain conditions (E.g. parking in front of gate or parking near a turn).

[Jungle Boy]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

@OP - I feel you are the one who has ego problems, not the Ikon owner.

Attachment 525483
I am attaching a modified version of you pic to give an idea of how wide the road is. I have tried to paste a Ford Ikon on this pic and tried to make it to scale.

From this pic, it is clear that if the gates of his garage are opened outwards, then it would be very difficult for him to park, and even more difficult to reverse his car, to/from his garage if another car is parked on the opposite side.

Agreed that his garage gates should have been sliding type instead of ones that open perpendicular to the road. But in the current situation, I feel that the Ikon owner was correct and you should have moved your car without any arguement whatsoever.

Rohan

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

@rohan, the moment he mentioned "sick person needing medical attention", I decided to move the car, though I knew that I had parked with more than enough space for him to enter and exit. At that point I was not anymore bothered about who was right or wrong & the problem would have been over at that point itself, if he had got into his Ikon and driven into the garage. But when he started with "all guys visiting this apartment, park wrongly like this", I had to know what I had done wrong.

And the paste-job you have done does not depict the actual situation.

Regarding his comment about damage to the car, I could clearly infer from his tone that he did not mean inadvertent damage due to his lack of skill or lack of space.

BTW, if you did not know, sometimes reversing into a slot would not only be much more easier than driving in nose-first, but in some situations could also be the only possible way. Ever wondered why parallel parking is done rear-in first ?

@Rohan : I agree with you completely. In my case, I have a grocery store in front of my house.

@SupremeBaleno : I dont want to comment anything on the guys's behaviour. We have to be in his shoes to understand the pain everytime he sees a car parked there. If you are wondering if its difficult park/remove the car from the garage shown in the pic, believe me its difficult to do it without a single scratch. Three things you have to notice 1) the incline towards the garage 2) the narrow entrance of the garage 3) the gates opening outside. With these combination the space to maneuver the car inside is less and makes it difficult. What if there is a bike parked in already taking away the space further (My tenants park the bike in taking away the space).

The last thing I want to do after surfing thru bumper to bumper traffic for 90 mins and a long days work is to struggle to cruise my car in my garage.

Agree that he does not own the road, but surely he has the same 'right' on the road as you, if not more. I still don't understand why you got offended when he murmerd "all guys visiting this apartment, park wrongly like this". Are you standing up for all the guys who are visitors to the apartment??? If you are so pissed off about the incident, imagine, that guy has to encounter non-empathetic 'Visitor' everyday.

You were prepared to move the car, but his murmur hurt 'your' ego and you wanted to show your 'righteousness' to him. All said, he was decent enough to send the watchman to remove the car instead of damaging it.

@Spitfire and Tabrezo2 : As you guys have said its all about being courteous and ensure that you dont disturb the residents around.

[markmytravel]

Originally Posted by Jungle Boy

@Spitfire and Tabrezo2 : As you guys have said its all about being courteous and ensure that you dont disturb the residents around.

If the person has faced issues with many visitors, I really think he should have done something about his garage gate. Talking rudely about/to your neighbours guest, it's not courteous at all. I really admire SB for alteast trying to make the guy realise his mistake. Enchroachment is a big issue in India with space crunch and guys like these shouldn't be promoted for thinking the road outside their house belongs to them. In my city, such people end up building gardens and digging up the road for their pipeline faults, if not dealt up on time.

the guy can save himself lot of trouble from parking if he has just thought about building those parking gates extending outside the cement pillars. That way he can end up having another 1 and half meter turning for his parking. I am sure he will do that if he buys a bigger car to make it fit inside the garage but not when complaining about neighbors.

[YaeJay]

Not a big issue! It just might be a case of too many cars on the road, like he said visitors to the apartment complex etc. At situations like this I usually wave smile and oblige even if I am not wrong. Perhaps he would think twice the next time. for all we know you might have been the only one that parked properly. There might have been quite a few of them that has annoyed him in the past.


