Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that you can't block someone's driveway?

199 replies

DancingLola · 21/10/2014 23:21

Apologies, it's a parking one!

Just about to go to bed & looked out the front window to see a car parked completely across the dropped curb of our driveway blocking our car in. Not sure when it was parked there, must have been in the last 2 hours. Don't recognise the car, and it's a bit late to go knocking to see if the neighbours do!

DH leaves for work at 5:30am & is worried that if the car will still be there. We had this happen once before, but it was a much smaller car & luckily he managed to manoeuvre through the small gap that was left, but there would be no chance this time.

Would it be unreasonable to report it?

OP posts:
Original poster
DancingLola · 22/10/2014 09:10

Ok, so I woke up at 1:30 on the sofa & car was still there. I phoned 101 for advice & they checked the reg to make sure it hadn't been reported stolen. They gave me a ref no & said for DH to phone back if it was still there when he got up from work.

It was, so they sent someone out to check that he couldn't get out, and then the car was towed. DH ended up being a bit late for work, but at least he got there.

Still no idea who the car belonged to!

OP posts:
KingJoffreysBloodshotEye · 22/10/2014 09:11

Oooo, how exciting.

Are you sitting by the window wsiting gor some dickwad to look for their car?

PinkyAndTheBump · 22/10/2014 09:13

That's a textbook way to deal with it! Well done OP!

We have same problem round ours and Police said it was very clear. If dropped kerb with no white line, then parking across drive only ok if no car on drive and no garage. It's never to park across garage as you can't tell if there's a car in there.

If there's a car in drive, you cannot block them in. And the way OP dealt with it is text book.

diddl · 22/10/2014 09:14

yes i don't think that you should ever park across a drive, but there's this wierd thing about access onto the highway being kept clear, but egress from it onto your own property not necessary?

My dad has a longish drive with a garage & sometimes people would park across with the intention of parking all day.

He would tell them that they had blocked his drive & some cheeky buggers would say that there was no car.

So he would ask them if they could tell him what the structure at the end of the drive was.

And when they said "garage" he'd say "yes, & now have a good guess at what's in it!".

It's not that the drive is that long, just that people would park up & leap out of their car without even looking!

TaliZorahVasNormandy · 22/10/2014 09:14

You dont happen to live by a train station or some such? Because some tight fuckers like to dump their cars in various places so they dont have to pay for parking.

londonrach · 22/10/2014 09:15

Oooo this could continue. Id so be in front of house watching to see owner return. Did the tow people leave any note as owner of car think it be stolen otherwise.

ArsenicChaseScream · 22/10/2014 09:15

So have they left you with contact details in case angry arse/motorist knocks on your door?

SisterMoonshine · 22/10/2014 09:15

Ha!
I wonder if they'll be around later.

diddl · 22/10/2014 09:16

Ooh, that's an exciting update OP!

sorry for the tangent, was just killing time!

EmptyNestAgain · 22/10/2014 09:17

Excellent result. Can't wait for the owner to come back!

Mouthfulofquiz · 22/10/2014 09:17

I want to know who's car it is!!

PourquoiTuGachesTaVie · 22/10/2014 09:19

Exciting! I wonder will this be a thread that keeps on giving...

EmptyNestAgain · 22/10/2014 09:19

Don't we all, Mouth! This could run and run!

Sprink · 22/10/2014 09:19

Actually, that's a good question: how DO towing companies inform car owners that their cars have been towed? To come back to an empty space...I'd be thinking theft!

KingJoffreysBloodshotEye · 22/10/2014 09:19

If the tow truck people have you with details then chuck them away.

Don't answer your door.

Let them stew.

EmptyNestAgain · 22/10/2014 09:20

And then they'd call the police and then.......

diddl · 22/10/2014 09:20

Yes, I was wondering what they do.

It's not up to the OP to pass on details, is it?

ScarletFever · 22/10/2014 09:21

The towing company can get the details from the dvla

AFAIK it's illegal to block access to the highway- hence why you can block an empty driveway but not one with a car in

diddl · 22/10/2014 09:22

I suppose they rely on the car owner thinking that the car has been stolen & calling the police?

tiggytape · 22/10/2014 09:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TravellingToad · 22/10/2014 09:26

Fantastic response and glad it was taken seriously. Now i'd be spending the day sat by the window waiting for someone to stand there, open mouthed and the empty space where their car used to be. Whats the bets they come and knock on your door to see if you know what happened?!

JellyDiamonds · 22/10/2014 09:26

I wouldn't never, ever, ever park across someone's drive, if there was a car in it or not. It is the rudest most entitled thing. A while back some workmen putting windows in one of the neighbours houses parked across my mums drive and she couldn't get out. She asked them to move and their attitude was appalling:

Mum "can you move your van please, it's blocking my drive and I need to get out"

Workmen "yeah, in a minute"

Mum "no, I need to get my car out now so you'll have to move it now"

Workmen "we're busy, in a minute"

Mum " if you don't move now I'm going to phone the police"

They did then move it, but with lots of huffing and puffing and eye rolling and general attitude that my mum was massively inconveniencing them!

Original poster
DancingLola · 22/10/2014 09:28

Tali - no we're not near a station. We are near a school so sometimes get parents parking across to take their kids in, but that's when drive is empty & it's nearly always someone I know anyway.

They did leave details with DH, but the daft man took it to work with him! He's text me the info so I can pass it on if/when they appear.

It's very puzzling really!

OP posts:
BauerTime · 22/10/2014 09:29

shamelessly marking place to see what happens when the owner of the car gets back.

Cheeky fuckers.

PrincessOfChina · 22/10/2014 09:29

This happened to our drive recently (it's a shared drive with dropped kerb and white line) and the police had the car towed as they couldn't trace the owner via the details kept on the DVLA database.

It was back again on our street a week later, but parked correctly this time. The owner looked very sheepish when they walked past us coming out of our house. Probably because their laziness had cost them a few hundred quid in fine and tow charges.