The result? A scalped U-Haul roof, a completely gridlocked garage, and dozens of drivers trapped behind one man's optimism. If you've ever been stuck in a parking structure behind someone who can't find their ticket, imagine that times a hundred, but with the added bonus of metal scraping concrete overhead.

As one local put it, "He should try letting some air out of the tires." Honestly, not the worst idea at that point.

Look, we've all had our moments of questionable judgment behind the wheel. But there's a difference between missing a turn and trying to thread a 9-foot box truck through a structure designed for sedans. At some point, personal responsibility has to kick in — and ideally before you've created a multi-vehicle hostage situation in a downtown parking garage.

What makes this feel especially San Francisco is the sheer volume of infrastructure chaos we already deal with on a daily basis. Between Muni delays, construction lane closures, and the occasional Waymo having an existential crisis in an intersection, our roads are already operating on a razor-thin margin of functionality. We don't need freelance demolition derbies in parking garages adding to the mix.

The broader lesson here — one this city's leaders could stand to internalize — is that systems work best when people bear the consequences of their own bad decisions, not when everyone else has to sit in traffic paying for them. The U-Haul driver presumably walked away with a damage bill and a story he'll never live down. The rest of the garage? They just lost an hour of their lives they'll never get back.

No word yet on whether the garage itself sustained damage or who's footing that bill. But if you're planning a move in San Francisco anytime soon, maybe just spring for the smaller van.