About time there is some sort of regulation brought in on apartments without parking options. There are quite a few that do not have parking for a single car. Usually because they build tiny apartments on one small plot. All those who move in eventually buy a car, that lands on the road.

And I would suggest to all my friends not to dare a stranger into damaging their cars.

[Gansan]

This picture shows the parking arrangement in our complex. There are 9 such gates along the entire frontage of the complex, including the main gate. Each car can come out only by opening the appropriate gate. As there is a shopping complex and two ATMs opposite to our complex, many times some car will be parked in front of our gates, obstructing movement of our cars. The driver will say he will move in a few minures. Naurally, each such car will be there only for a short duration, but the moment it moves, another will take it's place.

We object only if they are parked in front of the main gate. Having a 100+ foot frontage, it will be impractical to bar the entire stretch from parking. As secretary of the association, I have instructed the watchman to request them to park further down the road. If I am present, I myself will tell them politely. Most people oblige, some don't. Sometimes when I have to take my car out, another car will be blocking the gate and I will have to search the shopping complex/ATMs to locate the driver, then he will come and move the car with an apology. At other times he will be nowhere to be found - may be inside one of the homes on the road. Then I will have to wait till he shows up or take the bike out. I have so far refrained from escalating the matter. As secretary, I have the power to officially report the car to the police and have it towed. If it is a bike, we just manhandle it out of the way unceremoniously, even if it is locked.

A colleague of mine is secretary of a complex on a busy road in west Mambalam. The method they adopt is distasteful to me, but very effective. They have bribed some local urchins who will pour cow dung dissolved in water on the vehicles, whether car or two wheeler. The association guys are very chummy with the local police, so even if matter is reported to them, nothing will come of it.

My point is, never go on the offensive with the local residents if parked in a strange locality. I never do.

[honeybee]

I think the whole incident is being blown out of proportion by going into the rules and laws. I have been at both the giving and receiving ends of such complaints, and most of the times it's not what you have done that makes the person angry. I too many times have a lot of pent up anger, frustration or depression which is looking for a safety valve. I have sometimes taken exception to very minor things and let off my steam. And once I cool down I have realized it was plain foolish on my part. Sometimes the other party is gracious, sometimes not. When both decide to return the volleys you get into a fight.

I would like to narrate two incidents, though unrelated:

I once visited my uncle with my family. There's insufficient parking space near his building, but it being a closed road, you only have pedestrian traffic, so usually finding some empty space or a corner to park the car wouldn't be too difficult. I stopped at the entrance for the ladies to get off and go to my uncle's house, while I would park the car and then join them. As they left and I shifted into reverse, a guy drove up behind me and started honking impatiently. To my right was an empty space and he was eyeing that. For fear I might grab that place before him, he started honking and trying to stake a claim to the spot. I hadn't even noticed that space till then and so had already decided to park my car elsewhere. But his persistent honking got on my nerves. I yielded a little, just as he brought his car forward to block my entry to the free space. Then I reversed all the way, leaving about a few inches between his car and mine, so he couldn't maneuver it at all. He started getting mad, while I backed up further and then parked in my planned space, leaving the vacant parking slot for him to take. Seeing that I had parked my car elsewhere, he now focussed on getting his car into the empty slot. As I got down from my car, locking everything up, I realized his approach angle was completely wrong and he could never get the car into the slot in his lifetime. He tried reversing a few times, but to no avail. On top of that he was also talking on his cellphone. I calmly walked across and stood near the empty space, directing him with my hands. Finally he managed to get into the slot. To his credit, he rolled down the passenger window and apologized to me. Why this incident? A simple misunderstanding.

The other day as I drove back from work, opposite the NEC grounds at Goregaon, there's a service road. Most of the times two-wheelers and autos going from Andheri side to Goregaon side enter the wrong lane on the service road and try and drive through. This particular evening I had had enough of these idiots. I saw a car approaching and I started flashing and honking. Seeing I wouldn't yield, the other driver stopped. I still kept flashing/honking and drove up straight at him. As I stopped near him to give him a mouthful, he disembarked and shouted, "I am a gadhaa (as*), but why are you being more gadhaa than me?" I couldn't argue over that point. So I left with a smile at his tactic.

