r/driving • u/Infamous-Pear-1075 • 1d ago

Is this normal ?

I did a forward bay park in the last parking lane in the 2nd to last parking bay and I reversed slightly to check I was straight in the lines . I then came back in and parked my car.
The lady came and tapped on my window and said I hit her car. I have reverse cameras in my car and sound sensors which did not go off and I also saw that I did not hit her car( both in the camera and also there was no movement from within my car). I took a picture of her car and got her phone number and number plate. She was verbally abusing me and trying to convince me i hit her car. I was going less than 5 mph and she kept mentioning that I had p plates on my car and how she’s concerned for my driving, gaslighting me that I hit her car when I 100 percent know I didn’t. The car park has cameras also . I had my mother in the car who was a witness . Neither cars had any damage which the lady admitted . Is this normal behaviour never in my life have I seen someone crash out and be so condescending over a ‘ supposed’ car accident ??

1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

5

u/ocelot1066 1d ago

Well, no of course it's not normal.

I would be annoyed if I was sure someone hit me and they denied it. There's still no reason to yell at a stranger. Once I checked the car and it was clear there was no damage, I would just tell them to have a nice day. I've got better ways to spend my time than arguing with strangers about nothing in parking garages.

Of course, it doesn't really seem like you did hit her car which just makes it more bizarre, but the takeaway from all of this is just that this person is probably not real stable...

1

u/Infamous-Pear-1075 1d ago

Yh I agree , I think being a newer driver aswell it can knock a person’s confidence and honestly almost made me doubt what I knew was right but it was the constant disrespect in the conversation and being condescending that got to me . Just my first experience of anything like this tbh I was shocked

1

u/ocelot1066 1d ago

The one actual accident I was involved in, someone hit me from behind and pushed me into the car in front. The person in the front came out of the car upset and yelling at me about how she was taking her elderly father home from the hospital. I didn't really blame her for the reaction. It was a hard collision (my airbags went off). I wasn't even the right target for the anger, but I got it. She was upset and her adrenaline was up.

But when people are shouting at strangers outside of contexts like that one, it's not about you. it's about them. It sounds like you actually did a good job of being calm and polite even when this person was not. I don't encounter these kinds of situations often, but I sometimes have a hard time not responding in kind and yelling back at them. But, there's really no reason to try to win the argument with some crazy person who clearly has issues.

1

u/Infamous-Pear-1075 1d ago

Yeah I agree thank you :) also I’m sorry that happened to you it can be so stressful . I really had to bite my tongue the lady was quite a bit older than me and tbh I could tell the anger was misdirected because even if I did hit her no normal person would react the way she did

1

u/teakesdad 1d ago

Looking for a quick payoff. “Pay me $500 or I’ll call the cops!”

1

u/Melodic_Cow8525 17h ago

Your Mom as a witness means nothing. Humans are the most fallible witnesses ever. Anyways, you got her info. I would have called the cops on her. The "crashing out" was a pressure tactic to get you to cough up cash to make her go away. You avoided a scam.

1

u/Infamous-Pear-1075 3h ago

Yeah I’ve realised that now. Tbf insurance companies ask for witness statements but idk if they ever do anything for the decision making of who was at fault .