From a bird's-eye view, parking lots near large stores and malls look like the most peaceful places in the world. Hundreds of cars peacefully await their owners, and nothing terrible seems to be happening... But let’s come closer to ground level, and the parking lot almost inevitably becomes an arena for numerous dramas.
For example, the user u/Internal_Researcher8, the narrator of the story we're about to tell you today, simply didn't expect that while letting an elderly lady's car pass so he could then move out, he would suddenly be attacked by an aggressive stranger. But well, let's just take the story one step at a time.
More info: Reddit
Parking lots can be really unsafe places for people, so here's another story of such an unexpected encounter
Image credits: Michael Fousert / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
The author of the post was once sitting in his car, waiting for an elderly lady to back out from her parking space near a big store
Image credits: Internal_Researcher8
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Some random young dude started shouting at the author to move too so that he could drive out
Image credits: Internal_Researcher8
Image credits: @donireland6218 / Youtube
The author kept calm, so the guy grabbed a shopping cart and started ramming the author's car door with it
Image credits: Internal_Researcher8
Image credits: Kindel Media / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Police arrived soon after and detained the violator, especially since there were many witnesses around
Image credits: Internal_Researcher8
So the impatient guy ended up getting fined $1.8K and spending a night in a county jail
The original poster (OP) recalls how he was once sitting in his car in a store parking lot, waiting for an elderly lady to back out so he could move too. His car was parked next to another car, belonging to some young man who was clearly angry that he couldn't get out right then and there. He started honking at the author, but he just indicated he was waiting for the exit to clear.
What would almost any driver probably do in this situation? Maybe calmly wait for the elderly lady and the other man to clear the way and then go about their business. What did this guy do? He jumped out of his car and started banging on the window of the OP’s vehicle, clearly trying to force him to move. Well, to no avail.
Then the enraged driver grabbed a free shopping cart and started ramming it into the author's car door. The OP took this quite calmly - he had a dashcam in his car, and several folks around were already filming the incident on their phones. So our hero simply called the police and decided to wait for them to arrive.
When the cops arrived, they immediately handcuffed the offender. He tried to dismiss the whole incident as some kind of "racist thing," but with so many witnesses, it looked like a lost cause. And so it happened - the guy was charged with felony vandalism but then pleaded down to criminal mischief. As a result, this emotional outburst cost him $1.8K and a night in a county jail, the author recalls.
Image credits: Erik Mclean / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
In fact, parking lots are actually among the most unsafe places in the entire country, according to statistical data. For example, ECAM claims that more than 600 violent acts are committed in parking lots every week, and FBI data shows that they are the third-largest crime location, with around 25% of all illegal actions committed there.
The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics cites even more alarming data: nationwide, more than 2 million crimes occur in parking lots annually - in other words, every 15 seconds, something bad is committed there. Well, these are only the recorded cases - there are also situations with no witnesses to the incident, or they prefer just to distance themselves.
But why do people sometimes become so aggressive behind the wheel and around the car? Many experts believe the issue is actually a change in the level of social distance between drivers. In fact, when you're separated from other people by a wall of metal and glass, you may simply perceive social interactions quite differently.
"There's a level of social distance that exists while you're driving that makes it easier for people to react that way," CBC quotes Ryan Martin, a professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. "It becomes much easier for you to react with aggression." It's quite possible that something similar happened in the case we described.
People in the comments simply expressed joy that everything ended well for the OP and that elderly lady, and that the offender finally received his punishment. "That guy was clearly unhinged. Good on you for proceeding with prosecution," one of the respondents added wisely. So now we'd like to know your own opinion about this story too, so please feel free to leave your comments here.
Parking lots are, in fact, quite dangerous places, so the many commenters just praised the author for keeping calm and staying safe here