A few other times, I have been approached by residents/shopkeepers who complain that my car will create problems for them as they are expecting someone to drive in or some delivery truck to come in. If there's another space nearby I try and park the car there. And if it's not possible, I try and offer them my cell number as well as the place/person I am going to, saying I shall move my car right away as soon as their delivery truck comes in, or someone faces a problem. This usually always takes out the bitter feeling in their minds, and I am actually serious about it. Though it has not happened always I haven't hesitated to move my car away till the inconvenience was eliminated and either park it back or maybe park elsewhere. It shows the other person you are sensitive to their problems and are willing to work to solve them.

So, try and keep your cool. Yielding a little in such situations doesn't hurt, even though you may be right. The cause of the conflict here too may not have been the manner in which you had parked the car, but some other things on the other chap's mind.

[rohan_iitr]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

But when he started with "all guys visiting this apartment, park wrongly like this", I had to know what I had done wrong.

And the paste-job you have done does not depict the actual situation.

Regarding his comment about damage to the car, I could clearly infer from his tone that he did not mean inadvertent damage due to his lack of skill or lack of space.

BTW, if you did not know, sometimes reversing into a slot would not only be much more easier than driving in nose-first, but in some situations could also be the only possible way. Ever wondered why parallel parking is done rear-in first ?

First things first, there was absolutely nothing wrong in the way you parked your car.

I just mean to say that as a visitor in that locality, you should have moved your car when requested by a resident. There was not need to argue over correctness or legality of parking.

I agree it would have been earier for him to park his car in the garage by reversing. But not everyone is so confident about reversing their car in a parking space.

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

First thing first ,the photoshop work is absolute crap, why would the ikon be behind the Alto in the photo when the gates are a little in front of the Alto? Why would the Ikon owner turn towards his parking from near the backside of Alto??

That Ikon owner was out to make a mountain of a molehill. I accept some situations would have been there when others might have parked blocking his way but he should have had a little control over himself.

Originally Posted by RECOMPOSE

How exactly have you tried to scale the Ikon onto the image. Comparing the length of the Alto's rear and then scaling it down for entire length of the Ikon which would probably have been another 2-3 mts away?

I agree that my photoshop work is crappy. I have just tried to superimpose an Ikon on this image (almost perpendicular to the road) so that people can get an idea about the width of the road, because some people were making comments like - this road is so wide that 2 trucks can pass side by side etc (which IMHO is not the case here).

The position of the Ikon on this image is not exactly how it would be, when the Ikon is being parked in the garage. Please use your imagination slightly, my photoshop skills are not that good.

Agreed that the Ikon owner is making a mountain out of a molehill, but anyone would be annoyed if he is faced with a similar problem on a daily basis.

Originally Posted by SilentEngine

I agree with Spitfire and Rohan here.
Point is not about if it is legal/illegal to park in that place. The Ikon owner may have had reasons why he asked SB to move his car. We don't have the other side of the story here. It's quite possible that he may have faced problems earlier due to visitors to the apartments, so i think he is just trying to be prepared if he had to take his car out in case of emergency.

If you go by the rules, may be it's ok to park there. But, after being asked to move the car from there, i think the most sensible thing to do is to move the car.

Exaclty my point. And we now have the other side of the story from fellow members who face a similar problem in their residence (see below).

Originally Posted by Jungle Boy

In my case, I have a grocery store in front of my house.

The last thing I want to do after surfing thru bumper to bumper traffic for 90 mins and a long days work is to struggle to cruise my car in my garage.

I can imagine what you go through on a daily basis. How do you deal with this problem ?

Originally Posted by Gansan

My point is, never go on the offensive with the local residents if parked in a strange locality. I never do.

