[nishp]

1. I never fold ORVMs while parked. Bikers and 3-wheelers often pass a stationery car very closely. When ORVMs are open other vehicles will pass little away from car body to adjust for ORVM's width. ORVMS takes the hit better than car body.

2. Always prefer corner slot like pillar or wall, unless there is water leakage, AC, exhaust etc.

3. Always avoid giving car key to attendant at public parking. I also do not use valet parking if other options are available.

[Ashdel]

I am not sure how safe is parking your car near your house or office, as my car got stolen right in front of my office parking area 10 years back in Noida. Surprisingly, there were no guard or CCTV cameras for help. I think we can only pray that our car is safer in the so called "Safe" parking spot.

[fine69]

Just one rule for me, don't obstruct anything. Since I have a beater city car I basically park anywhere till the time its allowed. The car has had a few dings n dents but I couldn't care less.

Rewind few years back and I used to make such a big deal about getting the best & safest parking spot. It was just too much stress now that I think about it.

When on road trips outside the city though, I'm willing to take a little extra stress to park my Fortuner safely, away from the crowded spots.

[rajvardhanraje]

I use the following strategy

City

1. Office: My office is located inside the building of a popular mall and we have dedicated parking spots for our company. I park in the open spot I find. Completely safe.
2. Mall: I don’t mind most of the parking spots in the mall parking.
3. City center/Old city: Never dare to take my car to these places. Forget parking, even stopping anywhere is impossible. Use either my bike ola/uber auto to visit these areas.
4. Other places: Try to find a safe spot even if it is located at some distance from the destination. Preferably park under a tree rather than out in the open.
5. Parking on slopes: While parallel parking on inclines I park closer to the car at the back so that the car in front of me has some buffer and vice-versa on declines.
6. Parallel parking: Avoid parking where it is a combined parking for 2 wheelers and 4 wheelers. The bikers park in such a way that their bikes literally touch the car. If it is the only choice, I try to park either in front or behind a pole or some other structure keeping such a distance that it’s not possible to park a bike but enough for me to take my car out.
7. Valet parking: I don’t feel too comfortable handing over my car to them. In places where the place where they park is not too far, I prefer to park myself. In places where the valet guys would park the car in the building itself, I hand over the keys to them half-heartedly.

Highway

1. Expressways: I avoid stopping on expressways unless it is absolutely necessary. In case I have to stop, I check for a patch where the service road is big enough and the road is straight for a foreseeable distance with no turn in sight.
2. Other highways: I stop only where there is ample space on the side of the road which is enough for me to get down without coming in the way of vehicles.
3. Food malls: The parking spots inside these seem relatively safe so don’t mind parking here.
4. Ghat sections: I prefer not to stop here unless there is a designated space to stop cars at viewing points.

[vijayshouree]

I generally prefer taking my scooter for shorter distances when going alone, to escape the traffic and parking problems, sometimes, I feel like I am helping the mother earth .

For 2 Wheeler,

• I park wherever there is "NO" no-parking sign. Also, see that I am not creating any trouble for others
• I park in such a way that I have enough space at the left to take the scooter out, I am quite short and cannot back the bike while sitting on it
• I close all the footrests and the items that protrude to give that extra ease to the fellow biker who park beside me

For Car,
At Home: We have a designated parking spot which can hold a bike and a car. I park in such a way that my two-wheelers can move in and out easily. I prefer to park close to the pillar and leave 1/3rd space for my two-wheelers.

At Office: We have 4 spots between pillars, two at the front and two at the back. We have an understanding that who so ever comes first will park at the front. I strictly follow the yellow margins and mostly park parallel to the yellow line. I am so obsessed with this that I open the door and check multiple times till my car is parallel to that yellow line.

At Hotels: Give it to wallet guys and hope it comes back safe in one piece. Sometimes I see that they fiddle with the AC and use it, but I'm ok (rather not) but helpless. I just don't want to go into those claustrophobic parking lots of the restaurants and figure out the correct spot myself, rather, leave it to the experts.

At the Mall: I don't prefer to squeeze into the tight spots between other cars, mostly park a little far and walk. But before going that far away, I check all the nearby slots by moving in and out of all the lanes while my wife grrrrrs! as she wants to go into the mall asap. After all, I am not her driver to leave her at the entrance

Open Places: I see that I am not obstructing anyone. Whenever I park in an open place, the inner anxious myself will always be on and thinking about the car while I do stuff. So mostly avoid. My dad calls me as Duronto Express loco pilot. I will only stop at the destination, strictly no for picking bananas/eggs stopping side by.

