Woman blasted online for ‘disgraceful’ car park act at children’s rugby game

“I have never seen something like that in my life before,” the shocked mum said.

3 min read

September 2, 2024 - 9:02AM

Mum fined for parking in her own driveway

Family Life

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A woman has been lambasted online for trying to reserve a parking space for a mum who was late to her child’s rugby game.

Another mum, who was driving her child to a rugby match in Nelson’s Neale Park, New Zealand, was trying to find a parking space for 10 minutes when she saw a woman standing in an empty car space.

Surrounding her were other cars, desperately trying to reason with the woman to move out of the way. But she wasn’t backing down.

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The woman was reserving a car space for another mum who was late to her son's rugby game. Picture: NZ Herald

"This lady was standing there pretending to be a vehicle"

The incident was filmed by a mother who recalled “desperately” seeking a parking spot so she could drop her son off at a rugby game.

It was there that she saw the woman standing in a car space, “reserving” the space and refusing to give it up for anyone.

“This lady was standing there pretending to be a vehicle; I stopped and asked her if I can park where she’s standing, and she ignored me,” she told the NZ Herald.

Next to the woman were two men who were trying to reason with her and get her to move out of the way; a woman in another car stopped near the space and began shouting, causing a line of traffic to form behind.

“You can’t stand here,” the man told the woman, who placed her hands in her pockets and turned her back, blatantly ignoring him.

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“This is unacceptable, and the amount of people she ignored before me,” the mum who filmed the debacle said. “There were heaps of people driving past her.”

It turns out the woman was reserving the space for another mum who was late to her child’s game, unaware that she was simultaneously causing other parents to be late at the same time.

There was a bit of back-and-forth between the woman and the bystanders, who were urging her to move and make way for people who needed to park - but she wasn’t moving. According to the mum who filmed the incident, the onlookers “almost pushed her to the side”.

“I have never seen something like that in my life before,” she said.

It wasn’t until another woman in a nearby vehicle encouraged the mum in the car to park that the woman walked away.

The woman caused a traffic jam. Picture: NZ Herald

“First in, first served”

Online, the woman was blasted for her blatant disregard for others, with some labelling her act as “disgraceful”.

“I thought we were better at showing our children how to treat our ageing population with basic human decency,” read a comment.

“I'd just edge forward until I'm all the way in the park,” said another. “If you ain't a car or in a car, you've got no business being in the car park.”

“I would just drive towards her; she’ll move,” a third agreed. “First in, first served. Get outta my way, lady!”

As it turns out, the women’s act wasn’t just rude and disrespectful to others, but it’s also illegal. In Australia, pedestrians “must not cause a traffic hazard by moving into the path of a driver” or “unreasonably obstruct the path of any driver”.

While there are no “specific guidelines” that prohibit reserving a car park by standing in it in NSW, a spokesperson for Transport NSW told Drive that “police are able to regulate motorist activity in our public car parks as these sites are NSW Government property”.

In Queensland, pedestrians who create an “unreasonable obstruction” will cop a fine of $154, and those in Victoria will have to fork out $192. Pedestrians who breach the road rule in SA will incur a $57 fine and a $99 crime levy.