Why would a bike rack on a parked car be unsafe?

The only danger I can think of is that it could get stolen, but a new danger has been revealed: You have at least one whack-job neighbor.

Do a lot of kids play in the parking lot—on skateboards or bicycles? Otherwise I think the neighbor is out of line.

Tell whoever the supercilious fool is to rack off.There is no imminent danger inherent here.It appears that some have very little to do with their lives.

After looking at the linked photo, I can actually see how the bike rack as mounted can hurt some unattentive person walking past your car and not seeing the bars sticking out, especially on a dark night. You never know when somebody intoxicated just tries to walk around your car and gets stuck on it.

If it’s a dark color, someone could walk past it when it’s poking out and hit their chin. I meant shin, then I looked at your photo and maybe I did mean chin! People will sue for anything. we had a resident in our apartments try to sue us because they tripped over the bumper stop in the parking lot.
We had a very old man trip over a speed bump when he was shuffling with his laundry basket to the laundry room. The last I heard, our insurance had paid over $30,000 in medical expenses for him.
Another person twisted their ankle when they fell off the sidewalk onto the grass. It was somehow our fault that the planted their foot half way between the sidewalk and the grass instead of firmly on the sidewalk?
Just because they don’t have a case doesn’t mean a lawsuit won’t be costly.
I would put a red flag on it. Something like this could be fun. Just in case they are setting you up to sue you.

“What could that person possibly mean?” It means, “Hey, you kids, get off my lawn!!”

Maybe you could back into the space, putting the rack against the wall.

@nikipedia Am I under a neighborly obligation to accede to this request?

Whether neighborly or not, knowing now what may possibly happen, if I were you I would make the effort to take off the rack or fold it out of the way if at all possible.

Park somewhere else where you are not so apt to hurt anyone with your selfish need to leave your bike rack affixed to your car all night long…

I think @davidbetterman IS your neighbor!

@nikipedia: If the car and rack fit into the marked space I would just ignore it. (You might consider recording your car in the event it is vandalized). If your bike rack is dangerous then just about everything is dangerous.

@Judi Wishful thinking!!!

@gasman: Huh. Possibly, but I’ve never seen them there. Even if they were, I don’t think the parking lot is a great place for kids to play?

I’m the biggest liberal socialist pinko commie sap in the world and even I feel like this one calls for the “personal responsibility” card. If you can’t avoid walking into a bike rack… ugh.

Anyway I left a note on the original note saying I wasn’t clear on how it posed a threat with contact information in case the offended party wanted to discuss further.

What a strange neighbor! I don’t get it at all!

Maybe what @njnyjobs said, but I think even that is a stretch. I agree with @malevolentbutticklish – if it fits in the stall lines, you’re fine. If it sticks out, maybe you could reverse into the stall if that makes a difference. I certainly wouldn’t want to take it off and on if I used it often.

I agree. Walking into a bike rack would be like walking into a telephone pole or structural building column…. Oh. I’ve seen people do that before….

Leaving a note w/ contact info – what a nice neighbor you are! I probably would have incinerated the note and forgot about it :/

@nikipedia

”I don’t think the parking lot is a great place for kids to play?”

Nonetheless, they do play there, and your bike rack may be far more dangerous than you believe.
Just back it in if there is a wall behind you.

@davidbetterman: On what data are you basing your statement that children play in my parking lot?

On the data that children play in all parking lots, especially those at apartment complexes with shared parking.

@davidbetterman: Have you considered children playing in the parking lot and NOT the bike rack is the true problem?

Perhaps. But you can do something about the bilke rack, and not about the playing children.
Why are you being so hard-headed about this? Is it really that hard to park differently or to remove the dangerous rack?

Oh, It’s just you malevollent buttlicker…I thought yours was a real question.

@nikipedia why bother ask this question, if after valid answers and suggestions have been provided, you would repudiate them and insist on your biggest liberal socialist pinko commie sap mentality, to the extent of posing the same challenge to the neighbor who left the note?

@njnyjobs: I have asked questions because there may have been something I wasn’t thinking of but after hearing the answers I became more sure of my original assessment. Consider the question the girl asked about if “marble’s weight” was incorrect because Word underlined it. Turns out she was right but there was still a reason to ask the question.

@njnyjobs: Because it seemed so absurd to me that someone would ask me to remove a bike rack for no good reason that I could think of that I thought surely some other reason might exist.

Notice my question asked for potential reasons the bike rack would be unsafe. This is what I was looking for. I have yet to hear a valid reason the bike rack poses a real threat.

Suppose someone had answered, “There was recently a recall on trunk-mounted bike racks because they have been known to emit toxic radiation when left out in the sun.” In that case, I would have been grateful for the information and gladly removed said bike rack.

Also, not to be difficult, but the “personal responsibility” mentality is actually in contradiction with my liberal pinko commie sap nature.

@malevolentbutticklish why are you replying to me? Did I question you? Have you lost your marbles?

@nikipedia it may be true that the note writer did not provide any good reason why it is unsafe to leave the bike rack on, but now, reasons have been provided to you because you asked here.

And @davidbetterman for what it’s worth, I never thought I would agree with @malevolentbutticklish (who has never seemed like anything other than a troll), but I’d like to point out that you are the one insisting that you know more about my neighborhood than I do and suggesting that I inconvenience myself because some idiot might be too incompetent not to walk into a stationery object. Who’s the troll here?

Apparently you are, niki. if you really think there are no children playing around your vehicle, and/or you really think someone complaining about your unsafe bike rack is just crying wolf, why..you are the troll.

The neighbour is correct of course. It appears to have some sharp bits on it. A person trying to steal it might hurt themselves.

Not to be contrarian, here, and I hate passive-aggressive notes, but I can see the neighbor’s point.

The bike rack is dark. It extends beyond the end of the car. At night, if I were walking, I wouldn’t think to look for it and would probably get clocked. Then I’d be annoyed.

It’s not so much that it’s a horribly dangerous—but when you’re walking around you have a general sense about the size of the car—and that rack changes the car’s gestalt.

What about just backing in to your spot? Problem solved. Or, get some glow tape or reflective tape and put it on the end of the prongies.

@nikipedia – sincerely applaud asking the neighbor to talk with you more. It’s possible that they actually know something you’d be safer knowing too; hard to interpret tone of voice from a note. And meanwhile, backing into your parking space? Quick solution?

@andrew: “prongies” lol

It’s a little hard to describe, but I’m not sure backing in would solve the problem—then the “prongies” (I agree this is excellent terminology) would extend over a grassy walking area.

But reflective tape might just do the trick. I like it.

…or a pair of those reflective cones. . . snatch a couple from a sporting goods store.

@DarkScribe: “A person trying to steal it might hurt themselves.” <== This is the best answer I have heard in a long time! It says so much about the state we have come to in our efforts to create Nerf-world.

@andrew Why would you be walking so close to her car at night in the first place?