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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to drive through my own village?

56 replies

TandB · 17/02/2011 20:55

I am puzzled.

A couple of months ago we moved to a small village outside Bath. It is a tiny little place with a single track road going in and out. It is about half a mile to the main road on the outskirts of Bath in one direction and about 2 miles or so to the other main road.

There is almost no traffic which is very nice after London...except between 7.30 and 9 in the morning when it turns into the M1. Everyone who lives to the south of the city and doesn't want to queue on the main road cuts down the little roads and through the village. The village council did a census and there was something ridiculous like 300 cars in the space of half an hour - ridiculous bearing in mind more than one car an hour is a major event for the rest of the day.

I have no issue with this - I would probably do it myself so this isn't a case of me standing on the edge of the village with a pitchfork shouting "Getorf my laaaand!" I go out in the opposite direction at 7.45 to take DS to nursery in the next village two days a week. It takes about 15 minutes to go 2 miles because I am going against the flow of traffic which means I am the one who has to squeeze into the hedge or siderows. I stopped over 20 times this morning.

What I do have a massive problem with is the attitude of a large number of the school run mums. It is presumably obvious to them that the very few people who are going the opposite way must live locally as no-one in their right mind would try to use it as a cut-through going that way. Every day, at least two of these women shake their heads at me as I sit in the hedge waiting for them to pass, as though I am being terribly unreasonable and inconveniencing them by leaving my house. This morning it was three.

The other day a mum refused to reverse into a passing space about 3 feet behind her even tthough the car behind reversed to give her room, so I finished up having to actually get off the road and into a shallow ditch, whereupon she shouted at me and waved her arms about.

This morning I had more mouthing and arm waving from someone who I was letting past.

Am I missing something here? Is it unreasonable of me to actually leave my house on a necessary journey while these women wish to use the road?

And before I get jumped on for generalising, it is not all of the women, and yes, it is absolutely limited to women with school-age children in the car. The bulk of the rest of the traffic is made up of local business guys in vans and they are always polite and thank me, or look apologetic.

I am seriously considering adopting an "I'm not moving" police tomorrow. I might take a book to read and get it out during a who has to reverse stand-off. Or I might wind my window down and tell everyone I pass that the road is closed and I have had to turn round and come back.

Grr!

OP posts:
VivaLeBeaver · 17/02/2011 21:14

I spotted the typo as well, made me giggle.

INeedALieIn · 17/02/2011 21:15

Hook a caravan on the back of the car just for the fun of it and smile and shrug when they are trying to force you to reverse Grin

ivykaty44 · 17/02/2011 21:15

I have done the book reading in car on Exmoor Grin

chill and make sure it is a good book, If you get enough cars building up behind the one refusing to reverse - then they may also think twice about using the lane as a short cut that takes longer with book club sally in the car going tother way Wink

traceybath · 17/02/2011 21:17

Oh the dog-walkers are hilarious - honestly I had never seen such a thing until living in this house. Thankfully we're moving soon.

However moving to edge of another village on a single lane track - will I ever learn?

ivykaty44 · 17/02/2011 21:18

There used to be years ago a woman who lived out at Abbotsham and couldn't reverse so the other driver had to or the bus - when she came head on with a bus - the driver would get out of the bus and reverse her car for her.

I do like the waving and blowing kisses - get the dc to join in with this one and wave madley

Original poster
TandB · 17/02/2011 21:20

RCB might be down on his luck these days - the last couple of Jilly Cooper books weren't up to much...

OP posts:
squashedfrogs · 17/02/2011 21:24

The most fun I had on the way to work once was being stuck behind a delivery lorry on a single track road. It meant that every car coming in the opposite direction, who would have normally make me reverse/go up the verge, were forced to go up the verge instead. I had great satisfaction in gliding past behind the lorry. They all looked distraught at their 4x4 getting muddy Grin

goingroundthebend4 · 17/02/2011 21:26

hmm i have same problem as in thanks to m11 roadworks my lanes being used as cut through and god forbid i want to walk down it to get my dd to school the looks i get .and the comemnt when i knocked on some car window asked him to move as i like to open my gate and walk out my path

mind breakdown yard is next to mine and his drive always being blocked other day he asked the guy if he broke down driver said no he sia dwell mate you will be if you dont move

thenightsky · 17/02/2011 21:32

Oooh I hate people who do not understand the rules of single track roads. YANBU

WhatsWrongWithYou · 17/02/2011 21:33

< bows, knees trembling >

Original poster
TandB · 17/02/2011 21:34

Seriously, we need to form a Mumsnet convoy and visit all these villages en non-reversing masse....

