Serious question, is it ever okay to park over the line in a near-empty lot?

My coworker Dave (works in shipping) insists that if a parking lot is 90% empty, it's fine to park crooked or take two spaces since you're not bothering anyone. But I saw a guy do that at the Walmart on Route 9 last week and a minivan had to squeeze into the spot next to him because it was the only shady one left. Would you say the rule applies no matter how empty it is, or is there a time when bad parking becomes acceptable?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_derek4d ago

And yeah, I've seen this play out in hospital parking lots at 3 AM when there's maybe 8 cars total. Someone still ends up parked next to the two-space guy just because that's how people work. The practical rule is if you wouldn't do it in a half-full lot, don't do it in an empty one either, because someone always pulls in five minutes later.

the_faith4d ago

Ngl, Dave's got a point in that specific situation. If a lot is 90% empty, parking like a jerk is basically victimless unless someone else shows up with a weirdly specific need for that exact spot. The minivan driver could have parked literally anywhere else in the vast empty lot instead of squeezing in next to the guy, that was a choice on their part. The real problem is when people use the "it's empty" excuse when the lot is only half full or has just a few cars, that's where it gets selfish.