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 feel your pain o.p. We live very near 2 primary schools with 4 other schools within half a mile. School drop off and pick up seem to be ridiculously bad since the start of the new school year. We constantly have people parked on the double yellow lines, over peoples driveway even though they double yellow lines over the driveway, right at the top of a t junction and over driveways in general. The school puts out messages about parking considerably but it's in one ear and out the other. They numbnuts tend to behave when we have parking wardens but my husband has seen those get a mouthful from the idiots.

Do you know anyone who is or knows a parking attendant? My brother in law used to be one and if he spotted our car in town he would give us a fake ticket. I would get a bundle of fake tickets and stick one to her windscreen every time she parks across your driveway. What an inconsiderate moron!

I second speaking to the school with a picture but also csn you put your bin/get a cone to put there? People in the street of my child’s school all have cones to stop parents blocking the drive x

Contact your local police station and ask them to send a PCSO out at school pick up time. And ask them for advice about what you can legally do to deter people from doing this. It’s not just unnecessary and selfish, it’s negatively impacting your disabled child’s life.

I wait for her to come back very obviously video her. When she asks what you are doing say that you are totally sick of her blocking your drive every day so you are videoing her and will be sending it to the school for them to deal with her.

You might find that the threat will be enough to keep her away, but send it anyway.

😂

"I know I will block this drive of a mother of a disabled child as I want to make their life harder". They think "I'll only be 2 mins and there's nowhere else to park"

More like they think," I cant be bothered to walk more than a few minutes from my car and who gives a fuck if it inconveniences someone else". People justify it as there's no one there at the moment and their excuse I'll only be 10 minutes or whatever but really it's really fucking selfish because why are they so important that 10 minutes of their time is more important than anyone else's.....

I’d contact the school, but it is also an offence to block the entrance to a driveway as indicated by a dropped curb. You can contact the council and they can issue PCN/fines - the school should apprise the offender if you contact them first (and may remind the whole school body in a letter) of this fact.

Your 20 month old could help you out with this. A dirty nappy stuck to the windscreen (on the driver’s side) could stop it ever happening again!

If it was me I’d block her in for certain if possible.

I like the sticker idea suggested but in reality I’d stick to egging her car every single day.

I'm sorry I disagree, it is the inconsiderate bastard parents that refuse to walk anywhere that are unreasonable

I feel your pain, I live very close to a school too. And yes, we knew the school was there when we bought the house, my kids went there, but when the eldest started there were 250 kids not the 400 there are now.

In my experience all school can do is send out a polite reminder email, which parents will largely ignore. They can request the attendance of police or community support officers, parking will be fine when they are visibly in attendance, back to cheeky fuckery the next day.

Photos on the local FB group might help, or finding some other way to publically name and shame. Problem is that the people who park like this just don't care about anyone or anything. Their only goal is to get as close to school as humanly possible so that their precious little pickle doesn't have to walk the length of themselves.

Report to school. Park across your own drive b4 school times

You seem to be confusing "opinion" with "facts".

OP ignore the posters who are saying her behaviour is okay and that you’re being unreasonable - you are NOT, she (and others) are shitty and have no respect. Contact the school, although they won’t do anything other than ‘remind’ parents to park thoughtfully. They will tell you to contact PCSO. So do this, contact your council, traffic warden, PCSO, and report every car via 101 who parks over your dropped kerb. Get a photo of their car and number plate - even better if they see you taking the photo as this might be a frightener for them. Report every single time to 101. You should also be able to report to your councoil online too. If you report every single time, something will be done. When you do report, make sure you use the wording ‘blocking the highway’ ‘parking over a dropped kerb’ and stress it prevents you from caring, and access for your disabled child.

I had this at my house. I got a neighbour to park close behind, I parked close at the front, then left a note on her window. Then we walked very slowly to the coffee shop. She wasn't there when we got back and she hasn't done it since, neither has any other parent.

Contact the school with car details, reg plates etc. They may not be able to do anything directly but they do have a responsibility to ensure parents aren't causing a nuisance.
Blocking drives is illegal, (though sadly not very well enforced!
Put cones across your driveway.
Put a note on the car stating they are blocking your drive. You are gathering evidence of their parking and will report.
Take a photo every time they block for evidence.
Contact police/parking enforcement and or council.
Council maybe able to put in yellow lines, signs saying keep clear etc.
Call a tow company.

Love your choice of little darling names 😂

I know, never heard such claptrap 🙄

You have to pay for the white lines which are known as an h bar to be painted by the council. My council charges £216!!! Then it’s advisary not enforceable.

You need a lockable bollard on your drive, after you leave, sorted!
Then she can’t use it

Are you not entitled to get the Disabled paint lines outside your drive? I don't know anything about them but my neighbour got it done and no one else is allowed to park there?

I’m a wheelchair user and had the same problem with the school just around the corner. I reported to the school with the number plate and outlined the extreme difficulty this parent was causing me when I couldn’t get into my own drive. I had a white H line painted across the entrance to my drive and this still didn’t stop her so I rang 101 for advice. They sent a PCSO to patrol at school run time. The first time, he had a word with her. That didn’t work. Second time she got a ticket. Still parked there after a few days. In the end, I printed out a sheet of paper detailing the difficulty she was causing me and plastered it to her windscreen with Vaseline. She never parked there again.

Definitely contact the school, our school are really fed up with it and now send out the details of any car caught blocking to the whole school.

You can ask the council to mark out a disabled bay outside your house if you have no other means of parking - if you have your own driveway it’s unlikely they will do it. Even if they do, that parking bay isn’t solely for your use - anyone with a blue badge can park there.