Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

Original poster

I was unreasonable and feel like +++ about it...

23 replies

BlueberryPancake · 14/05/2012 12:50

I come back this morning from a big shop, car full of bags, and there's a van packed half way across my drive. I can't get in my off street parking, and it's cars galore as there's some stupid event at the golf club down the road. The streets are full. So I park at my neighbour's house four houses down, as I know they're out all day.

I walk my sixteen bags of shopping all the way to my house, pick up the phone (by that time, I'm boiling hot and wet because it's raining) call the council, and a tall parking attendent comes over and gives the van owner a parking ticket.

The thing is, the van driver is a builder, repairing some house down the road. They are not, as I thought, a user of the golf course. It was not a white van, just a people carrier type van.

Now, I feel rubbish about it. I know that builders are struggling and I can't believe I've just done this to a neighbour. Please help me hide under my front door carpet...

OP posts:

Flubba · 14/05/2012 12:54

Without admitting to it, there's not a lot you can do about it now. I can understand why you feel shit though.

mrsgboring · 14/05/2012 12:57

But van driver could have left a note saying where he was working so you could have asked him to move and let you in. Can't be helped now. How much is the ticket? If you feel that bad, you could put half or all the amount in an envelope under his windscreen and a note saying you hadn't realised they weren't an inconsiderate golfer...

MsVestibule · 14/05/2012 12:58

I wouldn't feel rubbish about it. You weren't to know it belonged to a builder, and even if you did, he shouldn't have blocked your drive. He did it because it was convenient for him, and presumably didn't even leave a note on his windscreen letting you know where he was.

WorraLiberty · 14/05/2012 13:06

Why did he get a parking ticket?

I thought it was perfectly legal to park across someone's drive as long as you're not blocking them in?

Or am I wrong?

DeWe · 14/05/2012 13:07

Heck. He still shouldn't have parked there. Doesn't matter he's doing a job. He is not allowed to park there. Some people think they're exempt from parking rules because they are "working" at a place and it's their right to park as close as they can get.

I spoke to some builders once who were working at a house. This house is next to a turning on a steep hill. You cannot see round their van to see if anything's coming. People come down that hill at speed and they were parked right on the corner. If they'd moved to the legal limit of 20m from the turning they would have been the other side of the drive (ie just as close to their building works) and allowed people turning out to see.
They continued to park on the corner because it was "more convenient" for them for the next few weeks. Wish they'd got a ticket.

You can tell I frequently have to put up with people across our drive. I have no sympathy with anyone who gets caught.

hopkinette · 14/05/2012 13:09

How tall exactly was the parking attendant?

Original poster

BlueberryPancake · 14/05/2012 13:11

Quite tall, and not bad looking... But I won't make a habbit out of it!

OP posts:

WorraLiberty · 14/05/2012 13:19

Are you absolutely sure he got a ticket?

According to this Link it's not illegal

The Big Issue ? Parking Directly In Front Of A Person?s Driveway

This is, by far, the single most frequent cause of annoyance and arguments between neighbours and, unfortunately, the law does not help in this regard. It's common courtesy not to park directly in front of the driveway of another person?s property. After all, they may need to get in or out of the driveway with their vehicle. If you?ve blocked the access by parking directly in front of it, this will cause the vast majority, if not everybody, to become annoyed and to try to locate the owner of the vehicle to get them to move it. Therefore, most neighbourly people will never park directly in front of someone?s driveway. However, it's not illegal to do so!

The Highway Code, paragraph 207, asks that people DO NOT park their vehicle where it might cause an obstruction to other pedestrians or road users, and cites the example of not parking in front of another person?s driveway. However, this is where the law gets ?cloudy?. It does not legally state that a person MUST NOT park in front of another driveway.

Therefore, while mutual respect between road users tends to dictate a policy of not doing this so as to avoid unnecessary conflict, it?s not backed up by law, so if you experience problems with this and your neighbour digs their heels in and refuses to co-operate, all you can do, if you need guaranteed access and exit, is to park your car elsewhere and not on your driveway.

TallyMeBanana · 14/05/2012 13:20

I had a builder park halfway across my drive a few weeks back. Next door neighbour was having work done, has a big drive but also had the space outside his house to park the van. But the fecker still parked across my drive! Oh and there's double yellow lines on both sides of the road outside my house so no one is supposed to park there anyway. Knobs!

