History Main / ParkingProblems

[[caption-width-right:350: I get that parallel parking can be tough, but ''perpendicular''?.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Perpendicular Parking]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Perpendicular Parking.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Redefining parallel parking.]]

This may result in any number of consequences for the driver, such as receiving a ticket, their car being towed, or finding a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_clamp clamp]] applied to their tire. ObstructiveBureaucracy may be encountered as the driver attempts to pay their ticket or retrieve their car.

** In "Fear Her", Ten parks the TARDIS with the door facing a wall, leaving him and Rose unable to exit. He has to take off and re-park, this time having turned the TARDIS 90 degrees.

* There's a Mentos commercial where some jerk pulls into an open parking spot right when Our Heroine wants to leave, sandwiching her in. Cue a Mentos, and a Bright Idea: she recruits the help of some beefy construction workers to pick up her car and ease it out.

** In another Archie comic, Moose complains about the parking situation, saying it took an hour to get his compact car out of a certain lot. When told that isn't so bad (seriously?), he says that it ''wasn't'' a compact car when he'd parked it.

* In ''{{Blondie}}'', Dagwood parks his car to go pay for a parking ticket where he is pushed around by ObstructiveBureaucracy telling him to go from office to office. When he finally gets to pay his parking ticket, he spots an officer in front of his car writing him a ticket as he had parked in a 20-minute zone.

* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': While Miss Brooks has had trouble parking off and on through the series, "Trial by Jury" features a truly EpicFail. She leaves her car parked on a hill, another driver bumps her car forward. The parking brake is released, and her car rushes downhill and crashes into a fruit stand. Miss Brooks returns just in time to get the blame.

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* The ''Music/FlandersAndSwann'' song "Parking the Car" is about this. "You feel like Noah in the ark/Afloat o'er what is now Iraq/Trying to find/A place to park."

* The ''Creator/Flanders&Swann'' song "Parking the Car" is about this. "You feel like Noah in the ark/Afloat o'er what is now Iraq/Trying to find/A place to park."

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'': A cop is writing a traffic ticket for a car parked by a fire hydrant. A monster eats/destroys the offending car and the officer picks up the fire hydrant, drops it by another car and sticks the ticket to the windshield.

* ''SpongebobSquarepants'': A cop is writing a traffic ticket for a car parked by a fire hydrant. A monster eats/destroys the offending car and the officer picks up the fire hydrant, drops it by another car and sticks the ticket to the windshield.

This may result in any number of consequences for the driver, such as receiving a ticket, their car being towed, or finding a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_clamp/ clamp]] applied to their tire. ObstructiveBureaucracy may be encountered as the driver attempts to pay their ticket or retrieve their car.

** In another episode Homer's car gets booted after Barney borrows it and parks it illegally at the World Trade Centre. The enforcement officer sent to remove the boot and collect the fine doesn't show up on time, so Homer enters one of the buildings to use the washroom. The officer arrives just as he reaches the top of one of the towers, and leaves when Homer isn't there. [[spoiler:Frustrated, Homer drives the car home with the boot still attached.]]

Sometimes, RockstarParking is unavailable to a character. If this is the case, they'll have to make do with whatever space is available. Sometimes, a space is available but they are unable to maneuver their vehicle into it. Sometimes, a character just ''sucks at parking.''

Compare ParallelParking. Contrast ImprobableParkingSkills. Can lead to ParkingPayback.

* In one ''[[ArchieComics Archie]]'' comic, Archie and his friends find that they have been boxed in by an inconsiderate driver and are unable to pull out. Moose arrives and offers to lift the front end of their car up and point it towards the road. Having done so, the gang thanks him... and he gets into the car in front of them and drives off!

* When we first see Mahoney in the first ''PoliceAcademy'', he's working as a parking attendant. An obnoxious customer insists that he find a parking space even though Mahoney points out there are no more spaces. His boss sides with the customer, so he does it anyway...by tilting the car onto its side wheels and parking between two other cars. (Yes, it does look something like the page image.)

* ''ParkingWars'': the whole point of the show, which follows parking enforcement officers as they write tickets and apply tire clamps.

* ''MalcolmInTheMiddle:'' Francis gets 16 parking tickets in Lois' van, causing Lois to be arrested after she is pulled over for a traffic violation.

* The video for the FooFighters' "Big Me" parodies the Mentos commercial mentioned above, with the band members acting as the construction workers.

* ''TheSimpsons'': Homer tries to park the family's station wagon in a stall marked COMPACT ONLY against his passengers' advice. He squeezes the vehicle in, [[WatchThePaintJob grinding both sides of the station wagon against the parked vehicles on either side]] and asks Marge in the passenger seat: "How am I doing on your side?"
* In ''JohnnyTest'', the twins' van is towed for being parked in front of a fire hydrant.
* ''{{Megas XLR}}'': While his back is turned, Coop's titular giant robot gets booted and towed for illegal parking.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=052S1yg-zR0#t=0m20s This police officer]] parked by a fire hydrant... and then the [[HilarityEnsues fire department needed to access the hydrant]].

* In {{Film/Snatch}}, Tyrone claims a parking spot is too tight when there's only one other vehicle on the whole block. Naturally, when the others convince him to park there, he crashes into that vehicle, leading to one of the funniest exchanges in the movie:

* In the beginning of ''GoodFellas'', Henry cites being able to double park in front of fire hydrants as one of the cool things about being a gangster.

* ''ParkingWars'': the whole point of the show.

* The video for the FooFighters' "Big Me" parodies commercials for Mentos, including the one mentioned above. In this version, the band members act as the construction workers.