[the_real_slager]

Where I live, precisely planning where to park before driving to any place is the only way. Even at places where street parking is allowed, there are automated parking meters from which tickets must be purchased for the duration of parking, but these slots would usually be full almost all the time.
Free parking in the city is non-existent.
But the blessing is that all the city centres are well connected by public transport, so you can easily park your car at a paid parking lot and then take a tram/metro for the last mile.
So, I make it a point to find in advance all the parking options, compare costs, last mile distances to the destination and then decide.
Availability of parking at the destination is the first criteria before deciding whether to take the car on a trip or not.
Interestingly, even after all planning, sometimes you get a parking spot where you need to parallel park into a tight slot beside a canal with no curb in a narrow road with traffic waiting from behind while you do it And for an person with average parking skills, this can be a heart in mouth moment.

[CarBot]

I prefer to park in the corner as I can be assured that I wont have dings on 1 corner at least. If I cannot find a corner, I park far or on the top floor in MLPL. There are times when I have parked in office open space and walked in snow and cold for 5 mins whereas everyone else parked cramped close to office door. All in the name of avoiding dings

[LeoChakraborthy]

I prefer to avoid taking my vehicle (Car / Bike) if I know that getting a parking spot at my destination is difficult. UBER has earned a lot out of me because of this.
When I do take my vehicle within the city, I:
1. Park at a nearby mall
2. Don't mind to walk a bit, if I can ensure a safe parking spot
3. Display my phone numbers, behind both the windshields
4. Avoid dark and / or narrow lanes
5. Avoid parking just after a turn
6. Try to avoid giving to the valets, as much as possible

On the highways, unless there is an emergency I try to find a restaurant or lay-bye zones. At times of emergency, I try to get off the road as much possible, place the reflectors and turn on the hazard lights.

[Zinda]

My strategy is simple -
Be a gentleman and disciplined guy!

I park only if -
(1) there is a parking spot available (2) which will fit my car (3)and space is available to open my door (and let the next car's doors open)

Sometimes I have compromised on Criteria#3, and ended up going in Parking just to ensure whether the Car is safe

If these criteria are not met, I simply move ahead. I do not mind walking 500 meters for it. If with family, I drop them at venue and move ahead to park and come back.

[GeeTee TSI]

• I take every effort to back into my spot at dedicated parking lots so that it makes for a quick, safe exit
• When parking by the side of a road against a pavement or kerb, I shout out loud to other passengers to check if the doors (on the left) open clear off the kerb (although this learning came from a loud and expensive experience)
• In really tight parking spots (if at all I decide to park), I prioritise more space for the adjoining car's driver door so that the driver hopefully gets in without hitting my door

Lastly, I also steal multiple glances at my car while walking away after parking

[aveoman19]

I can't seem to remember the strategy I used to park my cars in India other than searching for the ideal spot to park my car and I have a great patience when it comes to making sure my car is safely parked.

In Europe however, my strategy is mainly leaving enough space for my door to open on the left side while still staying withing the two white lines. Although in some cases (even in countries like Germany) I had to struggle to get inside my car after getting bullied by bigger vehicles.

In the second picture, my humble Fabia got bullied by the Mercedes GLC 350d. I had to wait for a good 20 minutes to get inside my car as the there was not enough space on the driver's side to get inside my car. This was the only spot available in the whole parking lot so I had to make use of the best possible scenario. I did give a piece of my mind to the owner of the SUV, to which he apologized but it was a mood spoiler nevertheless.

Nowadays I don't think of strategies as many a times it has failed miserably due to totally inexplicable circumstances which were completely not in my control!

[haria]

For parking in city:


Only single rule for me:
It should be Valid parking slot

That's it.

Covered parking, Ample space b/w cars, under the tree, open area, etc. etc. are all luxuries which most of the time is not feasible especially if you have to park near avenue road, market, chickpet etc. Finding a parking itself is a big challenge, let alone the other luxuries. Finding a parking spot for even a bike is extremely tough in avenue road, SJP road, etc. I would prefer NOT to take my car at all, but alas, sometimes when I have to carry big luggage, I will have no option.


When I do park, one rule which I do not violate is blocking some other vehicle from their movement. Have suffered enough with other people blocking me and making me wait for long time to move my car, that I never want to do it for somebody else.




