Important parking-related question.

[noblegiraffe]

Our driveway fits two cars on it, one after the other.

DS was being given a lift and asked which car he should get in. To make it easy logistically, I said 'whichever is at the back'. Meaning: whichever is closest to the road, the one that was driven in last.

DH said 'that doesn't make any sense, the one nearest the road is at the front'. It will be driven out first.

So I countered with 'I drove in behind you, I'm at the back'.

And he said 'If you'd reversed in, you'd be in front'.

How the hell am I supposed to tell DS which car to get in from its position?

Because this was a scenario where I didn't care which specific car he got into, so long as it was the one nearest the road so I didn't need to move the other car to get out.

So I said 'get in the one at the back'.

And DH said 'that's the one at the front'

hence this thread.

I say the one on the end.

Someone said 'how old is your DS' as if which car he should get into is something he should be able to figure out by himself.

So I was explaining that sometimes he would not be getting into the car nearest to the road. However, in this scenario, he would be. So I was telling him that.

Are they not both on the end?

I'm with DH. The car nearest the road is at the front of the queue to get out.

A real non issue!

doesn’t he get in the only one he can? The unlocked one?

And if it’s the wrong one, can’t he just get in the right one?

No, I don’t think so not the way we talk about our drive. As if I was putting the bin out or something out for the scrap man I would put it on the end of the drive, which is nearest the road.
So, according to the way we describe the drive the car on the end is nearest the road.

I am getting ready, DS is ready and wants to get in the car. He will be unlocking it.

Well the side of the house nearest the road is the front of the house, so it would follow the the end of the drive nearest the road is the front of the drive. I agree with your DH! :)

This is what happens when you let maths teachers out into real life.☺️

It's DH versus me, it's incredibly important!

I guess the important thing is what your DS thinks you mean. Otherwise he won’t get into the car you want.

Well on my drive the one who gets back first is parked at the front ( furthest away from the road ) the next one is at the back ( nearest the road ) unless someone else comes along and and then the back one becomes the middle. If the fourth car comes home the one at the front best not want to go out .

But you said in your post above it might not always be the one nearest the road. Confused.

What if the cars are facing different ways?

I was explaining why he needed to ask which car to get in, because it’s not always the one nearest the road. If it was always the one nearest the road, then he wouldn’t need to ask.

In this specific scenario I needed to direct him to get in whichever car was nearest the road, which I described as ‘the one at the back’

There are two cars, mine and his. I drive his and mine equally, for various tedious reasons. He only ever drives his.

I always drive in forwards. He reverses in. So my car will always face the house, his may face the house or away from the house depending on who has driven it in.

So various combinations are possible.

For me the driver is always seated looking forward. So the car at the front is the one furthest in the direction they are looking when they are sitting in the driver's seat. I can't imagine the driver looking over their shoulder to check whether the road is clear to put the boot into the road and saying they are having to turn round to put the car out "forward" back first. However I would say that this would apply to a car (or other vehicles), because they have a front where the driver drives looking forward most of the time. If the drive had a line of balls on it, totally round with no clear markings, I think the front might be nearest the house!

I’m with your dh on this one, from what you’ve described, I would call it the front because it’s the closest one to the road, therefore the front of the queue 🤷‍♀️ However, to avoid any confusion, surely it’s easy and obvious to say to ds to get in the car nearest the road??

i dont understand why the age of the child is not relevant? are all your decision makings as complicated as this?

i would say the last one in is 'at the back'

I'd say it's to do with the direction of travel. Once you've parked on the drive then the only way out is out onto the road, so the one closest is at the front of the drive. Whether you've reversed or not is neither here nor there.

If you can't remember which car is where on the drive, the question is moot.

God help the poor and needy, as my old dad used to say.

This is like the put the meeting forward debate.

OP you are right. The car at the back is the one thats able to get out.