Exacly why I was tring to convey. No point in getting into arguements with residents of a different locality where you go as a visitor. A visitor is not aware of the parking situation in the locality. Sometimes it may seem acceptable to park somewhere, but a visitor's vehicle parked in a strategic (but technically correct) spot may cause inconvenience to the residents.

Rohan

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by Jungle Boy

Agree that he does not own the road, but surely he has the same 'right' on the road as you, if not more.

'Same' part I understand, but how come 'more'? Jus because he stays in the area ? It is not even on his side of the road.

Originally Posted by YaeJay

And I would suggest to all my friends not to dare a stranger into damaging their cars.

Agree. Though I dared him & put on a brave face, inside I was worried. See, the whole reason why I always park as away from the road as possible is so that the chances of a passing vehicle grazing my car is as minimal as possible. The fact that this makes life easier for other road-users is just a side-effect.

Originally Posted by Jungle Boy

I still don't understand why you got offended when he murmerd "all guys visiting this apartment, park wrongly like this". Are you standing up for all the guys who are visitors to the apartment?

Not for the visitors, but for myself. He was implying that I parked wrongly, which was not the case.

@JungleBoy, regarding your 3 points about it being difficult for him to get his car in, I had a good look at the place yesterday night when I went there to drop my friend and today morning when I picked him up. Inspite of the 3 constraints, there is loads of space for him to get in/out with the way I had parked. Also, don't you think that the 3 constraints were the result of his poor design of home/garage and flouting the rules ? After building illegally, do you think he can shout at someone who has parked properly ?

Given all the debate, I thought it would be good to get snaps of how it actually was when this happened.

This was how my car was parked that night.


And this is where I used to park normally on all other occasions that I have visited this friend. This is some 10metres in front on the same side of the road and again alongside the gates of my friend's complex. On the day this problem happened, this spot was taken by another vehicle, which was why I ended up parking opposite the Ikoneer's garage.


The apartment seen on the right of my car in above snap shares its wall with Ikoneer's home. The apartment entry gate is seen in snap and it is very clear that the residents of this apartment have more than enough space to get their car in/out, even with my car parked. But if they were to think on the lines of Ikoneer, then they can also claim that my car is parked blocking their way. Ofcourse it would be clear to anyone that this claim has no standing.

@rohan, the road is indeed wide enough for 2 trucks to pass each other. You can just use my car's width as context and make this out.
BTW, your point about it could have been better to avoid an argument and just move the car, is taken. But my query in this thread was not about my/his behaviour - jst about whether I had parked flouting rules or obstructing traffic.

[athalaga]

@SB
I dont think the issue is just whether you have parked right, I think you have left plenty of space. But he will be dealing with lots of visitors to the apt complex who might be parking right in front of his gate/garage or half way down the road. It adds to frustration after a point wherin you want to bring this up with everyone or pick on everyone parking opposite.
Imagine my situation. My house is opposite a park ( for which the entrance is NOT even close to my house) and the road is half the width of the one in your situation. Since the road behind my house is a main road, my road is full of cars and bikes parked all over making it difficult for me to enter my garage gate (which is pretty wide). This actually infuriates me every time i come home, I ask them to move (if i see them parking or can find them) else If I cant find them I have to back up and re-enter atleast twice. Even went around asking for no parking signs but cops in Yelahanka have not moved yet.

[Gansan]

Whenever I go to the busy T'Nagar area in Chennai, parking is always a problem. I always approach from Venkatnarayana Road, go past the Usman Road flyover and park in a by-lane beyond the Vivek's showroom. This area is usually quiet, and some houses have a watchman sitting near the gate. I park unobtrusively near such a house, smile at the watchman, and tip him a Rs 10.00 note to keep a genial eye on my car! I also give him my mobile no. to call me, just in case. Then I will walk back or take an auto the shopping area, depending upon who is with me. Gives me complete peace of mind!

[supremeBaleno]

@Gansan, I avoid T-Nagar completely. If at all have to go there, park under the flyover or go to shops that have their own parking - like SundariSilks, Nalli, Kumaran etc.

