Yet another parking rights thread

[clairewitchproject]

Yesterday I visited a primary school in my professional capacity. The staff car park was locked so I drove into a side street opposite the school. Usually I can park in a particular spot on this street not near any houses, but that spot was not available. I parked further down the road carefully avoiding all the drives, avoiding blocking the road as well. I was very surprised 30 mins later to be called out of my meeting with the message that I was blocking someone's driveway. I went out to find a grumpy man. He informed me that my parking was preventing him from parking outside his house. I expressed surprise as I had parked so carefully and thought I was not blocking anyone. It turned out that I had parked opposite this man's driveway. He could easily have turned in to his driveway and parked outside his house but he wanted to park on the road blocking his own driveway. If he had done so then my car being opposite would have made the road too narrow for cars to park. Instead, he had been forced to pull up some 4 metres down the road just outside his driveway. He was walking easily so I don't think mobility was an issue (and if it was, he could easily have parked on his drive directly outside his house). Because he had to park 4 metres from the spot he wanted, he walked 50 metres to the school, made a complaint and had me pulled out of a meeting with the message that I was blocking his driveway. The school staff later told me that he often comes over to complain. Whilst I understand it must be tiresome to live on a street where you get casual parking, aibu to think I was perfectly legally parked and this guy was a cock?

[Samcro]

maybe he gets a lot of parents parking there

[ginmakesitallok]

He was an arse. I hope you didn't move your car?

[AnyoneForTennis]

I hope you laughed at him and didn't move?

[hiddenhome]

People don't own the road outside of their houses so he was wrong to demand you move your car.

[wanttosqueezeyou]

He's ridiculous.

[cozietoesie]

People can become stupidly territorial about the little bit of public street outside their house - it's as if they have an inalienable right to have that for themselves.

I hope you didn't move your car?

[Pipbin]

Nope, he's a bellend.

[FuckingLiability]

Oh, for god's sake.

You can park on any road you like that doesn't have parking restrictions and you're not blocking a driveway. Ignore anyone who tells you otherwise. He was just being a twat.

[mandy214]

Going against the grain here but parking is a huge issue near our school and lots of thoughtless / rushing parents do park carelessly and end up blocking drives. He might have wanted to block his own drive so that no one else did later and he could / his wife / grown up child could use the drive later (if he moved the car) rather than have someone else block it.

Possibly eccentric / unreasonable but possibly just peed off with parents (usually) who don't give a damn who they inconvenience.

[clairewitchproject]

I did move the car, because I needed to get back to the meeting I had been ridiculously pulled from and I didn't have time to stand and argue. However I called him a number of names in my head. I am not, sadly, Mumsnet assertive. Wish I was!

[youareallbonkers]

How did he know where you were?

[clairewitchproject]

I guess as Mandy said quite a few people visiting the school park there. I'm sure he is the kind of guy who would know who every car on the street belongs to, and as I said the school staff said he regularly comes over to get people to move their cars from where I was (is opposite his house). I lived for years on a road near the shops and shoppers parked there all the time; it was a daily occurrence not to be able to park outside your house. It was a good day if you were within 20 metres. But I just lived with it because, well, I could see the shops were there when I bought the house.

[Sparklingbrook]

People who live near schools can be a bit weird about parking. years ago at Primary in a village most of the residents had cones all over the place, and handpainted 'No turning' signs on their drives. Some would do the 'death stare' at anyone that parked outside their house, hands on hips in their front window.

But I expect there were asshole parents who reversed up their drives and squished their plants, and showed no consideration etc


In your case OP I just think he's a bit of a serial complainer and you were very nice to move the car because you didn't have to.

[grannytomine]

Parents can be incredibly rude and inconsiderate which makes people very anti. We have just had yellow lines round our local school. The parents weren't happy but they brought it on themselves. We had longterm problems, in our small cul de sac we would get blocked in for about 40 mins every afternoon, my neighbour came out one day and found someone had parked on her front lawn and when she complained they were rude and swore at her. Lovely example to their children.

This doesn't excuse his rudeness but it might help explain it.