'What is parking?' Auckland motorist's blushes after parking blunder

Oops! This driver appears to have mistaken a speed bump for a parking space. Photo / Imgur

An Auckland motorist has been slammed for their parking blunder after mistaking a speed bump for a car park.

Images posted on social media on Monday show a car in the Britomart car park parking next to a speed bump and on top of a painted arrow that directs traffic on which direction to drive.

The car is parked right in the middle of the driving lane leaving other motorists struggling to navigate the parking building.

The post, which was captioned "When you can't be stuffed finding a carpark", attracted a number comments criticising the driver.

One person pointed out that the car was already dinged up and suggested the driver shouldn't be allowed on our roads.

The motorst can be seen parking in the middle of the driving lane in a Britomart carpark. Photo / Imgur

"That f**ked fender just makes it even better. This person should not be driving," they wrote.

"Pretty sure going by the arrow that is where you are supposed to drive," another said.

"Considering the lack of lines on the right, I don't think it's even a park."

An Auckland motorist has been left red-faced after a parking blunder in a Britomart carpark. Photo / Imgur

Others could sympathise with the motorist who parked in the wrong spot with some claiming it was an easy mistake.

"LOL bet they thought the speedbump was marking a parking spot, it does kinda resemble the parking stoppers," one sympathiser wrote.

"Eh I've seen worse, at least they're not diagonal."

The incidents comes just weeks after footage emerged of an angry stand-off in a US carpark when a woman ran to "save" a spot for her family while another couple was attempting to park.

As the driver begins to pull in, the woman is seen standing in the car park with her arms out wide, waving for the driver to get back while shouting, "I got here first".

Taken aback by the situation, the passenger in the car responds, shouting "Are you serious!" before the driver has a crack.

"You're not even in a car, woman!" he shouts at her.

The woman who is trying to save the car park for someone else stands her ground, pointing at other car parks available for the couple to park into.

Eventually the driver of the car relents and drives away, a response that Auckland Transport Regional Compliance Manager Rick Bidgood says was the right thing to do.

"We've come across it several times on the street with regards to people wanting a particular space outside a store and of course have witnessed a few very heated arguments," says Bidgood.

"Certainly we've seen a couple of instances where people have almost come to blows."

The incident comes just weeks after a US woman tried to save a carpark for her family by standing in an empty space and blocking another motorist. Photo / YouTube

Bidgood says the law doesn't allow members of the public to reserve a car park on the street by either standing in it or by using cones.

But when it comes to drivers insisting on their right to not have a park blocked by an individual, Bidgood urges caution.

"We certainly don't encourage people to jump in and put their arms out and say it's mine because you never know what a driver's response is going to be.

"At the same time demanding someone get out of a park is certainly not something I would actively engage in in any way – you've got to ask yourself is a poke in the nose worth a car park. I say not.

"Voice your opinion and if the other opinion is being voiced a little bit more sternly and loudly than yours, concede. There's always another car park."