OP posts:
oldraver · 17/02/2011 21:42

Shock @ the dog walkers

I sometimes used to get this on our single track road. There were lots of passing places but one longer stretch where you couldn't see to the next one. Most drivers used it respectfully and the one nearest to the pull in would reverse but there was always a few that could see you coming but would still purposely whizz past the pull in and expect you to reverse even though they may only be a car length past

I have got out my paper on two occasions

oldraver · 17/02/2011 21:46
Furball · 17/02/2011 21:52

Could you approach the local Parish Council about their views on making your village 'except for access' or similar.

They won't be able to apply it but may be just as cheesed off as you with the situation and start the process rolling with Bath?Highways.

igetmorelovefromthecat · 17/02/2011 21:52

What I find works well in such situations - if someone is being an arse when it would obviously be them who should reverse into the large space behind them - is take the keys out of the ignition, chuck them on the dashboard and sit there with my arms folded.

I do reserve this behaviour for complete twats btw.

QueeferFuckerland · 17/02/2011 21:55

Oh yes, I do the arms folded, take out a sweet thing.

bumpsoon · 17/02/2011 22:08

Have to say i suddenly have to find something i have dropped on the floor on the odd accasion this has happened to me Grin

Original poster
TandB · 18/02/2011 08:41

Well clearly all the offending parties are Mumsnetters and read my thread with a sense of shame.

This morning everyone threw themselves out of my way. I kept going to pull in and people would start reversing and flashing at me to come through.

I sailed along the road smiling and waving like the Queen. And occasionally checking the mirror to make sure I hadn't missed an ambulance or police car with blue lights on behind me!

I did leave 15 minutes later though so that might have made a difference. There seems to be a sharp drop in the traffic after 8.

OP posts:
Butterbur · 18/02/2011 08:49

Befriend a local farmer and persuade him to drive his tractor up and down for an hour a few times. Even better if it has some wicked piece of farm machinery attached, with sharp blades.

I reckon word of the resulting chaos would soon get around.

wellwisher · 18/02/2011 08:50

Sounds like the problem is solved (agree on not reversing for rude people) but if it's only 2 miles, why not walk? Why move to the country and then sit in your car? Confused

Original poster
TandB · 18/02/2011 08:52

It is 2 miles to the main road. It is then another 3 or 4 to the nursery.
Besides, 2 mile walk in the summer with an older child and nothing to do for the rest of the day might be nice. 2 mile walk each way in this weather with a 19 month old on my back up a road with no pavement and covered in mud and cars squeezing past, before coming back to do a full day's work - not so much fun.

OP posts:
MaryBS · 18/02/2011 08:53

I've did the "reading a book" thing, and on one occasion, even switched the engine off to indicate "I ain't moving". And of course, if you're reading a book, you can't see their hand gestures or their mouthing obscenities :o Blush

Original poster
TandB · 18/02/2011 08:54

Butterbur - I have considered rallying all the local old people to form a congestion rota and spend a few days making the short-cut very, very slow!

OP posts:
moonbells · 18/02/2011 09:05

My DH does the reading thing too. I never dare! But his best tale (on our local, well-signed 'Unsuitable for HGVs' road) is when two huge artics met, one from each direction. Obviously neither driver could read the roadsigns (It's one of my bugbears!) and so they couldn't get past each other due to the narrowness.

He got out the car, politely asked one of them to reverse a few yards, then before they could work out why, slalomed past them both! Grin

They were gone when he came back, but we still don't know how they solved it...

hogsback · 18/02/2011 09:06

Ha! We get this! I particularly liked the time I was driving an Isuzu pickup towing a 20 foot trailer with a race car on it. Range Rover lady refused to reverse until I got out the cab and told her if she didn't I would push her back into the nearest passing place - the pickup was in such a state that it looked like I do this on a regular basis so she complied but fucked up her reverse so badly that she ended up in a ditch! I left her to it.

Same lady a few month later went round a blind corner too fast and ran straight into the back of a tractor with a 5 blade plough. Tractor driver didn't notice a range rover hooked up on the back of his plough and dragged her over a mile before being stopped by an oncoming driver. Kids in the car too.