Parked Car Sticking Out Like a Thorn in Street - My Awkward Encounter with the Driver

This was the worst I've ever witnessed, but not any more.

If you follow me on Instagram or stare at my Twitter feed, I sometimes take photos of the most awkward parking fails I find.  Normally, it's those who takes more than one parking space at the local shopping mall by parking crooked, but this one I encountered sure beats the rest.

Sticking Out Like a Thorn
On my way home from work today (Monday), I was approaching my block to find a parking space, and noticed an older Toyota Carolla with its front end sticking out and blocking half of the traffic lane and its rear right tire into the curb.  When I saw it from a distance, I thought the person was just trying to parallel park the car, but after looking at it for several seconds, it didn't move.  Other vehicles had to turn wide just to avoid the car.

When I passed by the car, I saw two people in it, just sitting there doing nothing.  There was no hazard lights flashing and the engine was off.

Luckily, there was a parking space about 100 feet ahead and I parked my car.  When I was unloading my trunk, the car was still sticking out like a thorn in the roadway as I saw more cars having to swerve out of the way.

The Conversations
A lady with her baby carriage was walking down the sidewalk and looked at the car and the drivers.  As I walked up the hill, I spoke to the lady and she thought it was awkward that the two occupants are doing practically nothing with the car sticking out.

I walked towards the car and noticed a male driver and female passenger sitting shotgun; they looked like college age students around 18 or 19 years old.  Fearing the couple may be having some trouble, I asked them:  "Are you okay?  Is your car working?"

They looked at me with no answer.  I explained to them that they are sticking far out into traffic and said, "I pray to god you don't get hit or cause an accident by having other cars swerve into oncoming traffic."

As I walked into my house, I heard their car engine turn on, therefore the car wasn't in any trouble, and they just drove away like nothing ever happened.

That was just totally odd.  Were they high or stupid?

Total Disrespect and Discourtesy - My Neighbor Hogs Curbside Parking Spots

I've lost all respect for my neighbor's bad parking practices.

Let me ask you readers, when you try to find a parking space on the street, do you hate those moments when your neighbors take a parking space that can easily fit two or more cars, but their car takes more than what they should?

For me, I find my neighbors to be total assholes. Across the street from my home, there's a long parking space that can easily fit three cars, if done correctly. To fit three cars, the first and second car pulls to the front end and the rear end of the curb, and the third car fits in the middle. This technique works well if the first two cars parks properly by fitting it within 1.5 feet of the end of the curb.

Unfortunately, one of my neighbors have a very bad habit of breaking the unofficial rules of parking; they tend to park their car with at least a six foot gap between their front/rear bumper and the end of the curb, and this means only two cars can take the spot because the middle spot is so small, only a Smart Car could possibly fit.

Here's an example:

My car is the one in the far right corner. I parked my gray car within one foot of the end of the curb and I never go further than the lamp pole. The silver car (my neighbor's) decides to put a six foot gap between the front bumper and the front end of the curb. The gap between the two cars is so small, there's no way to fit another car in there.

Another example:

Yep, the neighbor has more than just the silver car, and once again, pisses me off by taking more than what is considered fair. The gap between the red and blue cars is so small, a third car can't fit.

Click here to view other photos I've documented of my neighbors being jackasses.

I feel ready to tape a sign on the lamp pole that says "3 parking spaces FOR 3 cars" and put a paper note on every parking hog's windshield that says "nice parking, asshole."

People who Can't Park Their Car Annoys Me

A lot of things annoy me (and maybe you too), from Muni buses running late or no-shows, to those who feel it's OK to cross the street against a red light. Those are puny versus what annoys me the most in this city, those who park like dimwits.

You've probably seen them before and they'd likely frustrated you when you are hunting for a parking space; they enjoy flouting with the law, and unlikely to get a ticket from the parking cops since it's not street cleaning day. I've already had a few close calls with illegally parked cars, especially in narrow streets like on Fulton near USF where the lanes get so narrow, that if a car parked in a tow-away zone, I'd likely lose my passenger side mirror.