Tiddlyompompom · 14/05/2012 13:21

I dont think YWBU but I'm sorry you feel bad.
You haven't done anything to your neighbour, and the builder got a ticket because he was badly parked. He hadn't left a note on the dash saying where he was, so you couldn't call and ask him to move. Frankly it's a risk he knowingly took - if you park somewhere stupid you risk a ticket. In this instance he got one. Tough shit for him.
If however he left a note on his windscreen saying which address he was at, or what time he'd be back to move the vehicle, then YABU.

IAmBooyhoo · 14/05/2012 13:22

well if he got a ticket then the warden will have found a reason for it. dont feel bad. it was inconsiderate of the driver.

doormat · 14/05/2012 13:25

i agree i would be annoyed if someone parked over my drive whether a building van or not....he was inconsiderate to not leave a note explaining this

Original poster

BlueberryPancake · 14/05/2012 13:27

He had a yellow note on his windshield. I don't know if it was a ticket, or a warning, but he didn't knock at my door, so I suppose it must have just been a warning. Also, he was there for ages about 4 hours. If it were just a few minutes it wouldn't matter!!! anyway it's done now....

OP posts:

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 14/05/2012 13:28

Dont feel bad, no matter what he was doing he shouldnt have parked across your drive, thats very inconsiderate so it serves him right really...and I say this as a struggling builders wife!

hackmum · 14/05/2012 13:29

I wouldn't feel bad about it. Basically he's been inconvenienced by all the golf club cars parking on the street, but that doesn't give him the right to inconvenience you by parking in front of your driveway. It's just transferring the inconvenience from one person to another.

Noqontrol · 14/05/2012 13:33

Crikey, I didn't know it was actually legal (if slightly antisocial) to park across someone's driveway. You learn something new every day.

exexpat · 14/05/2012 13:36

The ticket was probably for parking across a dropped kerb - they issue tickets for that around here, whether or not you are blocking someone in.

In fact, someone was once towed from in front of my off-street parking space when I reported them, even though they were blocking me out rather than in (for about 24 hours, I have to say).

I felt a bit bad about that too - I only expected them to get a warning note or possibly a ticket, not to have to pay to recover the car - but then if people do park inconsiderately and don't leave a note saying where they are, it is really their fault.

SardineQueen · 14/05/2012 13:40

You would deffo get a ticket for that here (have got a ticket on my own car across my own drive when I dashed in with DD2 who needed a wee).

SardineQueen · 14/05/2012 13:40

I don't think you should feel guilty anyway. Inconsiderate car-based things drive me up the wall.

exexpat · 14/05/2012 13:45

WorraLiberty - I don't think that site you linked to is entirely accurate, as it doesn't mention the dropped kerb issue, and I think the law on that has changed in the last three or four years.

Round here they normally only ticket for parking across a dropped kerb if it's blocking a place intended for pedestrians/wheelchair users etc to cross a road, and they only enforce it for access to people's property if the property owner complains. But it sounds from what SardineQueen says as if some areas are rather more enthusiastic about ticketing...

porcamiseria · 14/05/2012 13:52

I dont think a £45 fine will kill them

Jenny70 · 14/05/2012 14:19

I agree he did the parking, and now he's paid the consequences.

I had a car park across my drive last week, I was annoyed at the cheek of them, but as I don't have a car, it really isn't a problem and I just did an internal eye roll.

Then person comes back to car, gets something and nips next door (elderly lady on her own), all while I am sorting child into buggy and closing my front door etc. I think to myself "how rude is he, not even asking if it's OK to park there when I am standing right here", but again let it go.

Then the parking man strolls past and asks if it's mine (just as I am walking off), so I say no, the man has popped into my neighbours house, she's quite elderly. As I get 2 houses away he comes out again, so I go back and tell him the parking inspector tried to ticket him, but I saved him a fine... and the stupid man doesn't even thank me (he's parked across MY drive & ignored me as I was leaving the house) - he just checks the parking inspector really was there and he;s not coming back this way (inspector walked off around the corner).

So I leave muttering under my breathe that I should call the parking inspector back again. Never again, next time I'll give the inspector the OK to fine and raise some revenue for the council.

FlossieMae · 14/05/2012 14:27

Don't worry about it, if it was a ticket, it was the parking person's decision to issue it, not yours. I would have done the same.

Flip