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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Please reassure me I AM bloody right?! (Rules of the road)

58 replies

JaneS · 30/01/2011 14:08

Hmm, as if that title isn't asking for a flaming! Grin

I live in a little network of streets - parking bays often on both sides of the road so often there is only room for one car. Obviously, you get very used to quickly reversing out of someone's way, and it's usually your neighbours trying to park who're in the other car, so it is all good-natured.

I was coming along between two sets of parked cars, wanting to turn right into another small road. Someone else was just coming out of that road (he had a give-way line across him), and he was turning left towards me. Without thinking much, I got into reverse as I know it's actually an easier bit of road for me to reverse on. He revved towards me - quite aggressively - and he was on the phone so made no eye-contact, didn't smile or mouth 'thanks' or anything, which is what most people would do.

I parked up about 10 metres down the road and got out to see him getting out of his own car. I do admit I probably gave him a foul look as I was pissed off and don't like people revving towards me when I'm reversing!

He turned to me, muttered 'fucking bitch driver' and turned away. I said 'excuse me' and he turned back, ostentatiously put his hand over the phone and said 'I'm on the PHONE'. But it was clear he was talking to me or about me.

Please tell me he is a tosser and a twat and an ignorant wanker who will shortly get his car bashed by someone less patient than me who doesn't get out of his way?

(Er ... or the calm version, which I'm not feeling: I was right that if there's a giveway, he should be reversing to let me through, even if he is turning left and I am turning right?)

OP posts:
weddingnochance · 30/01/2011 14:12

"he is a tosser and a twat and an ignorant wanker who will shortly get his car bashed by someone less patient than you"

There I said it Grin

YANBU btw.

Original poster
JaneS · 30/01/2011 14:13
Grin

Thankyou!

OP posts:
QODthesurrogacytrendsetter · 30/01/2011 14:14

sounds like you were on a road he was joining so YOU had right of way.

We have traffic calming near us, leaving the village on the last one, you just can't see if a car is coming - so you go right over to the right and look then pull back in if you see a car. Or of course go if you can't.
Locals understand, lots of mouthed "thanks" and hand waving - people passing thru? ROAD RAGE - horrendous.

ChaoticAngelofAnarchy · 30/01/2011 14:15

wedding beat me to it Grin

btw he was also breaking the law so he was definitely in the wrong, if that helps Wink

Original poster
JaneS · 30/01/2011 14:22

QOD - that sounds very similar to us - not the set up but the reactions to it.

It was actually quite scary because although I described it slowly it happened pretty fast and I honestly thought he was going to rev into me as he wasn't looking at me at all.

Chaotic - thanks! I was pretty sure of the law but just wanted to check there wasn't some arcane law ... you know how you second-guess yourself in these situations?

OP posts:
cumfy · 30/01/2011 14:22
Confused Whilst I understand he is a twat, I really don't understand the situation.

Why did you park ?
Weren't you just about to turn right and go where he had just come from ?
Why didn't he just stay at the junction and let you turn right ?
Why did you instead reverse back along the line of parked cars ?
And then (apparently) park where you had just come from ?

Unfortunately sounds like a diagram is needed!

cumfy · 30/01/2011 14:26

As you've described it, I would say just stand your ground and make him reverse back 2-3m not you reverse 10+m.

It's not a one-way system you were coming the wrong way up is it ?

Original poster
JaneS · 30/01/2011 14:26

Sorry, it is a funny set of roads, so hard to describe.

I parked because we have on-street parking round here. Usually I park on any one of 5/6 streets, where there's space. Imagine a grid, with streets crossing each other about every 600-800 metres - it's like that. So I found the nearest free space to my house and parked. I assume he was doing the same, or visiting a friend. It's not on the way to anywhere, so you'd be unlikely to be there unless you were parking to see someone, or lost.

I was about to turn right and go where he'd come from.

I couldn't turn right because there road is effectively only one car wide at that point - there were parked cars near the junction (in proper parking bays), but a few feet back he could have tucked himself in and let me past.