My only relief from these parking clowns is to humiliate them on the internet by posting a photo of their car on Flickr. Call the parking cops? Haaa haaa haaa, yeah right.

Here's some great ones I caught on camera:

This idiot thought it was cool to pin me in my legal parking space while he/she decided to also park in a tow away zone next to Forest Hill Station.


This BART station agent at Daly City thought it was cool to park in two reserved parking spaces. Just to make it more amusing, I caught BART officials four times at Daly City and continued to humiliate them online until they changed their ways.


There's a general rule about street parking, if the other cars are parked 45 degrees, drivers shouldn't park 90 degrees. This idiot alone took out the parking space on the left. I've been begging the city to paint 45 degree parking stripes along Font Blvd. near SF State for a long time.


I'm waiting for the day the SF Fire Department has to smash the windows of a car parked next to a hydrant to run a hose through it. Other agencies have done it before.


Parking hogs are the worst ever. Sure, they can comply with the laws about parking legally (e.g. curbing wheels and no more than 18 inches from the curb), but the unofficial rule is to never take more than one parking space. In this photo, one of my neighbors is an asshole and it really pissed me off because there was no other spaces available on my block.

Want to see more photos I've taken to humiliate people?

• Parking hog photos
• Idiot parking photos

So BART Starts a Hall of Shame Photo Gallery

Word from SFist and the SF Weekly is that our beloved BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) agency has started a Facebook page and features a passenger "hall of shame" gallery.

Unfortunately, BART doesn't like bad publicity. In an attempt to post some of my "hall of shame" photos on the Facebook page, it is not possible for people who register as a "fan" to upload photos, thereby it is up to BART's discretion of what goes up and not.

I have a couple of great BART hall of shame photos, showing a Daly City Station Agent hogging TWO parking spaces on MULTIPLE occasions. See the two photos here. But I guess that since BART controls what photos goes up on their own "hall of shame," I guess BART and their little happy union won't like it if my agent "abuse of powers - hall of shame" photos gets posted there.

Unfortunately, BART is not the first to start their own "hall of shame" gallery regarding their transit agency, "BARTrage" started theirs much longer ago then the transit agency.

I even started my own hall of shame dedicated to "aggressive drivers," "idiot parking," and "parking hogs" where I snapped photos from my journeys around San Francisco (including this one I love a lot). I even started my own worldwide group called "Parking Space Hogs" with over 190 pictures from around the world.

At this point, I really have to question BART's own intention of making their own sanctioned "hall of shame gallery." Sure, in one way, it's legal ("Johns" who get arrested for soliciting for prostitution gets plastered on a billboard), but from a moral standpoint and as a quasi-government agency, I think it's also inappropriate. Leave it up to the amateurs like BARTrage, SFist, SF Weekly, and myself to nail those morons.

Idiot Parks in USPS Drive Thru Mailbox Lane

What's wrong with this photograph? (If you can't see the photo, please go directly to: http://www.akit.org)

Well today, I had to drop off some very important mail at the post office at the Lakeshore Plaza USPS post office in San Francisco. They also feature a drive thru drop-off mailbox since parking can be a little difficult at this location.

So I get there, and this clown messes it up for everyone. What's wrong with the photo?

• Parks car in the drive thru.
• Parks car the wrong way.
• Parks car in a no parking zone.
• Pisses off everyone.
• Driver is nowhere to be seen, not even the post office.
  

And just to add to the suspense and humiliation, other than posting it on my blog and Flickr photo page, the security guard came by and took a photo of the license plate to send the driver a citation.

Do you know who this person is? California License Plate: 6BUA854.

Lastly, vote for Akit's Halloween costume! Will he wear the Bill "I Miss Monica" Clinton costume, or will he wear the Arnold "KAA-LEE-FORN-YA" Schwarzenegger costume? Vote on left column on my blog site: http://www.akit.org.