Is It Ethical to Go the Wrong Way in a Carpark for a Parking Spot?

This weekend I was at the shops and the car park was packed. I was following a car in front of me, and the whole car park had one-way lanes. The driver ahead stuck to the directional arrows. However, I spotted an open parking spot just a few spaces away in the opposite direction. There were no cars coming from that way, so I grabbed the spot. Surprisingly, the driver of the first car threw their hands up in frustration when they passed me.

What's your take on this? Is it okay to go against the flow in a car park to grab a spot, or should we always follow the one-way system?

MS paint for reference

Comments

  • +266

    Whether or not it is legal or ethical, that is plain rude

    • +91

      The "it's all about me" attitude on the road is extremely toxic and the worst part about driving in Aus.

      • +1

        it is inherent to a car-centric society and culture.

        • +14

          Don't agree. You can still be a driver and not a d**k. It's a choice.

        • +7

          Remember almost getting hit by a flash Merc in Japan as I crossed the street. Was a bit concerned when he pulled up and ran over but he just profusely apologised.
          Don't want to make any broad implications from a single anecdote but I'd also be much more surprised if it happened here.

      • +2

        Thank you OP for creating this post.

        This post is almost exactly the same as what I have encountered on Sunday 08 October 2023 around 01:10pm in Chadstone Shopping Centre carpark.

        Please view the video, thank you.
        https://youtu.be/TtTmpHLzSHg

        • +5

          Wow your Dashcam area is so limited.

          • @DazMon: Did not notice when the dashcam has moved until I took the sd card out.

        • +2

          It is actually not 'exactly' the same. With the OP, there was nobody waiting for that spot, OP was just cutting the queue. In your situation, you were clearly waiting for it and he knows but still decides to take it.

        • +2

          What a twit!

        • +1

          What a nasty, entitled driver he was.

        • -2

          In the video, the owner of the dashcam can be observed "trying to park" for a duration of 1.5 minutes. Given their slow driving, it raises questions about their suitability for driving on public roads.

        • You were in a 300 series? I would've pushed them out of the way with mine lol.

        • Mate, you're too nice…i would have pressed the horn and used a few 4 letter words before leaving. I may not come back to key his car later on but I would have seriously considered it.

      • Sounds like you've never driven overseas

      • +26

        "First in best dressed"

        Maybe over there in Bogan land.

        • -3

          Ask any policeman!
          Thats what they will tell you.
          As I said this is THE RULE
          Tough luck if you or anyone else dont like it.
          There are lots of rules we dont like.
          Negative voting the rules doesnt change the fact.

          Now who is in Bogan land?

          • +1

            @HeWhoKnows: If this happened to you or the Misses, you'd be a little annoyed though, right?
            If so, then that tells you something about the act.

          • -1

            @HeWhoKnows: So you wouldn't be mad if someone cut infront of you in line at the ATM, Taxi rank etc?

      • -1

        *their

      • +1

        It could have effected the driver in front of the OP?

      • +2

        who is this genius using up everyone's negs?!
        competing with jv for biggest L. seems slow in the head

    • +1

      OP probably Tesla driver.

    • +10

      Agreed. To the OP: Yeah mate. You're the driver I yell at behind my windscreen also. Rules don't apply to you.It does frustrate me no end because it means you have zero regard for other people.

      To be fair it seems this is the way things are going these days unfortunately. I'm getting used to it, but I do think it's a shame my kids are brought up in this generaration, I personally prefer a society where people cared about other people, and had some respect for road directions which are pretty obvious in this case.

      Made my day this morning when a lady maybe 10 years my junior insisted I cut the line in front of her at ALDI (no-one else in line) because I only had two items in my hand.

      Luckily people like that balance out the others :)

    • +1

      op needs to change username to ginormous<something else>

  • +88

    We live in a society

    • +5

      The line system, does not take into account emergencies. It treats every want as uniform when I could be needing the toilet to release the hounds.

      • Never heard this euphemism before 💀 😂

    • +2

      George Costanza or Joker version?

  • +108

    No poll? I think you were inconsiderate. You basically pushed in front because you chose to break the rules.

    • +30

      That's like saying you don't stop at stop signs if there's no one around.

        • +42

          No, it really doesn't. The road rules don't exist only when others are around, you realise that right? if you're the only one on the highway you can't just go 200km/h.

          How you act when no-one is around bleeds into how you act otherwise. The number of people who roll through stop signs is ridiculous.

          • -5

            @coffeeinmyveins: Aside from law, yes it does. Again i did state"100% certain" which is rarely the case anyway

            • @[Deactivated]: You're clearly a pervert and do perverted things in public if you're 100% certain no one is around because you think it's a victimless crime. How does that sound?

