People with driveways parking on the street

And where we used to live, a slightly different but annoying issue, our neighbours used to put cones out to stop anyone else parking there, like four cars wide. Didn't really bother us as we had a drive but drove others bonkers. People just used to move the cones. Conegate.

We're on a terraced street - our side has driveways the other doesn't. People are forever deciding to just park across our driveway and leaving their cars, and it's so irritating. I do sometimes leave the car out if I know I'll be going out again that day, as it's not worth the stress of having to go knocking on doors to get people to move (particularly as there are certain households that act like you've murdered their children when you just want to get your car out).

It's probably that.

Or for a few weeks last year we parked on the road as we had a loose tile on the roof that we were waiting to have fixed. Wasn't worth the risk.

But ultimately, they're not even being selfish for parking on the road. They have the EXACT same right to park there as anyone else does! It's a public road!

The only way to guarantee you have parking is if YOU buy a house with a parking space. If you choose not to, you can't complain about not having somewhere to park.

OP I am your neighbours metephorically speaking! I paved my drive and gave up half my garden to do this. I didnt mind as it was convinient for me to do this. It made space on the street and worked well for a week. The other neighbours blocked me in at every turn I spent most of my days going round to various houses asking them to let me out..sometimes they wouldnt answer the door,other times they huffed and puffed and made it seem like i was doing them a favour my life was not my own, I could not come and go when I needed to for the selfish,reckless fkers, After months of this I opened my gates and parked outside. I will not put my car away again. Now I inconvinience them as it was back to normal before I did the work...no one plays fair or is respectful or considerate and I was fed up with been shit on ..sick of being late through no fault of my own and begging and pleading for them to let me out ..no that doesn't work for me.

Sadly like others have said, nothing you can do. We have neighbours (we call them the Annoyington's and my child thought that was actually their name :D) who have SIX CARS and park them all the street. It's very annoying. But nothing we can do they aren't breaking the law. Watch like a hawk for when the go out an immediately park there!

People are weird about parking. You can’t leave them a note telling them to park on their driveway! They must avoid doing so for a reason and it’s none of your business.

years ago a neighbour of a friend of mine used to do that so when he came home one night with nowhere to park, he parked on their drive, they were not happy

I would be very wary doing this if it's a dropped kerb, as any passing policeman or traffic warden would give you a ticket and potentially even have you towed away. You can't even park across your own driveway if the kerb is dropped.

I understand, OP, we have fairly young next door neighbours with room for 3 cars on their drive. They had 2 but seem to have got a 3rd recently. Since the shiny new car arrived they have been parking one of the other two on the narrow bit of road outside our drive. We can still get out of our driveway but it is just so much harder than it needs to be.
I was away last weekend for a few days and since I have come home they have taken to parking the second car behind their first, making it doubly harder for us to get out.
We have had some problems with them since they moved in, as they have a husky dog they keep outside in all weathers and he is often barking. We have tried talking to them about that but they just ignore us really. The poor dog is lovely and I can calm him down from our side of the hedge just by speaking to him, so why they can't seem to calm him is beyond me.
I fear us asking them to move their cars onto their driveway will just cause a further deterioration in our relationship so I am tying myself in knots trying to get in and out of our drive.
My husband reckons one day he will snap and crash into one of them in his company car, I hope he is only joking! But it is very frustrating and while parking like the OP's neighbour and ours may be legal it is not helpful to the rest of the neighbours.

YABU. Your pregnancy and no driveway isn’t their problem / concern. They can park where they like - they pay their taxes so why shouldn’t the park (legally) on the road? Some suggestions on here are absolutely bonkers.

If you have to park three streets away, one couple using their driveway is not going to make a blind bit of difference.

I agree with you OP, my parents' neighbour is like this, although she does park on her driver overnight mostly.

Luckily it's a much bigger road so parking is not an issue like it is in a row of terraces, but during the day, if any one of us parks outside her house, she will always park outside my parents' house if it's free. It's like retaliation, even though her drive is empty 😂

I love in a road of terraces near a town centre. People grab every space they can in the road I live in because its the nearest one without parking restrictions.

I have a marked disabled bay but everyone parks in it as soon as I move my car!

Could you perhaps leave a note for your neighbour, saying you've noticed they don't use their drive, could you park your car there instead?

I’d be so envious of their lovely wide drive; would they loan it out? Only half joking - I’d be tempted to ask if I could borrow it when really desperate! Are they nice people??

One of my neighbours always has to have the same spot outside the house; he’s very cross if someone else is there!
I park wherever I can - just not in his spot 😉

It’s tough luck.

Even if they parked on their driveway, you’d be unlikely to get the space as parking is at a premium and someone else will nab it before you do.

There is likely a reason why they do this….they have had people park making it hard to get out if their drive way, or they have visitors or they find driving into the drive more tricky as they get older. It is ultimately their choice. You are both equally entitled to park outside your house or their house, as is anyone else. People with drives don’t have to use them.

Yes, in some ways it might be selfish, especially if there is t a reason why they can’t park on their own driveway. But owning a driveway gives them choices you simply dont have without one.

The idea about notes asking them not to, or if you can use their drive….no, don’t do this. They aren’t doing anything wrong. And action they might take can’t be guaranteed to benefit you, as the space on the road is public property and it might not be vacant for either of you. It really is first come, first served, and if they are first come, they get served, regardless of how much drive space.

It’s tough luck and one of the annoying things about living on a busy road without off road parking, where just a couple of people do have parking.

Another who would ask them (F2F) if I could park on their drive when I get in from work, as they don't seem to like using it.

I'd go over there and say I'd noticed they weren't using their drive and I wondered if they might consider renting it to me so I could park near my house because I'm finding it a bit difficult being heavily pregnant. No problem if not, I just thought it doesn't hurt to ask.

Its simply baffling that if nobody is blocking them in and that part of the road nobody parks there, then why are they not using their driveway. Yes its technically legal, but they need to think about their other neighbours without driveways and how busy the road is.

They obviously have some motivation for behaving the way they do.

After all most people want to park on their own drive for a variety of reasons.

I think you need to figure out what that motivation is.

Got some people like this down my road. They park over the sodding path despite having an big driveway with gates. I may have bumped my pram into their car a few times... <whistles>

They may have carers/cleaners/etc coming in.

And ..... it's none of your business.

They are parking legally. As are you.

But would I be unreasonable to put a note through their door asking them to possibly use their perfectly accessible driveway

Have you thought about writing a note asking if you could possibly 'rent' their driveway being as they don't use it?

I would speak to them rather than leave a note, as tone is hard to get right in a note.

I do these kinds of things (asking for people to do or not to do something) when I’m all suited and booted for work as people tend to be more receptive when I’m confident but reasonable.

Maybe they find it difficult getting off their drive with all the parked cars around.

Or maybe they had a medical emergency once and were blocked in.

I would do this. Why not knock on the door and say "hey I'm pregnant and I'm finding when I come back late at night I have to park several streets away and walk, would it be possible for me to park on your driveway?"

An old neighbour used to do this. Her drive was fairly narrow and she had simply lost her confidence in getting onto it.

She did kindly let me use her drive instead.

Could something like this be the reason?