A school run mum blocked the driveway then refused to move when asked to

[DillyDallyDayDream]

I work a few doors down from a school/preschool as a nanny. The house has a doubled dropped kerb and double driveway.
I'd dropped my charge off at school and was getting the younger ones into the car when one of the preschool mums parked her huge 4x4 across the dropped kerb of the house I work in.
I asked her politely to move her car as I was going out and told her she can't legally block the driveway. She got quite arsey saying that she was late and there was no where else to park.
Was I being unreasonable to ask her to move??
Was I being unreasonable to report her to the local pcso after school whilst they were monitoring the parking?

iggly, you may drive a short car, but you are quite funny. unlike some of them

I can't work out if this is for real

Why thank you Cows.

And you, despite driving a ridiculously big car make me chuckle too.

not changed my mind about the big cars though

then gin that's fine. I have no problem with that.

I only get cross when people claim that the argument against them is 'one-dimensional'. It is a strong argument against them but if you have personal reasons that outweigh them, then that's great and you clearly drive accordingly.

There are lots of people who don't though, and that's where the 'anti-4x4 brigade' have a point.

Ah, feeling the love here now people.

Fact?

My 4x4 (a proper one - 7 seat shogun) is necessary for lugging diving and caving gear (hobby and extra income) around Europe. It is huge but smaller than the Toyota hilux I used to use (which was more like a builders van)

It uses less diesel than my husband's normal family car does petrol.

It has reversing cameras which automatically engage.
It has all round sensors.

The high driving position and large mirrors mean seeing all around the car is easier than my small convertible I use for commuting.

My daughter goes to school 6 miles away. My son four miles away. On rural single carriageway roads which are flooded today. No bus available.

The judgy ones on MN always seem to judge based in their own narrow existence. Accept that despite your prejudices some people don't use 4x4s just to show off. That says far more about your own behaviour.

Anyway, I own a very expensive convertible to show off. The 4x4 is too muddy to be proud of ;)

Oh and OP, doesn't matter whether blocker was driving a Prius or a monster truck. YWNBU.

Netguru - no the judgement is people who have unnecessarily huge cars in inappropriate situations.

like me netguru. i live in london and have a HUGE 4X4, I have no children, horses or caravans to pull. i have a HUGE 4X4 because i can!

You know what I do think is dangerous? Hybrid cars on electric mode as you can't hear them coming. That's got to be dangerous, right?

I've not come across a hybrid car yet, but am partly deaf, so worried that even with careful looking I may get caught out.

Ofred. I understand your point but you cannot know whether a car is unreasonable and if you only own one car it will be used inappropriately sometimes.

Other posters on here have stated that they are "status symbols - end of." which is the attitude I was referring to. To be honest if I didn't need the shogun I would get rid of it. But whilst I do need it, no one can know that but me.

Oh don't get me started on those electric cars! Silent but potentially deadly. Ridiculous.

I have a 4x4 and I manage to park it legally It's no bigger than a volvo estate. No point having a normal car here out in the sticks. You need the extra traction a 4wd gives to be able to get out the mud or through the roads when it floods.

Who gives two hoots about what you drive as long as you park it properly and are considerate to other road users

I don't think the judgement should worry people. I'm quite aware I'm the "crazy woman who bikes to school" that everyone laughs at every morning. Doesn't bother me cos I'm not uncomfortable with my choice for my family.

And the people who want to show off are only having the car in the first place because they want people to judge them, just positively or jealously...

I think there is nothing wrong with the type of car someone has, but there is a perception that drivers of 4x4s, especially in certain areas, do not drive the cars safely and with consideration for others. If *iggly's link is real, then it's more than a perception.

The real issue is wanker drivers. If everyone drove properly, with due consideration for others, then threads like this would not exist. Sadly, this seems too much to hope for.

I only have anecdotal evidence, but as a biker (motor not pedal) IME it's people who drive large cars who are more likely to try to kill me if I'm on 2 wheels. I think that the cars driven are and feel very safe and this, subconsciously, makes the drivers feel everyone else on the road is as safe as they are. As drivers we all make stupid mistakes from time to time but it's the large car drivers who, I feel, are more likely to cause and accident when I'm on 2 wheels.

PeopleNeedToBeMoreAwareRegardlessOfSizeOfCarTiggaxx

The next time I purchase a car i will have to ask on MN if it's OK I think. What's the consensus on Mazda MX5s? 1 child in the passenger seat and the other 2 in the boot?

To be honest, I think people should be free to buy whatever car/vehicle they want to - so long as they can prove, before leaving the garage, that they know how to park the bloody thing!

I have a normal but largish family car and was extremely annoyed at my local huge Tesco on Saturday when I could not use ANY of the available spaces because some twat (many twats) had parked over the line, leaving the space unusable by anything larger than a Matiz . The offenders were everything from a Porsche Cayenne to a Ford Ka - it's not the size of the bloody car that causes inconsiderate parking, it's the person behind the wheel!

But going back to the OP for a minute . YANBU, not at all. Parking across a driveway is never on - especially not when you can see that someone is clearly about to use the car you are blocking in!

twofaced gotta say it that you are just on a wind up aren't ya!

I live near a school and it always so often seems to be bloody 4x4s that are totally blocking the pavement or parked halfway across our drives.

OP YANBU to have reported that rude woman.

Let down her tyres if she does it again.