          • +4

            @coffeeinmyveins:

            The road rules don't exist only when others are around

            Not as a legal matter, but possibly yes as an ethical matter.

            Ever been stuck at a red light in the middle of the night on a motorbike that doesn't trip the sensor?

            • @fantombloo: Push the pedestrian crossing (the same was as you are going) will often change the lights

              • @Roary: Though I guess that would involve leaving your bike in the middle of the road to run over and press the button, which isn't good either

            • @fantombloo:

              Ever been stuck at a red light in the middle of the night on a motorbike that doesn't trip the sensor?

              Actually, yes. on my street the lights won't trigger from my motorbike which is fine during the day but at 12am when there's no cars it literally won't trip so I go through the red very carefully.

              I take your point. lol

          • @coffeeinmyveins: What is legal is not always ethical. What is ethical is not always legal. This thread is concerned with what is ethical. He said if he knows no one is around. Which if obviously never. That makes this a hypothetical. Ethically there is no issue here. If he crashes then he's the only one at risk. Yes it is a pointless discussion.

            • +1

              @Nedward:

              What is legal is not always ethical. What is ethical is not always legal.

              Yes, these often don't correlate at all. Looking at laws for ethics is just lazy.

            • +3

              @Nedward:

              If he crashes then he's the only one at risk.

              Never the only one at risk.

              • Risk to other drivers due to damage to road, distraction, etc
              • Tying up emergency services resources
              • Risk to emergency responders in recovering OP/their vehicle
              • Pain/suffering to others in OPs life
        • +1

          traffic cop hiding behind bush: mwahhahahhaha

        • By your logic you'll run a red light if there's no cars, cops and cameras around.

        • that's like saying its Ok to steal from supermarket if there's no one around.

      • I dont stop at the stop sign if there's no one around

  • +16

    Not cricket.

    I would assume you have a higher chance of being at fault if you happen to have an accident with someone following the rules also?

    Try this next time? But don't know if it works for small car parks.

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2017-12-20/how-maths-can…

    PS very nice MS Paint job. Or did you steal that too? 😜

    • +17

      The parking spot was stolen, but the MS Paint job was homemade.

    • -1

      they would definitely be done , going the wrong way smh

    • +2

      you have a higher chance of being at fault if you happen to have an accident

      You would almost certainly be at fault if you caused an accident driving the wrong way.

      • +4

        Be interesting legally if someone reveresed into you. The person has duty of care reversing and not hitting cars or pedestrians but can the person reversing say " I checked both sides, then kept an eye on my left as i reversed out of prking space for fast moving cars and car X was going wrong way and crashed into me"

        • +8

          I doubt there would be much explaining to do when one car was driving the wrong way.

        • +3

          I think there's something to be said about a prior negligent act and its impact on a situation.

          Yes the person who is reversing has to ensure it is safe to do so, but that doesn't absolve the person who was driving the wrong way of responsibility.

          the person reversing could argue they were looking for traffic coming from the 'one way' direction and then this person driving the wrong way hit them as they reversed, as you have said.

        • -3

          If it’s a carpark not maintained by the council, the arrows mean nothing.

          • +2

            @smpantsonfire:

            If it’s a carpark not maintained by the council, the arrows mean nothing.

            You may want to read the Aust Road Rules -
            eg found this somewhere that the same assumption was being made.

            The Australian Road Rules (ARR) apply to ‘vehicles’ and ‘road users’ on ‘roads’ and ‘road-related areas’. Each of these terms has a defined meaning – of which ‘road’ is the most commonly misunderstood.

            According to the ARR, a road is “an area that is open to or used by the public, and is developed for, or has as one of its main uses, the driving or riding of motor vehicles”. A road-related area is “an area that divides a road” plus footpaths or nature strips adjacent to roads, public cycleways, and places open to the public that are used for parking.

            • @Grunntt: In NSW at least, you would need signs to be able to enforce it, so they are half right. The car park doesn't have to be maintained by the council, but without road signs from Transport for NSW it is not against any law and the road markings are pretty meaningless from a legal pov.

              • @ginormousgiraffe:

                In NSW at least, you would need signs to be able to enforce it

                Not saying you are wrong, but I can only find references that say 'sign or road marking' as though it is an either/or situation and it applies to either.
                Is there somewhere in the ARR that specifically states the requirement for a sign?
                I have to admit I haven't dug deeply through the whole document so probably missed it if it is there.

  • +16

    I think you always better off follow all rules in a car park and be polite to anyone —— (not saying I will do this ever) but your car is left at the spot, and drain your tire or throw half cup of coffee on top of your car is quite a simple thing to do.

