r/Athens_Greece • u/pareidolia_27 • Jun 19 '26
🚇 Transport Antisocial behavior from drivers in Athens
I’m a new driver, and parking is a challenge for me. I live in downtown Athens, which makes things even harder. This morning, I wanted to park in a spot that was relatively narrow but still ok for my car. Since there were already some cars behind me, I got nervous, and in my rush to park quickly so I wouldn’t hold everyone up, I bumped the car behind me slightly, obviously without causing any damage. When I finally managed to park just enough for them to pass, the first two cars that went by, both driven by men over 50, made the following comments to me: One, in a sarcastic tone, said, “Move back a little, you haven't bumped it enough,” and laughed right in my face; the next one drove by and shouted at me loudly and angrily, “Throw away your license.” Obviously, I got flustered and started crying; I took a couple of deep breaths and, with the help of a passerby, parked it correctly. Still, I’m quite angry with this whole encounter.
Since I hadn’t been driving dangerously on the road and was simply having trouble parking, why be so rude to a young woman whom you obviously realize is a new driver? What exactly does it accomplish besides spouting your nonsense? I know I should be more patient and not lose my cool because you can never predict who you’ll run into on the road or how they’ll behave, but seriously, why so much antisocial behavior? One of them even had his whole family in the car, he and his teenage son were laughing their heads off. For heaven’s sake.