Basically, it's a bit like single-track roads with passing places, so you usually reverse back to the nearest point where there's room for two cars to pass. He could have reversed, and so could I. Strictly, I think he should have reversed, but I am aware that his road is a slightly less easy shape to reverse in than mine, so I did it without thinking hard. It was his revving on and not looking (and the mobile phone!) that bothered me.

Does that make sense?

OP posts:
JaneS · 30/01/2011 14:28

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

cumfy · 30/01/2011 14:32

Still don't get why you didn't continue:

I was about to turn right and go where he'd come from.

So why didn't you ?

Not criticising, just cant visualise what happened.

LadyBiscuit · 30/01/2011 14:36

There wasn't enough room for her to go round the corner cumfy without having a head-on collision with the other car.

I don't understand why he was so rude when you were the one that reversed Confused

I used to have a street like that near me in London which was a nightmare at weekends when people would park up all the single yellows. I got some people being really aggressive and vile - I once had a car full of young men shouting 'You fucking CUNT' at me because I wasn't going to reverse back for the third time in a row Angry

Boohooyou · 30/01/2011 14:37

cumfy, because she couldn't his car was there.

Shewhoshallnotbenamed · 30/01/2011 14:38

He has issues with women due to his incredibly small penis and inability to maintain an erection.

You just happened to be in his way so he vented at you.

Wink
cumfy · 30/01/2011 14:38

Even given your grid description, wouldn't it be easiest for him to let you go straight on for 5m. Then he turns and you reverse back.

cumfy · 30/01/2011 14:39

Boo ???
I mean eventually!

cumfy · 30/01/2011 14:40

OP instead parked where they'd just come from.

Original poster
JaneS · 30/01/2011 14:42

cumfy, it's as others said. But I don't understand your last post? If this works, this is how we looked just before I started reversing? There was no space for another car either beside him or beside me, but there was space behind both of us.

  car----
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a
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'
'
'
OP posts:
Original poster
JaneS · 30/01/2011 14:46

Sorry, that didn't work quite ... but I'm still not sure what you're suggesting though I am sure you are right there was a better way to deal with it.

Part of the thing was, it happened so fast I didn't have a lot of time to think and I am downplaying how scary it was - I was shaking when I posted the OP, it was quite nasty.

If I'd been less surprised I might have reacted better, but I can't help feeling that simply avoiding a collision was a positive outcome in the circumstances.

OP posts:
cumfy · 30/01/2011 14:46

Sorry.
I was about to turn right and go where he'd come from.

So why didn't you ?

cumfy · 30/01/2011 14:47

xpost
I still don't get why you didn't eventually go wherer you were clearly intending originally to go.

Original poster
JaneS · 30/01/2011 14:49

Because he was there.

I was coming towards a road on the right of me. That road, like mine, was at that point only one car wide, due to parked cars at the sides. His car was just coming up to the give-way line, on the road I wanted to turn into. There was no space for me to turn in. He could have reversed back down that road, to a point (a short way back) where it was two cars wide. However, I got my car in reverse as soon as I saw him because I knew there was a place for me to pull in quite soon on my road.

OP posts:
Original poster
JaneS · 30/01/2011 14:50

Because he was turning left, and I was turning right, we were trying to drive into each other. One or other of us needed to reverse, you see?

OP posts:
cumfy · 30/01/2011 14:52

EVENTUALLY :o

When all the palava was over why did you not EVENTUALLY go where you were intending to go ?

Original poster
JaneS · 30/01/2011 14:55

Sorry, I know it is confusing ... it would make sense immediately if you saw it, I promise!

I did eventually go where I intended to go. Once he'd pulled around me, I carried on and parked in the street to the right of me. I then walked back towards my house, and met him coming out of his car.

OP posts:
SummerRain · 30/01/2011 14:56

I also don't understand.... if you were turning right and he wanted to turn left out of the turn you were going into surely he would have turned onto the road you were on and driven away from you and you could have turned into the road he'd come out of? Confused