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.

I bought two cones from Amazon and printed signs and stuck them on.

People are usually too lazy to move cones.

illegal to sound your horn while stationery

My council charge £295 to do this. I am more than happy to pay, but they are refusing as they say they won't enforce it so they don't do the lines any more,

She is out in the car picking her son up from (I assume) a different school.

Use Vaseline to stick a note to her window telling her not to park there. Apply liberally.

You can buy printed signs on eBay saying things like:

Private drive. No parking, Access required at all times.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/384121161630

Pictures on local Facebook groups, preferably of her getting in and out of the car.

Email to the school every time it happens.

Vaseline on her windows.

Yes sorry my son is at a different school 20 minutes away. He’s picked up 30 minutes before the school in our street finishes so the time we get back is bang on as all the parents pull up!

Yes, it’s obvious, except for the massive flaw in your obvious plan…..

The time the drive is blocked is ALWAYS when I’m getting back from picking up my son from school.

She's probably read on here that it's "Ok" to block a drive if there's no vehicle on i!

Find out how to contact your local team that deals with traffic violations.

Send them a time and date stamped photo of the car parked blocking the drive. Better yet get a video of her parking and leaving the car.

Send the team a photo/video every single time she does this. She will be fined for each and every time. (well actually the owner of the car will receive a notice to prosecute if they don't name the driver, if they don't respond to that within a year they will have a fine of about £1200 and be invited to appear in front of a magistrate)(multiply that by every day she does this)

My kid's primary school had a police officer who would come out periodically - wasn't a case of driveways as those houses didn't have them, but disabled spaces and just generally the absolute danger of some of the parents.

School would also regularly send out quite angry emails with photos of cars (if they could get them) to shame the drivers.

For full disclosure, I was once caught by the bobby when I parked in the disabled spot and the man that lived there came home . He just parked at an angle in the small space I had left him and I got a telling off which I deserved. I was lucky not to get ticketed.

But yeah, go to school relentlessly.

I'd be inclined to take a photo and post in on the local FB group every time she does it and ask if anyone knows who she is making it clear that you need the drive due to your child's additional needs. People don't like to be publicly shamed.

No, there’s no way to stop them. School parents are the laziest, most arrogant and abusive people on earth. 🙄

surely you see this person, and you are waiting, possibly blocking her from getting into her car? Every day?
Then it’s get her number plate, complain to school? Print out photo for school ? Even better with her & child in photo?

Just write ‘don’t park here’ in lipstick on her window.

Contact school.
Take photos and note down dates etc, call 111 every time saying you can't access your driveway.
It's probably the same few people every time because most people wouldn't dream of blocking someone's driveway!

The school can't do anything I am afraid. I worked at a small medical unit once and the school next door tried so hard to stop parents parking in our car park but they just wouldn't listen

I do however know someone who had a similar problem, he tailed the culprit home one night, got up early and went and parked across the bottom of their drive just before the school run was due. He had to do it on a few occasions but it worked.

Failing that, can you get one of those drop bollards that lock into place upright on the bottom of your drive and leave it locked until she stops doing it.

Or depending on your childs disability, can you get your local authority to paint the end of your drive for disabled access? Worth making enquiries as then it would be a crime if she parked there. Worth asking if its possible?

Contact the school. Give them the car registration. Schools are usually good at telling parents to stop this behaviour.

Take photos of her and the car and put them on the local facebook page, they will look like the knob that they are and hopefully stop

I think instead of passing it to the school, maybe leave a note stating that this parent is blocking you in and if she doesn't stop you will be forced to contact the school and PCSO. I would also state something like 'in the past two weeks, you have parked across my driveway preventing me from leaving and/or exiting 7 times. This is in contravention of the Highways Act XXX'. If you continue to do so, I will be forced to contact the school and PCSO. Should that not have the required affect, I will then have your car towed for illegally parking and preventing me from leaving/entering my drive'. These dates are as follows - list the dates so that you have evidence as you may need this for the PCSO.

I am this petty! I wish I knew you OP I would
totally follow her home and park across her drive way for you

Organise for a 'school street'. We have this where I live. There is a camera and any non-residents moving cars around during school dropping off times within the zone are automatically fined.

Take a picture each and every time it happens and send to the head teacher.

@PrettyPickle How will a bollard on your drive stop someone parking on the road?

You're unreasonable here I am afraid. Houses close to schools in this way are often discounted value wise due to noise/inconsiderate parking issues so you had your compensation in the discounted price you paid for the house!