People Suck

[JohnOfSheffield]

JoS, when you were an officer in the SAS serving in Afghanistan with your covert special ops team assigned to parking duties, did you ever waste one of your own guys for parking illegally?

I'm still in Afghanistan and no, that isn't part of my order (we only have one order).

That does not mean that i cannot communicate regarding what i feel on civilian matters and if someone parked 12 inches into my sidewalk i would have a problem with it.

Of course, i don't know what the street looks like but if there is bidirectional parking it should be wide enough to allow that or some retard did something wrong.

 

[kranky]

Feel bad for you, I know there are lots of streets in Pittsburgh where NOT parking partially on the sidewalk means your car will get hit sooner or later. Generally everyone understands this and it's surprising your neighbors called the cops.

I guess they have a driveway and don't have to park on the street?

 

[BarkingGhostar]

So apparently the neighbors called the police because I was parked on the sidewalk in front of their house. On my road EVERY SINGLE CAR is about 12" onto the sidewalk because the road is a little on the narrow side.

Luckily I heard the tow truck and the driver was kind enough to not take the car once I got there, but they still slapped a $100 ticket on there. I used to park legally, but since nobody else does my car got sideswiped. So damned if I do, damned if I don't.

Cliffs:
Apparently in pittsburgh you either park so you car gets hit by shitty drivers, or they slap you with exorbitant parking tickets.

If you parked your vehicle on the sidewalk in front of my house you wouldn't have been so lucky. I would have backed into your vehicle, then called the police and your insurance company.

 

[alkemyst]

But if you park a mile and a half away, you won't be on his sidewalk...You gotta get closer.

yeah and make sure it's before 6pm, otherwise his mom calls him in from outside.

 

[Anubis]

Nah, I was asking the cop on what the protocol was. He said they only show up and ticket if they get a call...

Anyways someone else pulled up and parked in the exact same spot after I left. Once my lease is up I'm getting a place with off-street parking.

call the cops and report every other car

 

[2Xtreme21]

OP, you live in the south side? They're cracking down tremendously there...

 

[Zenmervolt]

In short, if you did nothing wrong in the UK, you don't have to pay a cent, if you parked illegally on the sidewalk and someone was moving something the size of the sidewalk then no insurance would ever cover it.

But then again, we have this shit about right of way and laws in the UK, perhaps you don't get that over there and that is why you are parking on the sidewalks?

Intentionally damaging someone else's property is most definitely "doing something wrong". And I'm pretty damn sure that you'd be liable for an intentional tort in the UK just as much as you'd be liable in the US if you intentionally damaged a car that was parked on the sidewalk.

Now, if you were riding a bike on the sidewalk or doing some other task that resulted in accidental damage to the car that would not have occurred but for the car's parking on the sidewalk, then chances are you wouldn't be liable. However, this is not the situation you described. You described a situation in which a person acted with intent to damage another person's property; from a legal standpoint that's completely different.

ZV

 

[Zenmervolt]

My car actually got hit by another uninsured motorist a few months ago. From what I gathered from the insurance companies most Un/Underinsured plans only cover medical costs and not property.

Uninsured/Underinsured property damage coverage generally covers your car in cases where it is subject to a hit and run. Uninsured/Underinsured liability coverage covers only medical costs.

Looking at my own bill, Uninsured/Underinsured property damage coverage costs me $4.14 per vehicle per year for $100,000 in coverage per incident. (State Farm, clean record.)

Uninsured Motor Vehicle - Property Damage
This coverage pays for damage to your car and contents in its passenger compartment that you are legally entitled to collect from the owner or operator of an underinsured motor vehicle. It also provides protection if your car is in an accident with a hit-and-run driver or due to a "phantom vehicle".

ZV

 

[tatteredpotato]

Feel bad for you, I know there are lots of streets in Pittsburgh where NOT parking partially on the sidewalk means your car will get hit sooner or later. Generally everyone understands this and it's surprising your neighbors called the cops.

I guess they have a driveway and don't have to park on the street?

That's exactly what happened to my car earlier this year, and I don't think they have a driveway (unless it's out back to another street). Anyways I've just made a mental note to not park there, and if I do I'll have to accept the risk of getting side-swiped.

OP, you live in the south side? They're cracking down tremendously there...

Nah, West Oakland. I don't think they're "cracking down" here, the cop specifically told me he was only there because they got a call. He could have written up at least 20 tickets while he was there if he wanted to, but he only was putting a ticket on mine because of the call.