Realistically can anything be done to stop parents parking across driveway?

[Lefmry]

I live on the same street as a school. Every single day someone blocks our driveway and I’m at a point now where I’m getting super fed up of it! 😩 It is mostly the same woman, who on multiple occasions has been asked to stop but it’s like it falls on deaf ears and she feels entitled somehow to still park there.

I wouldn’t actually mind but my eldest has severe additional needs and will NOT walk any distance from the car to the house so it’s super important we are parked on the drive, which isn’t possible when she (or someone else) has swanned off to stand at the school gates to wait for her child. I mean, not like I need an excuse really, it’s my drive and I should be able to use it. The time the drive is blocked is ALWAYS when I’m getting back from picking up my son from school.

Realistically if I were to go in to the school with number plates, especially this one woman, is there anything they can do? Or anything anybody else can do? Sorry I know there’s worse problems to have but I’ve just had a baby 4 weeks a go, have a 20 month old, along with my eldest with ASD, I am trying my damn hardest every day and sick of arseholes making life even harder.

If only. I have a blue badge - I’m a wheelchair user. In the last twelve months I’ve been approached by members of the public wanting to verify that a) the badge is mine, and b) what qualifies me for it. They’re the usual ‘you don’t look very disabled’ crowd who have to eat their words when they see my wheelchair descending to the drivers side from the top box on the car. My usual response is a hard stare and to remind them that unless they are a police officer or parking attendant I have no obligation to answer their rude questioning.

I have exactly this issue and I have posted on Mumsnet about it too - it incensed me when I can home from picking my own son up from school to find someone actually parked on my drive!

its not about not understanding people need to drop off and pick up - its about being considerate about it when you do.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5025644-i-live-in-a-road-with-a-school

Some sensible advice on here already re contacting school. But just in case, you can buy “Dickhead onboard” and “I park like a dickhead” bumper stickers… be a terrible shame if one were to make it onto her bumper…

@Rosscameasdoody ohhhh! I didn't know that! I thought it was exclusively for that particular households use! Very good to know...

@Lefmry can you recruit a friend with a car and on a day when you don't need to go anywhere both park 1mm from her car either side and make her apologise and wait ages before you move?

There isn’t a ‘no parking disabled box’. These are on street disabled parking bays you can apply for if you are disabled. If you have your own driveway you are unlikely to get one, and even if you do, it’s not solely for your own use - anyone with a blue badge can park in it. So it wouldn’t solve the problem.

We found out to our cost a few years ago when we bought a house which fronted on to a wide pavement, and with no space in the tiny front garden for suitable parking. Applied to the council and had the space marked out for disabled parking, only to find that anyone with a badge could legally use it ! Needless to say we didn’t stay very long !!

Park in the exact spot yourself so she can’t.
Leave notes.
Mouth off to her when you see her
Stand In the spot so she can’t park there.

Glass of wine in hand, at ftobt door, oh dear we are on 2nd glass, can't possibly move today..

Does the school she is collecting her precious cargo from have social media? If they do, I'd contact the Head Teacher and say that you feel you've been left with no option but to tag the school in every single post you will be putting up which will include photos of the car, the dropped kerb etc. so any help they can provide you with before you reach that level, would really be appreciated.

Then every single time the car blocks your driveway, stop in the road, block whatever traffic you need to, take the photos, post to social media, tag the school and #YPLAC (or is it @ YPLAC not sure which of those it is) so that the school is associated by these posts to dreadful parking.

Alternatively, if it's not already set up on your street/road, see if you can get your street as a parking zone where people have to pay to park (and residents get a residential rate for the year) so that all parents have to pay even for 15 mins of parking and the spaces should be clearly marked. Then you can contact towing companies to get vehicles not parked in the designated bays removed...but that's the long game.

In the more immediate term, I'd get a few of these and have them up as soon as they arrived from Amazon:
No Parking signs
Might be the cheapest and most effective way yet.

Legally if she’s blocking you from getting to the road. That’s illegal and phone the police every single tjme

shes not breaking the law however if you’re trying to get to your drive.

If it’s a half decent school then the price of the house would have been more not less expensive fyi to that one poster. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a82a832ed915d74e3402e69/House_prices_and_schools.pdf

It's not about causing damage because that would be wrong - have you tried cleaning lard / vaseline / sudocrem off glass? If that happens to you every time you park like a dick, eventually the message should sink in. At least you'd hope so, but there are a lot of entitled, self important idiots on the school run.

To add to this, when she's out of her car, you jump into the driver's seat and drive her car away and park it like a considerate person. Return the keys to her when you get back to your driveway!

ONLY MESSING WITH THIS SUGGESTION!!!! Some of the other suggestions on this thread have been equally off the wall so I thought I'd throw another nonsense suggestion in the mix😂

I have to drive my dc ro school but I wouldn't dream of parking over someone's driveway. Can't believe the cheek of some people.

Complete and utter bollocks.

The price of someone's home does not give the twattish members of the public to park unlawfully and twatishly blocking other people's drives.

Definitely big printed signs. Ideally stuck to the windows (windscreen for maximum annoyance) with egg white. Now that's a bastard to clean off, made much worse when smeared with windscreen washer fluid.

Can't you just park in the exact same spot (as her)?

Sudocrem and Vaseline across the windscreen and I'm sure you could easily accidentally stumble and pour sardines and milk down the air vents. I mean, it's so easily done.

Take a photo of the driver and email to school with a list of recent dates that she blocked you in, along with pic of her car blocking your driveway.
This it isn’t just some random parent. Ask them to have a word with her directly. Not sure that they would, but they may take it seriously.

Friend of ours had this, because they couldn't get into their driveway for the umpteenth time they just parked in the middle of the road and went inside for a cup of tea.

You could try this stunt!

Ignore. Didn't read the whole thread!

If I had this repeatedly happen I'd be tempted to but some Surströmming, disposable gloves, gasmask and a fine knife. Donning the gloves and mask I'd open the tin outdoors, slide the knife into the window seal and pour some of the juice in and maybe put a bit of the fish in the door handle. Disposal of the weapons grade herring left over may be a challenge though, but one my petty self would gladly do for revenge.
Although in all seriousness I'd actually just sit there blocking the road and explaining to the irate motorists that you have a disabled child and need to get in your drive and have to wait for the CF to move. The earful they will get from the other drivers should hopefully stop them. Repeat daily until they stop. I've got pretty thick skin though.

My council has a ‘report parking issue’ online form where you can upload photos of the car and details of the parking. As well as contacting the school EVERY TIME, do this every single time. Councils love making money from parking fines - let them!