AIBU to refuse moving my son's car from a public road?

I would certainly like to see a ban on parking vehicles over a certain size - 4x4's vans, pick ups, caravans etc on the road overnight without a permit

Play Musical Cars at 3.30 am

Better still if they are diesels

Do your neighbours 1) have a drive that they park on themselves and they’re asking you to keep a space free just for their visitors or do they 2) usually park in front of their house & your son is effectively nicking their parking space ? . If the former they ABU if it’s the latter they ANBU !
Theres social etiquette (no 2) and there’s being ridiculously entitled ( no. 1)

Unless you’re blocking their actual drive they can quit whining

God this really winds me up, people seem to think they can "claim" the road around their house. It's public! Any old person from anywhere is able to park on it, your son could move his car and someone random could park there anyway.
We have similar with a man across the street insisting it's an "eye sore" to see any cars outside of his windows, he repeatedly messages if he can see any car street parking, despite the fact the road has no yellow lines and the row of cottages were built in the 1700s when garages and driveways weren't high on the list of requirements for a 2 up, 2 down. His house is brand new and has a driveway and he "wants to be able to see the historic high street, not a load of parked cars".
Whatever the reason, no, nobody can claim a chunk of road near their home. First come first served.
The only time I would disagree is if it was an elderly, disabled or otherwise vulnerable/higher need person that lived there and life would be dangerous or hard for them (e.g. if it's rows of terraced housing and they'd like the spot right next to their house for safety and ease).

I have no advice, other than to maybe spread your on street parking around a bit if you want to keep the peace. But they can’t claim it as their own.

What boggles my mind is how much neighbourhood tension and fights are caused by cars and parking. We’ve created a car dependent society and this is one of the many unintended consequences. There are simply too many cars… because 3,4,5 car households have become the norm. Very few homes in the UK even have a driveway or a garage, and if they do, it’s usually just got space for one, maybe two cars. This is going to keep happening unless something drastic changes.

I think it’s helpful to realise that by not storing your own cars on your own property, you’re a part of the overall problem, and to mitigate your own impact on others as much as possible. I don’t mean this in an unkind or judgmental way at all. It’s an issue that is widespread. Just ask your son to park a little down the road on a neighbouring street occasionally if you want to keep the peace.

I had this problem with 1 very aggressive neighbour (who I later learned has caused a lot of other locals problems).

I moved my car further along the road and found it keyed all along the door the following morning.

This is true tbh. And I thought everyone knew the law about the diagram!

Well I'd like to assume that but there are plenty of people around with no common sense. And op hasn't provided a diagram.

Two neighbours opposite us park on the road. Both have useable drives, and only 1 car each, but park on the road to stop other people parking outside their house!

It makes getting into our drive harder because they're both taking up a lot of the road space needed to make the manoeuvre. I also don't understand the difference of their car being outside or someone else's being there! They're looking at a car either way.

It’s a public road so I’d leave it there. If they’re bothered then they can convert the front to a drive?! Bit petty of them to block 4 parking spaces!

It’s a public street and just because it is outside their home does not mean they dictate who uses it and when. Sod that.

That would depend on the parking restrictions in question. On many residential roads with restrictions, residents with parking permits can park anywhere on that road as long as they are displaying their permit appropriately. Visitors - perhaps only during designated hours or if the neighbours choose to pay extra for a visitor permit?

I have never seen a permit system that gives visitors priority over residents of that street if they happen to be visiting the house right next to where they have parked. Where is this system in operation, exactly?

So does that mean that people with no parking spaces outside their own houses can't even own one car - or are being CFs if they do?

OP's neighbours are very lucky to have so much public space frequently available right outside their house; many people live in flats and on roads with double yellows, crossings, zig zags and similar and can't ever park outside their own doors.

That will depend on the parking restrictions though won't it?

Maybe at 3am get your cars off the drive, leave them running while you then move son's car onto the drive, if other neighbours complain explain you're only following instructions from the moany neighbour.

Intrigued as to why you think they have more of a right to a space on a public road than anyone else?

When parking restrictions come in, I won't be ,OP has enough parking space on their own land so they won't want the expense to pay for parking as well- this kind of anti social behaviour is what causes parking restrictions, so congratulation on being "right".

such a shame that you are wrong

And if that doesn't appease them buy a £200 ratty caravan on Facebook and park it outside their house for a few months.

As it sounds like they'd just not waiting you to park outside their house rather than actually needing the space next time I would say something like "sorry we can't keep moving the cars like this, however if you are having a party or something and need more spaces we can look at it at the time"