Just because a vehicle is parked improperly doesn’t give another driver the right to crash into it. The driver of any vehicle has an obligation to do everything possible to avoid any collision, no matter how slight. The proper response is to leave a note with contact information, take a photo of the scenario if possible, and let the insurance companies sort it out. If it were legal to play judge & jury based on others’ careless driving habits, the roads & parking lots would resemble a smash up derby.
Nobody has mentioned the strong wind that caught the car door - I call that an act of God. Thus, our worrier is relieved of all responsibility. Amen.
Leave a note? Get real, this is 2011-- you leave a note and your name, and the other guy WILL sue you, for as much as he can get-- I speak from experience…
I detest people who can’t be bothered to park properly. I see it quite often. No one wants to get a ding, but when you park inches away from the adjacent vehicle and leave 4 feet on the other side, you have made physical contact almost inevitable and clearly aren’t concerned about anyone else. This is how people ding YOUR car!!!
I’m not one to offer advice on moral issues, so you make your own decisions. When I find that some #%?? parks so close that I can’t open my door, he/she is lucky if they get a ding. On a bad day you’ll find your door panel caved in. Yeah I know it’s terrible. That’s life. Learn how to park and respect other people’s property and people will respect you and yours.
Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Strong wind, and it seems to be blowing big time, your door caused damage to another car. It is your fault!!! The morally correct thing to do is pay for the damage. “suck it up” and do the right thing.
Professional Help Is Available To You. Please Consider It.
CSA
Why do you NEED an SUV ? Unless you live in an area without paved roads there is no reason to buy an SUV other than to present a ridiculous facade of ruggedness…
I do not own an SUV and most likely never will but there are several reasons why people own them.
1.there are several family members and the family cannot fit into a Chevy Cobalt, they should not have to buy 2 or 3 small cars to travel.
2. They pull a trailer for business.
3. They pull a trailer for pleasure, i.e., boat, horses, etc. We cannot say they should not have these pleasures.
4. If it’s thier choice they can with no arguments since it’s a semi free country.
5. The list can go on and on.
Why is it that people insist that SUV’S are the spawn of satin? The problem is not the vehicle but the actions of the driver. If the SUV takes up 2 parking spots or is parked to close to another it is not the SUV but sloppy parking by the driver. If it is blocking your view the SUV is not being evil just to pi** you off, proceed carefully. If the SUV is road hogging, it is the driver that needs to get off the phone or stop texting or stop eating or stop playing with the radio. If it is gas guzzling then thats the owners issue.
The point is SUV’s have no soul and have no intentions on ruining anyones life. The problem is the loose nut behind the wheel (the driver). The problem is people. The problem is people. The problem is people.
The type of vehicle is irrelevant, could have been an SUV or electric car.
It is refreshing to see someone else realize that the type of vehicle is not the issue.
$50 will cover the cost of an estimate. A ding the size of a quarter is usually $200.
So, no s**t, there I was, at the Colorado Springs library back in… I don’t know a few years ago. When I left the library and went to my Jeep in the parking lot, I saw that someone had parked so close that I couldn’t open the door wide enough to get in from the driver’s side. I had to get in on the passenger side and crawl over. I was so annoyed, that I opened my driver’s side door and intentionally banged it into the offender’s car, leaving a conspicuous scratch and ding.
Well… out emerged the owner of the offending car, wearing a WWII veteran’s baseball cap, walking with a cane and with great difficulty. I felt like such a jerk that I got out and apologized for denting his car. (I left out the part that I did it on purpose.) He apologized profusely and told me that he should sell his big, old car and get something smaller and easier to drive, but he bought it new (It was a 1971 Grand Thunderbird Bel Air Classic Torino Mark VII Barritz S.S. Nimitz or something.) and just can’t bring himself to part with it. He and his wife bought it together and now that she’s gone, it would be like getting rid of a part of her. Yeah, I felt so small that I could have committed suicide by jumping off a nickel. My point being, you never know. The person who cut you off or is tailgating may have received an emergency phone call from his wife or child. The guy who parked halfway over the parking lot stripe may have just lost a loved one. The person who runs the stop sign may have an vomiting child in the back seat (Been there. Done that.) Now I AM a realist and realize that most people who drive like jerks are genuine jerks. But if YOU do the right thing then that is always defensible.
Addendum: It is SO worth it to look for a parking space a bit farther away, but one next to an island or the last in a row. Then you can park as close to one side and leave plenty of room on the other to prevent dents and dings. Sure, you’ll have to walk a bit, but walking is free.
Amen, Brother. Well, in the Jeep who cares? It’s a covered in dents and scratches so I’ll park it anywhere. Besides, if anyone is careless, they’ll just bang their door into the nerf bar. But the Subaru SVX has Airbus A380-sized doors so I make a habit to always find a space far away and preferably next to an island or the last in a row. No dings yet. (Knock wood)
Did they say who was parked first? Did they come back to the car to see the other parked too close, or was the other car there first, parked close to or over the line?? Dings happen; it’s a price we pay for convenience of close parking. I would not leave anything.
Well spoken. Sometimes you just never know. It’s real easy to bi*** about it but sometimes after the facts the “victim” just needs to humble themselves and forget it.