On the highway:



1. Off the road / hugging the kerbe/edge of the road
2. Keep the hazard light SWITCHED ON, unless parked in a designated parking area of a restaurant/hotel/etc.

[vermasach]

Parking spots are becoming fewer and difficult. However, I try to follow these rules:

* Park in covered dedicated areas or atleast designated Open spaces.
* I attempt to find a corner where there is less movement of other vehicles.
* Park in a manner in which exiting the spot is easy, it it means reversing and then parking.
* While visiting restaurants and hotels, I check with them if the parking area is close and if I can park myself.
* If there's a drain, keep some distance to avoid tyres going into it.
* Although rare, if parking is not available I enter a nearby colony road to park. But I ensure not to create obstruction for anyone.
* If I am aware of a place where parking is a problem, I do either of these 2- I walk if it's under 45 mins of time or else hire a cab service.
* If multiple cars are parked one behind other, I request the parking guy to park in the corner where he does not need to keep shifting my car. Although it may mean delay when I come back.
* While on highways, park as far from the road as possible.

[Jeroen]

These days, we live, work and park mainly around Western Europe. So my current parking strategy should be seen against that environment.

Theft or break in a car is not really a concern in Western Europe. Theft of cars does happen, certain brands/models are quite susceptible to it. Obviously, in denser areas, you might run a somewhat higher risk. To avoid the risk of theft, just never leave anything in sight.

My main concern are dents and scratches and bird poo. So, about the latter, I try not to park under trees!

When it comes to dents and scratches I have a few simple strategies.
The simplest one is to try and find not only an empty parking space for your own car. But preferably empty spaces all around it.

So when we enter a car park, multistory car park, I will always drive to the far end or the highest floor. As far away from the pedestrian exits as I can find! The fewer cars around me, the better.

I will look for spots where at least one side is a wall. I usually try to avoid corners as you car might get hit/scratched from somebody taking the turn too tight

If I have to park next to another car, or worse, in between two cars. I choose my neighbours very carefully. I try to avoid cars that have dents and scratches already. I try to avoid cars I believe tend to have awful drivers, especially when it comes to parking. Or those that have a tendency to slam open their doors with little regards or concern for other cars.

So, I like to park next to expensive, shiny, new cars. Because their owners are likely to be like me, careful and considerate parking!

The most awful parking places are those belonging to Supermarkets. Because the, what I believe to be, bad parking lot, are out in force. Not only can they not park their car without hitting another car. Or smashing a door into your door. They can’t even drive a supermarket trolly without smashing it into something.

So I am very very picky when it comes to parking. Drives my wife nuts. But then again, my wife is one of these bad parking drivers. Her little Fiesta is always full of small dents and scratches.

I will admit, I am a whole lot let picky when driving my company car. i do take good care of it. Because I just like cars and I am privileged to have a company car. But no tears lost when somebody bangs into it, none whatsoever. Which makes (parking) life a whole lot less stressful.

As some of the members will know I own a classic Alfa Romeo Spider. Nice little ragtop Italian sports car. I am of course, extremely picky and choosy on where I park. And I would go hungry before I would take it to a Supermarket. But ragtops are of course very easy to get into. And I know a number of Spideristi who returned to their Spider just to find the rag top hood was cut open with a knife.

So on the Spider I always leave the doors unlocked. I’d rather they take a quick peek, find there is nothing to steal, but at least do not cut up my rag top! So far, touch wood, this Spider Rag Top strategy has served me well!

Jeroen

[GTO]

Originally Posted by GTO

I follow a "100-rupee" parking strategy

Last evening, I'd gone to KC College for a deceased relative's prayer & remembrance function.

Due to metro work, the entire area has been dug up. The final 1 km took me 25 minutes, that's how crazy the traffic was!! And because a "small" Gujarati function means 400 attendees , there was a sea of people outside KC college.

Fished out a 100 buck note and - in these conditions - a path was magically created for my car, the gate opened and I got a spot right outside the entrance.

Option B was to drop my family, go look for parking (could be a 10 to 30 minute exercise), take out an umbrella and walk back in the rains. Not to mention, worry about my car being scratched or vandalised on a public road.

Many people think I pay too much for parking. My response = I pay for the convenience & for the safety of my car (to fix a scratch will cost a lot more). Also, how much do you pay for the privilege in malls again? At least in Mumbai, all malls charge an equivalent fee.

Peaceful inside:


Mayhem on the street right outside: