Australia’s government has released a new transport climate policy. But it doesn’t deal with the problem of car bloat: the main driver of rising emissions.
I parked behind one yesterday. Dude backed up into my car during my brunch. He comes into the restaurant to fess up. I tell him I’m the owner. He was nice enough. All he did was put a square dent in my license plate and bent it. I told him it’s an old car and that it’s ok. But as we were walking to my car he said “you parked close behind me and I couldn’t see it as I backed up”. I had half a mind to make a remark about having a clean, lifted, truck that probably hasn’t hauled anything in 2 years, but I just shut up and let bygones be bygones.
Still, I hope that guy realizes having a 9ft truck isn’t worth the sweat every time he backs up. I have a Toyota Camry. Not the fanciest thing in the world. It’s 20 years old and I do most of the work on it. So I’m not phased by a dent in the license plate (and possible minor trauma to the bumper). But it’s the kind of car that a lot of people own. If he can’t see that, he probably should consider lowering his lifted truck. Or perhaps learning to look behind his car before he hops in and tries to exit a parking space.
People like that probably will never learn. They are buying an aesthetic, not a tool. It’s like buying a high caliber pistol, an expensive phone, or a McMansion. It’s not about having a tool. It’s about having a sense of visible identity.
Based on my long rant, I can tell I have not entirely “let bygones be bygones” despite shaking his hand and letting him drive away without a lick of shame.
The other day a jeep wrangler swiped my car in a parking lot and drove off. I wasn’t there but a kind bystander saw it and left their number and the offenders license plate. The damage wasn’t small, but also small enough for me to shrug off because it’s a 2014 golf wagon and in the end it’s just a car.
But the hit and run pissed me off enough that I reported it. The cops found the driver who will be ticketed now and their insurance will go up. If they fessed up I’d have let it slide.
At least your dude fessed up. And yes, they’d all have a much easier time parking if they chose a sensible car.
I parked behind one yesterday. Dude backed up into my car during my brunch. He comes into the restaurant to fess up. I tell him I’m the owner. He was nice enough. All he did was put a square dent in my license plate and bent it. I told him it’s an old car and that it’s ok. But as we were walking to my car he said “you parked close behind me and I couldn’t see it as I backed up”. I had half a mind to make a remark about having a clean, lifted, truck that probably hasn’t hauled anything in 2 years, but I just shut up and let bygones be bygones.
Still, I hope that guy realizes having a 9ft truck isn’t worth the sweat every time he backs up. I have a Toyota Camry. Not the fanciest thing in the world. It’s 20 years old and I do most of the work on it. So I’m not phased by a dent in the license plate (and possible minor trauma to the bumper). But it’s the kind of car that a lot of people own. If he can’t see that, he probably should consider lowering his lifted truck. Or perhaps learning to look behind his car before he hops in and tries to exit a parking space.
People like that probably will never learn. They are buying an aesthetic, not a tool. It’s like buying a high caliber pistol, an expensive phone, or a McMansion. It’s not about having a tool. It’s about having a sense of visible identity.
Based on my long rant, I can tell I have not entirely “let bygones be bygones” despite shaking his hand and letting him drive away without a lick of shame.
The other day a jeep wrangler swiped my car in a parking lot and drove off. I wasn’t there but a kind bystander saw it and left their number and the offenders license plate. The damage wasn’t small, but also small enough for me to shrug off because it’s a 2014 golf wagon and in the end it’s just a car.
But the hit and run pissed me off enough that I reported it. The cops found the driver who will be ticketed now and their insurance will go up. If they fessed up I’d have let it slide.
At least your dude fessed up. And yes, they’d all have a much easier time parking if they chose a sensible car.