[SS-Traveller]

Often enough, we curse our fellow road user for parking carelessly, causing inconvenience to us. And at times, we park in a hurry, don't bother to (or just cannot) park in a parallel to the kerb (or between lines), and cause inconvenience to others without realizing it.

So, when the need to park away from home arises, do you have any strategies related to parking?

My strategies:

1. Would not park without being perfectly parallel to the kerb. Don't want an edge of the car jutting out for some careless driver to scrape.
2. Make sure to park perfectly between lines in a parking lot, even if the lot is almost empty.
3. Would not park under a tree in the evening, to avoid having the car covered with bird droppings.
4. Would stop off the highway, to avoid a crash.
5. Would not park on a curve on the highway, to avoid being a blind spot obstruction.
6. Avoid parking very close to other vehicles, to prevent the other chap from dinging my door or chipping my paintwork.
7. Prefer to park in a covered car park such as a mall basement, especially in the peak of summer, even if the parking fees are somewhat higher, just to avoid coming back to an oven of a car.
8. On the contrary, avoid parking for prolonged periods in a basement during the rainy season if I am aware that the area is prone to flooding.
9. Would not mind parking far away from my destination if the immediate area is congested, and walking/taking a rickshaw back.
10. Never block another person's vehicle / driveway.

But then there are resourceful drivers like these (No Parking. No Problem. Just put your bonnet up!), who have strategies to beat the long arm of the law!

Let's hear about your strategies. Do you plan ahead about how you would park your vehicle, or do you just head out to your destination with the thought of "Oh, I'll manage something somehow" on your mind?

[2000rpm]

I stay away from locations where I see rats (works in first come first serve building parkings)

I practice parking without rear view camera, just so that I am capable of doing so if I am driving someone else's car. Our next generation will not have the skill to use the rear view cameras.

I avoid parking on inclines as much as possible.

I hate parkings with narrow spaces, where the door has to bump the wall for a person to get out (very common in hydraulic parkings in Mumbai nowadays)

[Eddy]

I leave my ego at home.

So if for whatever reasons I find a parking slot unsuitable, I "chicken out" to find a better place. Sometimes, this comes at the cost of ridicule about me not being skilled enough to park in a tight spot.

But who cares !!

Avoid parking very close to other vehicles, to prevent the other chap from dinging my door or chipping my paintwork.

[condor]

Highway: off the tarmac where ever possible


In city:

1. always at least a little away from corners.

2. Definitely look out for no-parking signs so there is minimal risk of tow-away
3. Dont block any one's passage
4. Away from areas where 2-wheelers park - I dont want these pesky 2-wheelers parking right next to the car such that I cannot even pull out from the spot. People in Bangalore an often spot 2-wheelers parked in between two cars which would have been the space needed to pull-out.


Agree with Eddy's comments. Parking in a tight spot is not that much a challenge for me, as much as damage to my car when pulling out, or getting stuck there because some 2-wheeler parked such that I cannot pull out.

[Swapnil_Alto]

Most of the things I take care while parking have already been mentioned in the above posts. In addition to them:

1. I don't prefer parking in narrow streets. But if I don't have any option at all, I make sure to park the car's left side close to the wall/boundary. Make sure the ORVMs are closed and other cars have enough space to pass through.

2. I don't park my car outside any Shop even if it's closed. And if I do in case of an emergency, I place a piece of paper on the dashboard with my phone number in it. Make sure the paper is visible from outside.

[SmartCat]

1) I simply avoid places that have parking issues. For example: while shopping, I either stick to shopping malls or choose shops that are NOT located on crowded traffic-prone roads.
2) I pickup and drop my kids to school. I usually park 50 to 100 metres away and walk, rather than park near the school gate.

I think a well-funded organization like IPSRO can really solve our cities' parking woes:

[aravind.anand]

I have just one strategy for both these scenarios - 'Far away'

While in the city, most people try to flock around where they want to go, be it a restaurant or a shopping street, I drop my passengers off and driver far away in search of a decent parking spot. Better to walk a few mins than to walk back few moments earlier and regret parking at a busy place.

Similarly on the highway I try to stay as far away from the road as possible, possibly because of all the accidents we have documented in our forum.

[Malyaj]

1. Avoid parking at a spot which looks too good to be true. Chances are it is a no parking area where the sign has been taken off, has faded/got torn off, and only frequent visitors are aware of this.

2. If parking in a tow away zone for some emergency, park between 2 vehicles if possible so that the vehicles on the either end are towed (remember one area has only one patrolling vehicle mostly, and they can take only one car at a time)

3. In case of parallel parking, keep only that much space which is enough for you to take out your car (after doing a lot of steering gymnastics i.e.) but not enough for a biker to butt in. Requires some judgement and if you are really eager, get out of the car and check and adjust. Keep doing it until satisfied. I am an expert at parking and get it right the first time.

[GTO]

I'm big on "safe parking" and will never leave my car in a suspicious area.

