Being pregnant and car parks [vent]

[*Efjay*]

One thing you could try (but yes time of year you kinda have to grab what you can) is try & park so your driver side is near a poll. I will often park so the big pillars that run through the underground parking are on my drivers side. It gives me plenty of room then & no one can actually park too close.
I have to avoid parking with my nose out. Because with out fail some big 4WD will park so close tot he back of my Van I can't get that back open to put the pram away. So as nice as it is to park with my nose forward I just can't do it if I have the pram. I know I wont be able to put it back in the car when I get back! Its ok if its a sedan as I still have enough clearance but its always 4WD's!

Not sure what else to suggest but I think your sign would be good. Im sure if it was polite & maybe a little humours people will move the car a bit if they think its too close. If not, just keep going back & having the owner called over the PA system.

eta - Suggestion for a sign " Heavily Pregnant Driver - Please be considerate & leave enough space for this beached whale to open her door to get back in the car" Along with a funny picture to draw attention. Im sure people would have a giggle & make sure there was room.
BUT problem is most drivers might not look to the left & you would be replying on them having a passenger who noticed your note.

[Yarrawin]

One thing you could try (but yes time of year you kinda have to grab what you can) is try & park so your driver side is near a poll. I will often park so the big pillars that run through the underground parking are on my drivers side. It gives me plenty of room then & no one can actually park too close.
I have to avoid parking with my nose out. Because with out fail some big 4WD will park so close tot he back of my Van I can't get that back open to put the pram away. So as nice as it is to park with my nose forward I just can't do it if I have the pram. I know I wont be able to put it back in the car when I get back! Its ok if its a sedan as I still have enough clearance but its always 4WD's!

Not sure what else to suggest but I think your sign would be good. Im sure if it was polite & maybe a little humours people will move the car a bit if they think its too close. If not, just keep going back & having the owner called over the PA system.

eta - Suggestion for a sign " Heavily Pregnant Driver - Please be considerate & leave enough space for this beached whale to open her door to get back in the car" Along with a funny picture to draw attention. Im sure people would have a giggle & make sure there was room.
BUT problem is most drivers might not look to the left & you would be replying on them having a passenger who noticed your note.

You know, that's pretty much exactly what I had in mind for my sign! I figured, hey, it can't hurt and it might give some people a giggle too!

[ss_storm]

I think you can actually be issued an infringement notice for parking over the lines...so I'd be a bit wary about doing that, especially this close to christmas!
Are there spots you can park at the end of a row or next to a trolley bay, a pole, or something so you'll only have a car on one side?

[*Efjay*]

You know just thinking, I would put a Massive sign on your rear window & your drivers window when you leave your car. I think there would be more chance of the one in the rear window being noticed.
OR when you park your car with plenty of space, go find a trolley & put it next your car. Maybe people wont go to the effort to move the trolley to park there & just move on to somewhere else.

eta - or purchase some witches hats & put them along the side of your car LOL. People would be less likely to move those.

[toomanyshoes]

People just need to learn to park!

I had a woman the other pull into the empty car spot next to me while I was loading up the boot, she was over the line into my space looked me up and down and walked off...silly cow!

[Yarrawin]

People just need to learn to park!

I had a woman the other pull into the empty car spot next to me while I was loading up the boot, she was over the line into my space looked me up and down and walked off...silly cow!

Gosh, that's so rude!!! I would have lost it... but then again my current hormonal state has made me slightly scary

[tinkerbelle]

I have so had the same thoughts about the mother and baby bays and pregnant women!!! Especially when you get to the end of your pregnancy, it would be so nice to be able to park close to the shops in one of the mother and baby bays to reduce how far you have to walk to just go in and pick up a couple of things you need.. when the shops are busy, its the worst having to park miles away and a real struggle to walk to the shop entrance without feeling like baby is going to fall out any second!

[~*familyof3*~]

OMG i feel your pain Yarra! Im so so ova it hey its driving me mental to the point il avoid the shops.Some people r just so ride and dont care.

[toomanyshoes]

It's funny, at our shops I actually think there are too many specialised parking spots, theres a gazillion and 1/2 are almost always empty.

Parents with prams
disabled
seniors
60 min parking

I know they are necessary but its gets frustrating driving around and around and around and around waiting for a spot yet 1/2 of the "specialist" ones have no one in them! I've never ever seen more than 60-70% of them used! But realistically our shops need at least 50% more normal car spots.

[Floweryfields]

I would be pretty embarrased if I got paged to the carpark - especially if I was in the lines - it's more the fault of the carpark owners for making parks too tiny isn't it?

[lissy]

Actually I think its either the councils or state government as they would set the guidelines for shops etc. to comply with in relation to parking spaces when first built.

[mellybelly81]

I have actually thinking the same thing as I already have trouble getting out of the car and I'm only halfway. I can't imagine what I'll be like towards the end.

I actually work in local government and I just wanted to say that when we assess new developments we can't make them provide bigger bays than what the regulated standards are (I don't know if its through state govt or aust standards or what) so we can only use those as guidelines. Also from my experience in local govt I know that for the purposes of disabled access in buildings etc, pregnant women are included in the temporaily disabled category! Don't know how we'd go getting acrod stickers though!

[Cherished]

That's interesting mellybelly about being considered temporaily disabled. A few times while out I had to run into the disabled toilet in shopping centers I felt pretty bad about it but dh said that I was 'disabled' at the time and I needed to go to the bathroom so I should be able to use them. I used them when I had the runs and a disabled toilet was the closest and at other times to dry reach in (not vomiting but i wanted some privacy while I had a massive dry reaching episode) and then while I was heavily pregnant because I needed more room to move my belly and bag etc around in. At the end of the day we are living in a society so I can't imagine anyone having a go at you being pregnant and using facilities which will help you function better.

[JennaJayen]

I hate it when that happens... I also hate it when people park in parenting and disabled parking spaces and their kids are school aged or older teenagers and they don't even have a pram or carseat in their car...
I give those kind of people such dirty looks and talk really loudly where everyone can hear me about how stupid and bad they are lol I get a kick out of it and they get all embarrassed!
And then there's the people at the major shopping centres who drop their kids of at kinder/day care in the morning and park in the parents with prams car parks while they go off to work and leave the car there all day!

Most shopping days (only once a fortnight currently lol) I walk the 1.5km down to the shopping centre anyway, even with these supposedly unstable ligaments of mine lol otherwhise I would never get any exercise since I'm supposed to be on couch rest again lol