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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Would you park in a random persons driveway?

56 replies

Rollergirl1 · 17/09/2014 20:51

We live on a fairly busy main road. Some houses have driveways (enough for one car). Unfortunately we don't. I admit that parking can be a bit of a nightmare but there's not anything we can do about that. Both DC's had friends to play after school today. One Mum came to pick up her son. DS immediately came and asked her could she stay for a cup of tea as they weren't finished playing. I said she was welcome to if she wanted. She was about to say yes but then remembered that she'd parked in our NDN's drive and asked me if that was okay. I was a bit flabbergasted to be honest. I was literally just looking outside to check which neighbour and saying that it wasn't okay. Then the neighbour in question turned up in their car and was not able to get in to their drive and was holding up traffic behind them and obviously wondering who the hell's car it was. It all caused a bit of a fiasco. Neighbours have been very gracious about it but I am really embarrassed.

Who parks in the driveway of someone they don't know from Adam??!

OP posts:

DejaVuAllOverAgain · 17/09/2014 20:54

Arrogant and entitled people.

HexBramble · 17/09/2014 20:55

Beyond cheeky.

MrsBungle · 17/09/2014 20:56

Jeez, people never fail to surprise me! I'd never do that.

LadyLuck10 · 17/09/2014 20:59

Arseholes that's who.

Poor you, they probably thought you okayed it.

justmyview · 17/09/2014 20:59

Did she know that you have no parking outside? If not, I can see she might park in a neighbour's drive for a few minutes if she was caught by surprise and felt she had no choice. If I did that (and I'm not sure I would) I'd certainly be chasing my child out of the door immediately

r2d2ismyidealman · 17/09/2014 21:03

Is her neighbourhood over crowded with no private parking? We have a friend from the city who always parks weirdly when she comes. Last time it was half way on to the grass even though there is plenty of room for a car to pass. Old habits.

EverythingCounts · 17/09/2014 21:06

I wouldn't ever do this unless I knew the people and they'd told me already it was OK to park on the drive. Just incredibly thoughtless and entitled. But you're in the clear. I would apologise to the neighbours and make it clear that you hadn't told her she could do that, and that she just decided to do it. I wouldn't blame a neighbour if they told me what had actually happened.

If there's no parking, I'd have parked a few minutes away and just sucked that up.

Original poster

Rollergirl1 · 17/09/2014 21:07

She has been here before but perhaps didn't have any problems parking then. It's very hit and miss. But if there isn't anywhere directly outside the house there is a road off the main road pretty much directly after our house which always has space. Even if there wasn't any parking in the immediate vicinity I would park where I could and walk, I wouldn't dream of actually turning in to someone's drive.

I went and spoke to neighbours straight afterwards and apologised profusely so they know I hadn't said it was okay.

OP posts:

BettyFocker · 17/09/2014 21:12

No, that's just really rude!

There was a brilliant thread on here last month where someone parked on the MN'ers drive and went off somewhere. MN'er was due to go away for the weekend and the general consensus was to block the car in! I was hooked!

Jinglebells99 · 17/09/2014 21:23

My neighbour was having their front garden landscaped and their builders were driving me mad by blocking the shared entrance to our drive. Every day for about three weeks i had to ask them to move every time i wanted to go out. Final straw one day i arrived home to find a trailer parked in one of my parking spaces and the builder told me that my neighbour had said it was OK to leave it there over night. my neighbour opened the door with a cheery "Hello" i couldn't believe the cheek of the man!

Trickydecision · 17/09/2014 21:42

We have lived in this house for 17 years, and only once, late one evening has our driveway, on a busy road, been 'parked over' . I actually feel like saying to random peope, do park in my drive, we are not going out. Except that we never see anyone actually in the process of trying to park, so never have had the chance to do this lady bountiful kind act.

Mind you, kindly feelings in general did not stop me feeling incandescent with rage at the parked over incident, even though we were neither going in nor out.

mineofuselessinformation · 17/09/2014 21:47

No - it's someone else's property.
YANBU.

Thebodyloveschocolateandwine · 17/09/2014 21:51

Cheeky cow.

Never fails to shock me the cheek and arrogance of some people.

Bulbasaur · 17/09/2014 22:08

If parking was hard to find and it was for a quick second, yes. I would park there really quick and get in and out. Which is what it sounds like your friend did. She just parked really quick to get her son, and then leave. The only reason it was a big deal is because your neighbor happened to come home during that time.

Or, alternatively, I'd call on my way there and tell you to just send my kid outside and stop the car in the street for a few seconds while they got in.

It might be rude, but I'm ok with that. Inconveniencing someone for a mere 2 minutes really isn't going to weigh on my conscience any.

PicandMinx · 17/09/2014 22:14

I'm glad you are ok with it Bulbasaur - but if you parked on my drive, I'd have your tyres

Thebodyloveschocolateandwine · 17/09/2014 22:25

Gosh Bulbasaur that's really strange behaviour.

What if you couldn't restart your car or you didn't see the child of the house playing on that drive or their cat.

It's so rude.

PersonOfInterest · 17/09/2014 22:29

Just no.

Iliveinalighthousewiththeghost · 17/09/2014 22:35

No I wouldn't I expect the home owner to go nuclear as I would if some one parked on my drive way.

handcream · 17/09/2014 22:37

We have a stretch of parking running alongside a small row of shops. Almost every day I see someone parking on the zig zag lines by the crossing. They often put their hazards on to run into the shop as though that's OK.

There are never any traffic wardens around so they do it time and time again (yes I mean you blonde Range Rover lady)

SirChenjin · 17/09/2014 22:38

No, definitely not, - it's one of those things that you just don't do unless you have a neck made of brass.

Boysclothes · 17/09/2014 22:38

I admit I have! Was on call for home birth and was called out. Drove up to the house, similar situation as yours, very main road and this house had no driveway. As I approached the husband was standing on the doorstep frantically shouting at me to get in there so I just dumped the car on a neighbours driveway and legged it in, caught the baby with no gloves less than a minute later!

Totally forgot about the car until I needed some gas and air for sutures about an hour later. Luckily it was middle of the night so I don't think the neighbour knew!

YellowTulips · 17/09/2014 22:42

So when I pick DS up at childminders there is literally nowhere to park - just a row of dedicated car parking spaces.

There is no choice but to either park across the spaces thus blocking one or two cars in or use one of the currently vacant spaces.

Upshot is it's not ideal, so I literally pull up, rush to the door (and stay within eyeshot of the car - so if there is a problem I can move ASAP), collect DS and move on.

There's no way I would block people in or use a space and then move out of sight of the car and not be able to move it for a resident immediately.

DancingDinosaur · 17/09/2014 22:43

Thats different though boys. I wouldn't be fussed at all at someone parking on my drive for that reason. Although that sort of scenario is the only one I'd be ok with.

andsmile · 17/09/2014 22:44

ooo i think it sbad enough to turn around using someones drive way.

I hate people parking in front of my house too.

pourmeanotherglass · 17/09/2014 22:54

no, definitely not!

We have had people park across our garage a couple of times - so we couldn't get our car out when we wanted to go out. Really annoying, luckily it was the weekend and we weren't going anywhere essential. It was a white van, not one of the neighbours.

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