In the city, I have it very simple. Have parking for 6 cars (comfortable) to 8 cars (a squeeze) in my building as we don't allow anyone else to park inside. When I go out, I follow a "100-rupee" parking strategy because I don't want anyone messing with my 5-Series / Jeep / media test-drive cars (these are the only cars I drive). Pay 100 bucks to the restaurant and get the first parking spot right under their watchful eyes.

On the highway, my cars are always parked close to the entrance / table / watchman.

[abhii176]

1) I always try and find a covered parking spot as far as possible. So if the place I am going to has a mall or MLCP nearby, I always park there and then walk or take a rick to my destination. Dont mind the extra time spent, atleast I can be rest assured my car is safe!
2) If I do need to park outside, I always try and park as close to the kerb as possible. I hate drivers who park haphazardly or leaving too much distance from the kerb, it just inconveniences everyone.
3) I try and avoid parking my car at the beginning or at the end of a queue of parked cars. Try and find a spot somewhere in the middle as far as possible!

[aargee]

Safe parking or not, I like to make everything perfect when it comes to a subject of my interest. From my experience...
- I try to choose the best available parking lot (corner, covered) & make impeccable as much as possible leaving equal space to left, right front & back between the car & yellow marked line
- If I cannot choose, then I park wherever its available as impeccable as possible to the perfection
- On highways, my thought line is different. Park as much away from road as possible. I change my thought that, its like playing a video game & people driving on road try to knock off the vehicles parked closest to the road
- Whenever I have to visit any relatives house, unless a parking is provided I don't make a point to visit them. I tell them, I can even sleep on balcony or common area, provided my car gets a good covered parking. I put this across very blunt on their face no matter what they think by now everyone know that unless they've safe parking I will not be visiting them
- If there's no parking place at malls, restaurants, shopping complex, for sure I'm not visiting or if there's no choice, Wife & Mother knows who can give a company to the car

All said, forget safe parking, peace of mind is on top most priority, even if I've to walk anywhere up to 1 Km or rather avoid visiting the place

[Rajeevraj]

Within the city, primary strategy is that I do not take the car unless I am reasonably sure that there is parking at the destination. I rarely go completely blind. I also don't mind parking some distance away if it means safer parking. Couple of times when I have had to go blind and could not get a parking that satisfies me, have just sat in the car some distance away while family finishes whatever the errands/visits are.

Overall general rule of thumb I follow is that park in such a way that there is absolutely no kind of obstruction or difficulty for anyone. No one should look at the car and even think-'Why has he parked like this'.

One quirk I have. I always have to reverse and park (for regular parking) so that when it is time to go, I don't need to do any reversing circus and can get in and drive off.

[livetodrive]

When my first car was only 3 months old, we went to Hrishikesh for a river rafting camp. At night I had to leave the car on one side of the river on a turning of a ghat road. I could see the car from other side of the river and was almost sure that next day morning it will be vanished. However, Maa Ganga saved him.

In parking malls i am not at all comfortable placing my car on the double Decker ramp. The left bumper got bruised once and since then I decided to take my 2 wheeler if we are visiting that particular mall.

[Samba]

While parking, I primarily keep these three points in mind -

1) My car is safe.
2) I am not creating any trouble to other road users.
3) It's not a 'No Parking' zone.

If i'm in doubt, i leave my phone number clearly visible on the dashboard, so in case anyone has any problem he/she can contact me.

If the parking is too messy, i avoid parking over there & i take a cab or public transport to reach the place.

I avoid giving my car to valet parking.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

[*]Never block another person's vehicle / driveway.

Last Sunday, this guy blocked our common lane and parked his car. Few residents including me, couldn't take out our cars in the morning.
So, i did this-

[ishan12]

1. Never give the car to a valet, if parking is far ask him to accompany me to parking.
2. Avoid testing your luck to find a parking in crowded areas, rather park far and walk. And do not regret if you find a unoccupied sport near by.
3. Park in shade as far as possible, I am fine cleaning the bird droppings rather than driving an oven.
4. Avoid parking near curves and U-turns in a multilevel parking
5. When parallel parking, close the side mirrors.
6. Always look back at your parked car from a distance to access that you are not sticking out more towards the road compared to other cars. That way there is a lesser possibility of someone hitting or scratching your car.
7. When parking my bike on the public parking beside the road, since such parking are very cramped and people tend to scratch your vehicle when taking theirs out, I pay a little extra to the attendant and ask to maintain a gap. (If it is a free parking, I usually avoid)
8. When parking my bike in a mall parking I usually try to find a spot which is besides a pillar or wall, so there is no other vehicle on one side, thus less cramped.
9. If I do not find a parking/ No parking sign, I inquire at the nearest shop and they always know for certain.
10. I try not park near/ behind a haphazardly parked vehicle, chances are the guy is a learner and might scratch my car while taking his out. (Happened to me once with a haphazardly parked L sign car, once bitten twice shy)
11. On highways, as far as possible from the driving lanes, and clear of blind spots.