    • +7

      Or cable tie a shopping trolley to the door handles

    • +1

      why waste coffee!

      eggs

  • +37

    That's a sure way to get your car keyed.

      • +37

        Weird how you call someone unhinged but then assume the unhinged would be deterred by just a camera lol

        • +1

          I don't think it would deter them, but would provide enough details to report them if need be.

          • +17

            @ginormousgiraffe: You've clearly never got video before of someone breaking the law. In most cases it's impossible to put a name to a face. Especially for the "crime" of letting down the tire of someone who deserved it

            • +2

              @MikeKulls:

              Especially for the "crime" of letting down the tire …

              The discussion here was about a car being keyed… nobody mentioned letting down tires but you.

              Letting down someone's tire is an actual crime too btw

            • @MikeKulls: It is not difficult when you have video of them in their car with their numberplate visible beforehand.

              • +7

                @ginormousgiraffe: You got proof linking the driver of the car and the keyer?

                • -7

                  @Ughhh: No one keyed my car, so obviously I do not have any proof.

                  Don't make things up in your head just so you can get mad at them.

                  • +1

                    @ginormousgiraffe: Of course it's based on a hypothetical, but very likely, scenario. If your car was keyed, you have no proof to link the driver of the car to the keyer, hence your dash cam is useless as some kind of proof.

                    I have seen people go back and do things to the jerks car. Your choice.

          • +3

            @ginormousgiraffe: You would need to have cameras on both sides to capture the act. I doubt you actually have these as dash cams are only front and back. Unless the offender did it on your bonnet or boot or u have a tesla..

          • +5

            @ginormousgiraffe:

            I don't think it would deter them, but would provide enough details to report them if need be.

            Report to who? the police?

            What do you think the police can (and will) do with video footage of someone. You realise this isn't CSI:Miami and there isn't a database they just scan a dashcam photo of someone against and find their details?

            Even if there is, they won't do it for someone keying a car.

            Hell, even having their licence plate all that helps you do is make an insurance claim, for which you'd be paying the excess, be without a car while it gets fixed etc.

            Is that really worth the hassle to just, you know, not be a dick?

      • +63

        "spend 30 seconds to find another spot"
        if that were so, why didn't you keep following the arrows?
        .

        • +15

          The fact that the other drive drove past OP while they parked means there were no other free spots in that section. The other driver would have had to circle some more or head to a different area. So definitely wouldn't have taken just 30 seconds to find another spot.

          • +11

            @Broke-Ken: OP is still trying to rationalise their actions.

          • @Broke-Ken: Yeah, the other drive would have gotten that spot and OP would simply have driven another 30 seconds to find the next spot, in their mind.

      • Kinda have to be pretty unhinged and petty in the first place to go the wrong way in a carpark in order to nab a spot.

      • +1

        because you had to spend 30 seconds to find another spot

        You went the wrong way to avoid spending another "30 seconds"…

      • Evidently you had no issue with breaking the rules in lieu of "having to spend 30 seconds to find another spot"

      • Yep and there’s a lot of unhinged people in the world.

      • The hypocrisy.

    • Keying a car is a sure way for something worse to happen if you get caught in the act.

  • -3

    Kierkegaard conceptualises “the moment” theologically, counselling that when we are about to act in one way or another, with all the anxiety that is therefore aroused, we must see ourselves in that moment as those living before God, accountable to him for how we are living today.

    • What would jesus do?

      • -1

        Give up the car space. And spend the next 3 hours in the car park.

      • pray for a spot right up close to the entrance … just as you get there, someone vacates spot ?
        happy days :) :) :) … and no need to go wrong way either.

        ooh and even better, if spot only allows cars to be parked on one side (other side has nature strip).

        BTW everyone has freedom of religion … i'm spiritual, but not religious … although @altomic certainly picked wrong thread to post in.

        • I'm certainly not religious. i was just posting the position of a 19th century Danish philosopher.

          I now understand that one should only post the views of philosophers whos names start with "S"

          • @altomic: I'd have thought the ozb demographic would be all over Kierkegaard since he starred in a popular TV show a few years ago.

      • Get a parking space reserved for himself.

  • +15

    He who goes to shopping centre during peak hour

    Bound to have bad time

  • +5

    if i was the guy in front of you, not something i would do.

    but in that small car park, is a dick move

    however in a much larger carpark, i wouldn't be as up set

    • Car park is relatively big, I would say a few thousand spots at least. MS Paint diagram is only a small portion of the car park.

  • +34

    Depends… Are you the only person there and no one else is about? Sure, have at it.

    If you are doing it to try and chop someone else out who has done the right thing by going around, then no, (fropanity) you and your entire lineage.

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