AIBU to let guests/visitors to park across my own driveway??

[spancake]

We live on a quietish suburban street. We had a driveway put in a few years ago, which irritated our opposite neighbour, because she liked to park her car outside our house on our side of the road. She now parks outside her house on her side of the road, which makes it really difficult to get on and off our driveway sometimes, but we have always let it slide because we know she's an awkward character and we can do without the hassle. We just had a Sky engineer come to our house to fix the box, she was out so her car wasn't parked opposite, so quite reasonably, he parked the van on outside our house across our dropped curb. Whilst he was up a ladder, opposite neighbour pulls up in her car, parks outside her house (completely blocking the road) and tells the sky engineer that he needs to move his van because that's where she parks and he's blocking the road she has done this historically - just parked her car blocking the road if a guest has used our dropped curb, and gone in to her house without saying anything... AIBU to think that she doesn't get to say who can and can't park on my dropped curb, especially if she gets there afterwards and insists on parking in her normal spot. She does own her house and could in fact get a drive installed if parking was that much of an issue for her.

[Iggi999]

I don't think it's legal to park across a dropped kerb (though maybe it is) but it would certainly be legal for your visitors to park on the road outside your neighbour's house.

[ButterflyUpSoHigh]

You can't park over a dropped kerb. She doesn't have the right though to tell people where they can or cannot park.

[StillStayingClassySanDiego]

She was inconsiderate to park in such a way that makes it difficult for cars to get through.

It's your driveway, anyone you want can park across it if you're happy with it.

I hope your engineer ignored her and stayed where he had parked.

[Andrewofgg]

I often park across my own driveway if I am going out again soon to avoid reversing off. Nobody else's business. Neighbour is being absurd.

[Sunnymeg]

We have friends who parked over their own dropped kerb, whilst they moved a sit on mower out of their garage and on to the garden . They were ticketed by the police, contested the fine, but we're told they had broken the law and had to pay it.

[Musicaltheatremum]

I don't think you're supposed to block people in but lots of people where I am have drives and a second car and all park their second car across the drive.

[spancake]

No he moved and I was in the bath and dh didn't pull her up on it. She did it one time when my sister parked across our drive so my disabled niece didn't have too far to walk. I hate our neighbours, everyone on this street is so selfish and we are always the ones who are walked over just for a quiet life. I wish we could afford to move. I feel like we are being bullied in our own home. As I type this, the stench of skunk from next door smoking in the garden is coming in through my open kitchen window. I'm sick of it.

[gallicgirl]

Call your neighbourhood policing team then and report your neighbour.
We had a neighbour who smoked weed and the stench was nauseating. I felt I couldn't open windows.

[SoupDragon]

She now parks outside her house on her side of the road, which makes it really difficult to get on and off our driveway sometimes, but we have always let it slide because we know she's an awkward character and we can do without the hassle.

You haven't "let it slide" she has every right to park legally outside her own house.

No, she shouldn't park in such a way as to block the road but I think the laws over parking over a dropped kerb aren't clear cut.

[ShadowStar]

Is it really illegal to park across your own driveway??? Loads of people round where I live do that. Including the family where both parents are police officers.

Anyway, it's clearly unreasonable to park in such a way that the road is blocked completely, even if there's already a car parked where it shouldn't be.

[Lurkedforever1]

Yanbu. She sounds rude and legally street parking is a free for all, something she was happy to take advantage of when she was parking outside yours pre driveway.
But as a general rule, I think it's usually the neighbourly thing to make sure people can park outside their houses. Eg a few houses down guests often park across my front, (small cars not blocking view or drive etc) because I don't and nor do my guests usually, or round the corner without house fronts, rather than across the front of the closer houses because the occupants use them.

[Iggi999]

Really don't know about the driveways - but if a traffic warden saw me parked across your driveway surely they could ticket me, so how would it be ok for you or your visitors to park there? To me it's like claiming an extra space for yourself.

[spancake]

I would have thought that I can't really block myself from accessing the public highway though, because I could ask my guests to move or I could move my own car if I needed to get a different car out or whatever...

[contractor6]

Its illiegal to block even your own dropped curb. But he couldve parked in "her" spot across the road. We need education to tell people they don't own the parking in front of their houses...

[Mumoftwoyoungkids]

Every day is a school day on Mn! I never knew that you can't park over your own dropped kerb.

Anyway - the solution is that you tell people to park on her side of the street.

[overthemill]

The Traffic Management Act 2008 ( s86) regulates parking across all dropped kerbs even those outside a house rather than school etc. parking enforcement officers can issue fixed penalty notices - fines! There are some exceptions eg bin lorries but even Blue Badge holders cannot park across. The exception is the owner of the private house can give permission for vehicles to park and can park their own vehicles across the dropped kerb. Anyone parking across without permission ( which would be presumed for your own workman eg satellite installer) can be fined. All you do is call 101. Neighbours can't complain on your behalf.

[Icantbelieveitsnotbutter]

My neighbour does this! It drives me bonkers.

[spancake]

Oh man I'm not looking forward to that conversation she's a moron and accused the neighbours on my other next door side of being racist for parking outside her house once

[overthemill]

So you CAN park across your own dropped kerb thereby increasing your own parking spaces. Obviously

[Lurkedforever1]

I always thought with the blocking it was if you are blocking someone being able to get out, so someone you've given permission to wouldn't be stopping you.
Or with the dropped curb whether you are preventing a wheelchair user etc in a place they might wish to use. So if your dropped curb leads to the road bordered on the other side by no pavement and a solid fence, i.e something nobody could want to access then it's ok. Whereas opposite another dropped curb, an entrance etc they may need to use your dropped curb to access it's illegal.
Although I'm not saying that's correct just what I've always been led to believe.

[overthemill]

It's not illegal to park opposite a dropped kerb unless it has been specifically marked as such eg by double yellow lines. Loving the whole myth around parking laws! If you think that you couldn't get in/out of a drive with a car parked opposite in a normal road, how on earth do you get out if a parking space at tesco? It's not that difficult

[spancake]

We're straying off topic a little but it kind of depends on the purpose of the dropped kurb/kerb/curb is then in that case? As in this instance, it wouldn't be used for a wheelchair user as there is no dropped curb (however it's spelt) on the other side of the road to get off the road again so they would be stuck on the road. I think we have established that my neighbour is being unreasonable, I may give visitors permission to park on my dropped kerb (once in a blue moon I might add) and she is not being unreasonable parking across my drive on the other side of the road outside her house making it difficult for us to access our driveway nearly every day.

[spancake]

Overthemill it's a narrow road with steep grass verges and in her case, a taxi to the kurb would not be unreasonable.

[Sleepsoftly]

The road outside your neighbours house is mine. As much as it is anybody's. I can travel there today and park there and do it frequently if I want to.

[ShadowStar]

Thanks for that information about the Traffic Management Act overthemill