@athalaga, inspite of my leaving him plenty of space as you say, you still think he has reason to take out his frustration due to some bad experiences he could have had (or will have) from others ?

@rohan/gansan, there is nothing special about locals/outsiders. The rule in today's short-fused times should be to never get into an offensive situation with anyone. Period. You never know who the other guy is and what he is capable of.

The day after this incident happened, my friend said, "You should have just moved the car when he asked. What would you gain by winning the argument?" Sane advice, I agree. Especially in hindsight. But the thing is he was not involved - he is just looking at it from the outside and thus what I saw as an aspersion cast on me as being irresponsible, seemed trivial to him. I told my friend that in a situation that he can identify with, he would have behaved in the same way, citing an example he would identify with :

He and another friend are in their car at the Perungudi toll. Due to a snag in the toll m/c, the operator is taking more than normal time to give the receipt. An impatient SUV driver behind them is honking, which irritates them. They ignore him. He honks again. Again they ignore. He continues honking. Finally when they get the toll-ticket, they move on, but only after showing their irritation by flipping the bird at him. Now the SUV guy is pissed off and comes after them without even paying the toll and getting his car out just before the toll gates could come down. He makes them stop the car, comes to their window and just says "Kolai panniduven" (I will kill you) in a menacing way. Given his menacing looks and because the guy has 2 others with him in the car, my friends don't utter a word. And move on.

Like the advice he gave me, he could also have ignored and moved on, right ? What good did flipping the bird do ? But sometimes when you think you are right and yet someone irritates you, almost everyone blows their fuse or atleast argues back. The only people who can ignore and still be courteous are :
1) those with tremendous patience / cool (maybe 0.00001% of population - I do wish I could be one of them, but I am just a normal person)
2) those that were not involved and are just doling out advice.

[SubuS]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

He and another friend are in their car at the Perungudi toll. Due to a snag in the toll m/c, the operator is taking more than normal time to give the receipt. An impatient SUV driver behind them is honking, which irritates them. They ignore him. He honks again. Again they ignore. He continues honking. Finally when they get the toll-ticket, they move on, but only after showing their irritation by flipping the bird at him.

I am seeing this a lot in India - why do people start fights that they can't finish? I have heard of incidents in US where the guys who flipped the bird were staring down the barrel of a gun moments later and wetting their pants. Somehow sitting in a closed car / behind a comp gives people a lot more guts. It is always sane to judge a person and the escalation possibilities before enraging them.

[bblost]

As mentioned earlier, I live in an independent house. There is parking for both my landlord's and my car.

I have a Wagon R.

When I park my car inside, its parallel to the street. The space available is such that, when parked only one side doors can be opened. If I want to comfortably open my side door, the space between the left hand side of the car and the house wall is less than 10 inches.
The bonnet of the car is about 1 feet away from the gate. In that space I park my bike.

Now if in such a tight spot, I am able to park my car everyday. I have no idea what the hell was the Ikon guys problem. Just a bad driver who unable to accept his own limitations blames others.

BTW: I always park in reverse. Its not possible to take in the car nose first.

[pjbiju]

All that the Ikon guy should have done is to make a polite request. There would have been no issue at all. A lot of such problems can be solved by a smile and a polite request. If there is really a serious problem because of vehicles being parked at that spot, he should inform the housing society and I am sure if his concerns are genuine, the society would take appropriate measures to avoid such situations.

In fact, when I have to park at such spots, I get quite worried that someone coming out/going in might scrape my car.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

@Gansan, I avoid T-Nagar completely. If at all have to go there, park under the flyover or go to shops that have their own parking - like SundariSilks, Nalli, Kumaran etc.

I can't avoid the place. For ladies in my family, if a sari is not bought at T'nagar, it is not bought at all! Further there will be other shopping combined, for which we can't leave the car at Nalli/Kumaran. But most importantly, the very act of entering in to their reserved parking, and subsequent re-emergence to join the main traffic, is stressful to me. Especially during festive times. It will be a wonder if we get out without dings. Hence my decision to park away from the maddening crowd.