Driving: Parking

• Try to center your car between whatever lines there are, be they parallel, diagonal, or perpendicular. (No, I don't mean center over a line, like some @$$wipe protecting his new dickmobile, er, sports car.) If you scooch over to the side, to give yourself more room to get out, you're taking that much space away from whoever parks on that side. Of course, if you're in the last legal space, or not centering is necessary because some bozo didn't center his car, okay.

• When parking in the last space in a row, and spaces are not marked off individually, it is very considerate to park as far over as you can. For example, if there is a "NO PARKING HERE TO CORNER" sign, park so that your bumper is just barely inside legal space. This leaves the maximum legal space available for everyone else to park in.

• Likewise, if there is a space large enough for multiple cars to park in safely, don't hog the middle of it! This is especially true when it's only big enough for two. You may have a slightly easier time maneuvering if you have over half a car's worth of space on each end, but you are selfishly depriving someone else of a parking space.

• In perpendicular or diagonal parking, when there is a legal space on the other side of the line in front of you, don't go over the line! You are depriving the person on the other end of that much space. Even better is to park at least several inches behind the line -- not to give them that room, but as a safety margin.

• On a related note, if you have a very small car, or are parked next to a very large car, don't pull in all that far. This leads to people who are cruising for a parking spot, thinking that your spot is open. Not only is this annoying, but in their haste to pull into it, they may hit your car.

• On the other claw, don't stick your back end out too far either! That can be unsafe too.

• Don't double park. 'Nuff said.