This Is The Worst Parking Spot And One Way To Protect Your Vehicle In It
Street parking cars is one of the craziest things we do as a society. Just think about it.
Leaving the second-most expensive thing most of us will ever buy — which is really the most-expensive for many people — sitting there exposed to the elements and traffic, protected from damage and theft only by the good graces of our fellow citizens? Sounds like a great idea.
And the danger isn’t just from bad actors and people who don’t know how to parallel park without using their bumpers in a literal fashion. Over the years, I’ve had several cars sideswiped by cars and trucks and bikes that left scrapes, dents and demolished mirrors, but not notes, in their wake.
But not all parking spaces are created equal. There’s one in particular that I’ve found to be the worst.
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While mid-block spots provide some cover, parking at either end is inviting disaster. At the entry end, you’re open to fast-moving vehicles turning onto the street, especially on the near side, where it’s easier for them to clip your car. There’s not much you can do about this, unless you carry a set of orange cones around for visibility. Even those rubber bumper diapers a lot of people in cities use don’t do much to cover the corner.
But things seem even worse at the other end. There, you’re vulnerable to vehicles turning the corner across the front of your car after they’ve passed it and it’s out of sight. I’ve found countless cars in this position with damage on the front corner, Including one that was in my possession. I try to avoid this spot as much as possible, but do have one technique to make the best of a bad situation.
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One time when I was waiting on a curving entrance ramp to a garage with my wheels turned, an exiting BMW went wide and ran right into my vehicle. I braced for the worst as I got out and saw that the BMW’s fender and light were busted, but it had only hit the tire sticking out on my vehicle, leaving just a scuff on the rubber.
I’ve often parallel parked with the wheels turned in the (likely false) hope that it would make it harder to steal the vehicle with a tow truck, while some hilly places require this to keep vehicles from rolling away. But after the garage incident, it dawned on me that the turned tire offers a buffer several inches wide that may just keep another car from crushing the metal and plastic on yours.
Sure, if the driver is going fast enough or hits it very hard, the contact can damage the wheel, suspension or steering, but it’s all pretty robust. The rubber and bit of play left in wheel can absorb light taps while sending a message that they need to turn away before it gets worse.
Does this work? I have no firm evidence that it does, but I’ve never had a car damaged when parked like this and did find a scuff on a front tire once that indicated that it had that time.
In the rough and tumble world of street parking, I’ll take any edge I can get. Even if its the tire’s.
(The Gas Station is where American Cars And Racing Executive Editor Gary Gastelu vents his opinions. Feel free to let us know if you think they stink.)
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