Your side or mine?
Growing up in my hometown has been great. We’ve got lots of parks, malls and historical sights. I’ve learned a lot living here. One thing I’ve learned is that visitors have a hard time with where we park on the street. People visiting from out of town get confused when they see a vehicle parked facing the oncoming traffic…the “wrong” side.
I’ve often wondered why people do this. Is it because they’re lazy to walk across the road after they’ve parked? Or is it because their parents have done it and they’ve copied them? Whatever the reason, is it worth it? I’ve had students over the years ask me which side to park on when I’ve asked them to pull over and park. I usually reply, “Which side of the road do we drive on?” and that normally works, but I also have to further explain the reason why.
One of the basic rules of the road is “drive to the right side of the road centre”. This would also apply to which side of the road you park on. Here’s the problem with facing the wrong direction while parked. Let’s say you’ve parked on the left side so your driver’s side was at the sidewalk. As you were parked, a larger vehicle or a vehicle with tinted windows parks right in front of you. Now you can’t see through it to know if someone is coming from the opposite direction. In order for you to see if someone is coming, you’ll have to move your vehicle halfway into the oncoming lane. What if the oncoming driver glanced away from your direction for a moment? Can you say “crunch”?
When I train new instructors, they constantly make comments about how drivers are parked. In my opinion, the riskiest parking is when drivers park on the wrong side on a busy street. Why are they doing it? I really can’t think of any good reason. Thinking like a driver has to come into play here, rather than doing things from habit. To be honest, it’s far quicker to park on the right side of the street and walk across the road and then walk back to your vehicle to drive away. This means you only need one direction of traffic to be clear to leave your parking space. Now, doesn’t that sound easier?
Let’s talk about parking in residential areas. How difficult is it to turn your vehicle around so you’re always facing the way you drive? When I park on the road I will turn my vehicle around so it faces the proper direction. How long do you think this takes me? Roughly 15 to 20 seconds to do the 3-point turn. Is it worth the risk of facing the wrong direction just to save 20 seconds? I didn’t think so.
There are always two sides to every story, but only one side of the street we should park on!
Seriously? You mean that there isn’t a special by-law in Hamilton that says: “Please park on the ‘wrong’ side of the street whenever possible”? Any time I’ve been in Hamilton, I have always been astounded to see the number of people that do this.
I was always under the impression that parking on the left side of a two-way street was against the law. Am I to gather from your post that it isn’t illegal – just ill-advised?
It falls under the city bi-laws. The traffic department doesn’t have the “parked on the wrong side of the road” listed on a parking ticket. It’s just a bad thing that has grown over the many years and generations of drivers in Hamilton.
I personally grew up in Hamilton and it was common to park on the wrong side of a residential area. I moved and people were weirded out when I did that and I told them it was ok. Then I got ticketed and found this post through Googling after trying to justify it. Interesting (and costly).
Thanks for reading. It’s truly a “Hamilton thing” and I haven’t really seen other areas allow this type of parking.
In the city I stay in, Thane, India, we have rules to park on a particular side of the road, depending on the date. If its an odd date (1,11,21 etc) we park on one designated side, marked by road signs.
And on the other side if it’s an even date (2,12,22 etc)..
I don’t remember who taught me, but I have always parked on the right side of the road. That’s the side you’re driving on, it just makes sense, doesn’t it?
I still don’t see how this is that bad. A large vehicle can park in front of you and block your sight no matter which direction you are facing. Also, if it’s considered “driving in the wrong lane” to just park, why isn’t turning left wrong?
If you have a large vehicle in front of you, but you’re parked on the right side of the street, you can still have clear visibility from oncoming traffic. If you’re parked on the left side of the street and have a large vehicle parked directly in front of you, you won’t see the oncoming traffic until you are directly in their path. If a large vehicle was behind you while parked on the right side of the street, you could still use your side mirror to see what was coming from behind before pulling out into traffic. Parking on the left side of the street on a two way street often leads to pulling out blindly into traffic.
I was driving down a residential road and a car was parked on the right side of the road.facing me I looked down for a split second. And hit this ford truck now that want to sue me and suspend my license ……. were they n the wrong. Should I have to pay
In Pennsylvania, a car on a two-way street must be parked so that its right wheels are six inches from the curb. Therefore, a car parked on the left side opposing traffic is illegally parked because its right wheels are clearly more than six inches from the curb. Beyond that, if you park opposing traffic on a two-way street it is a safety concern. You have to cross in front of opposing traffic to enter and to leave the parking spot.
Alas, I made an error above. In Pennsylvania, a parked car’s right wheels must be 12 inches from the right curb. Still, you cannot park on the left side of a two-way street and comply with this parking requirement.