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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that people should park on their drives if they have one?!

169 replies

Singsongsung · 16/08/2015 08:28

Ok. It's a parking AIBU so I'm bracing myself...
I live on a cul-de-sac, they layout of which means that parking is pretty limited. There are several people who regularly park on the road when they have decent drives (easily big enough for 2 or 3 cars). This means that whenever we have visitors they have nowhere to park and end up parking on another road entirely (probably irritating the hell out of the people who live there!).
I don't understand at all why anyone would choose to park on the road and leave their driveway empty?
AIBU? (Dons hard hat and braces herself)...

OP posts:
Zeitgeistic · 16/08/2015 08:30

If the road gets full could they be saving the drive so a visitor has somewhere to park? That would be a sensible thing to do.

Fairylea · 16/08/2015 08:31

Hmm. Yes in theory I agree with you... however we have a drive and sometimes I leave it free if I know we have visitors coming or something being delivered so they can park there and I park my car outside the house. At the end of the day parking on the road is open to anyone as long as it's legal and my drive is my own property so whatever I do with it is up to me....

SoupDragon · 16/08/2015 08:31

I don't understand at all why anyone would choose to park on the road and leave their driveway empty?

Because they want to.

MythicalKings · 16/08/2015 08:32

If parking is a problem maybe people have difficulty getting their cars on and off their drives so park on the road instead.

We live by a school and parents park right up to the dropped Kerb on both sides at home time. it's impossible to get onto or off the drive when they do that because the lane is narrow but they still seem surprised when we beep and gesture to them to move.

ApparentlyImDoingItAllWrong · 16/08/2015 08:33

I park on my drive almost all of the time unless I'm only going to be home half an hour or so before I'm due to go back out an then I jus park on the road. Nice wide roads though, doesn't block anyone.

Original poster
Singsongsung · 16/08/2015 08:33

They park on the road all the time. Literally all the time, meaning that those of us who use our drives all the time have nowhere for our visitors to go.
You're right Soup- it is because they want to. Just a bit bloomin selfish really.

OP posts:
Original poster
Singsongsung · 16/08/2015 08:34

No issues getting on their driveways at all. They're a good size, very accessible.

OP posts:
londonrach · 16/08/2015 08:34

Sing i can see where you coming from but they allowed to park on the road if they pay road tax. There might be alot of reasons why someone parks on the road rather than the drive and one could be with the number parking on the road they cant see coming out of their drive. Whatever the reason they still allowed it. (Hands op another stronger hard hat)

tatumsfunkychicken · 16/08/2015 08:34

I'm joining you. YANBU. My cul de sac is littered with cars and empty driveways. There is a car that consistently makes it hard for me to back out my drive. Maybe I'm bu but it annoys me.

StickEm · 16/08/2015 08:34

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Andrewofgg · 16/08/2015 08:34

Zeitgestic We do that. We also block our own drive if we are leaving again in a short time because my immediate neighbour has a regular guest who does not leave enough visibility when she parks next to our drive. So we get our retaliation in first. We have a laminated card to pt in the window saying that it is our own drive that we are blocking.

londonrach · 16/08/2015 08:35

Flying biscuits. Can i have one fairy. Wouldnt need my car then. Grin

DinosaursRoar · 16/08/2015 08:36

We have a drive that can fit 2 cars and 2 cars, but one has to park behind the other on the drive. If I want to take out my smaller car and it's the one nearest the house, I'll back DHs off and park that on the road so I can drive mine. I normally wouldn't then faff about moving his car back on the drive, just leave parked on the road until he next needs it.

I also do park on the road when we are expecting guests so they can use our drive.

ChocolatePebbles · 16/08/2015 08:37

We park on the road because we use the garage - one on the road and one in the garage.

honeyandfizz · 16/08/2015 08:42

Yanbu. A lot of people only consider themselves unfortunately. Take my neighbours, they have 4 cars between 2 of them. Depending on which car they decide to drive each day their drive will be empty and the road has the other 2 cars parked all day. It's really tricky getting off our drive as they park right up to our dropped kerb and as I haven't got the ability to see through metal I just have to hope there isn't a car coming. See selfish!

insancerre · 16/08/2015 08:45

All of you people backing into your drives, do you not know you are supposed to be backing into your drives and driving out forwards.
Not the other way round

SquinkiesRule · 16/08/2015 09:11

Our drive is long enough for three small cars (just) so we squash them all on and play musical cars if on that's blocked in needs to go out. Our road is narrow and short on parking.
Only time we do take a street spot is when I have to leave for work at the crack of dawn and the rest of the family are asleep, so no one to play the car shuffle for me.

ChazzerChaser · 16/08/2015 09:14

Yanbu. My favourite is people parking on the pavement, blocking it for pedestrians, rather than their own drive. Double points.

Original poster
Singsongsung · 16/08/2015 09:19

Yep Chazzer. Always nice that.

OP posts:
AboutTimeIChangedMyNameAgain · 16/08/2015 09:21

The people opposite us have a massive drive plus garage and car port, room for about six cars.

Yet they park one of their cars on the pavement outside our house. I know they can park where they like but it drives me nuts. Why wold you park on the opposite side of the road when you have loss of room on and outise your house? It means visitors have to park up the road.

TheJiminyConjecture · 16/08/2015 09:22

YANBU, I visited a friend last week. Parked next to a car in an obvious car parking space on her cul-de-sac (like an indent bay where 2 cars can fit) Nowhere near anyone's drive and enough space to get both DC and baby carseat out. Stayed 2 hours and as we were leaving my friend said I'll just go get x to move his car. Turns out her ndn had blocked in the car. Despite paving over the garden and having space for 4 cars and having one. It was more important to block the road by parking behind me, as I was unknowingly in 'his' spot. Sad, sad little man.

AboutTimeIChangedMyNameAgain · 16/08/2015 09:22

Terrible typos there, really should have read what is written.

haveabreakhaveakitkat · 16/08/2015 09:25

YANBU. We also live in a large close of nearly 50 houses, all have driveways.

Our neighbours went on holiday for two weeks and left their car parked in one of the FOUR visitor spaces rather than their own driveway. The stupid arses are not only inconsiderate but they couldn't have made it more clear to local burglars that their house was empty.

Twunts.

forago · 16/08/2015 09:27

I have an L shaped drive so I both drive forward into it and forwards out of it. as do my neighbours. Why am I meant to be doing any reversing (which takes longer and holds up traffic)

LumelaMme · 16/08/2015 09:28

Parking is insanely tight where we live. Fortunately for us, we have a garage, so the big car always goes in there. We also have a second car, and deliberately chose a very short one, so it would take up less parking space.

Just around the corner lives a family with four off-load parking spaces and three vehicles which they park... on the road. Every bloody time. Apparently they don't want people scraping their wall when they park, and will go to the length of saying, if someone parks next to it and they're in the garden, 'Well, look at that, will you phone the police or shall I?' (They did that to a relative of ours.)

If I park there and she's watching me, I do tend to smile brightly. I might start waving too.

So, OP, YANBU: just because people can park on the road and are allowed to park on the road doesn't mean they are excused behaving like selfish arses.