I was fuming when a family-of-5 stood in my parking spot to reserve it – cops said they were violating little-known rule
A frustrated driver has revealed a situation which apparently required police intervention after a family of five stood in a car park trying to reserve a spot.
The car owner took to social media to post the scenario recorded in front of the Newport Beach Pier in Southern California.
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“An entire family stood in a public parking lot to reserve a spot for their friend or family member,” TikToker Niccoice (@niccoice) wrote in the caption of a recent video.
In the clip, the influencer could be seen attempting to enter the area while at least five family members were standing, allegedly reserving it for another member with a soon-to-arrive vehicle.
One of the family members approached the driver and explained that the group was not allowed to stand at a spot to reserve it.
“I just called the sheriff’s department,” she was heard telling the family.
“They send an official here and explain the rules to you.”
The angry car owner then got out to confront the family after they claimed other groups were doing the same thing to reserve seats.
“They’re no better than us,” said a woman in the group.
The driver replied: “You’re taking away other people’s stalls.”
“First come first serve.”
As the arguments continued, other drivers also became involved in the situation.
Someone drove by in a gray SUV and criticized the TikToker for stopping and confronting the family standing at the spot, noting that they didn’t own the beach.
The influencer reiterated the rules in place in the area and the driver responded that he was holding up traffic by stopping to confront the family.
Another viewer asked the TikToker, “If you were with your family, wouldn’t you do this for your own family?”
They replied, “Being unfair to others? No, that’s not how it works.”
The video ended shortly after, but according to another description in Niccoice’s caption, police officers arrived and informed the family that they had to leave due to a little-known law.
“The Newport Beach Police Department was called and an officer was dispatched. When the officer arrived, he informed the family that they were not allowed to do this because it was against municipal code,” the TikToker wrote.
They claimed they stopped the video recording when police arrived at the scene.
“I stopped recording when the officer arrived. We hope our actions will prevent this family from doing this again,” they said.
Most comments on the clip supported the driver’s actions.
“Good job, sir! They were very clear and polite,” one person said.
“Thanks for standing up!!” another exclaimed.
A third added: “I’m glad you’re doing this… people need to start getting fines for standing in car parks… this is ridiculous.”[s].”
The US Sun has reached out to the Newport Beach Police Department for further comment on similar situations.
For more information on parking rules and fines, check out The US Sun’s coverage of a driver battling a $60 fine for “border crossing” after allegedly being “tricked.”
The US Sun also reports on a car owner who is involved in a parking dispute over his own driveway.
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