Wibu to have scratched this car?

[user1471432527]

Taking dtwins out in our double stroller, cars parked right on the pavement , can't walk on the road, too much traffic. Was I unreasonable to force my pram though, scratching one of the bigger cars in the process?

Toga - if your comment was the truth you are seriously sick. If you are a troll then you are still seriously sick by my reckoning. A psychiatric assessment is probably overdue.

Has anyone thought of the other side. Driver may have been dropping off children/grandparent/disabled person and could not block the road so just left it there whilst they took the person in.
Bollocks - park the car properly and safely or don't park it at all.
Why is it acceptable to block the pavement, but not acceptable to block the road?

Only a complete scumbag would do something like this
I completely agree. Only a scumbag would park their car on the pavement.

Parking fully on the road could render it impassable.
I do find it interesting that some car drivers see it as inconceivable to block a road, yet think it is perfectly acceptable to block a pavement.
Would it be unsafe for cars to be forced to go a different way?

I've never come across a Police Car blocking the pavement, but I would treat it in exactly the same way as I would any car that was blocking the pavement. I would always force my way past before putting myself or my kids at risk by going out into the road.
Do people really think that I should put myself or my kids at risk to protect a stranger's car?
It's strange how Toga is seen as a 'psychopath' for putting his car above a stranger, yet as a pedestrian, I am expected to put myself at risk to protect a car.

Surely the most obvious thing to do is turn around and find a safe place to cross.

AKA, 'surely we should always strive to work around other people's lack of consideration?'

As others have pointed out, it often isn't that simple. A road that's fairly quiet and wide with paths on both sides, lots of drop kerbs (spelling correction noted Dixi), no blind bends and few inconsiderate parkers isn't likely to cause a huge problem as crossing safely there would simply be inconvenient. But there are roads with few or no drop kerbs, no path on the opposing side, no nearby crossings, blind bends, heavy or unpredictable traffic, high speed limits...you get the point. When the conditions change, blocking the pavement for wheelchairs and prams goes from a bit thoughtless to outright dangerous.

The car should not have been parked on the pavement.

That said pushing through knowing you would cause significant damage isn't in my view any different to if you'd just taken a key to it. You didn't want to cross the road and put yourself and baby in danger....seriously how many times do you cross a road?

Both attitudes are seriously entitled and actually quite sickening to read.

You assume the driver was an arse because they were in a RR. What if they had to park that way due to an emergency? Unlikely maybe but who knows?

It's not up to you to be Judge and Jury.

One of the worst and most entitled posts I've read in a while.

Why wouldn't the op have been able to cross the road safely? Why wasn't it safe for her to go around the car?
I can answer that for myself. I am visually impaired so am extremely careful about where I cross roads. When I had a baby in a pushchair and an autistic toddler by my side, the thought of walking out into the road to go around a car or cross the road to then have to cross back, and possibly have to repeat that several times before I got to my destination, was incredibly stressful.

For a wheelchair user, it just is not possible to go around or cross roads.

And really, why the hell should we? Just because a car driver couldn't be bothered to park safely without blocking the pavement! It is just selfish.

I love the has anyone thought of the other side comments and think Need sums it up perfectly. As pedestrians we are expected to consider the millions of unlikely scenarios that might mean the car needs to be parked on the pavement causing an obstruction but heaven forbid a car driver should stop and think!

Agree again Need (this is becoming a habit now!). Why should pedestrians, who are vulnerable road users, be forced out into the road and into conflict with moving traffic?

Genuine question Eats but why is her post entitled? She shouldn't have scratched the car obviously but to be fed up of cars driving illegally along the pavement and parking and not wanting them there is not entitled at all.

Unless I've misread your post for which I apologise, otherwise calling the op entitled is bizarre.

Also to people saying just cross the road, you are aware that pedestrians are warned not to cross behind or between vehicles. So it's not just a case of turn around and cross as to do so safely can mean retracing your steps over some considerable difference sometimes.

All because a car driver had to park causing an obstruction. Sheer number where I live I very much doubt they are all these fantastical emergency scenarios that posters seem desperate to come up with.

distance not difference

Polar - it's the sense I get from the OP that's she's expecting a round of applause from the MN community for causing criminal damage. A crap parking vigilante that we should all emulate.

The car shouldn't have been on the pavement and scratching it accidentally if there was no other way to safely pass is one thing...but that isn't something to crow about and expect everyone to say "well done you".

I understand your point but I still disagree and don't think she is any way entitled. She is simply fed up by the sounds of it. As a pedestrian that regularly encounters what she describes I can feel her annoyance. Certainly not entitled to expect to be able to walk or use a wheelchair etc along a pavement.

Need I understand why it is more difficult for you, but I wasn't asking about you. I was asking the OP in particular. That's why I said "why couldn't the OP cross safely?", it wasn't a general question, just as the op hadn't put a general post about parking. It's specific to her, specific to that car and to that road and to the traffic at the time. So your answer is not what I asked, I asked why the OP couldn't cross safely not why this would be an issue for you.

I think we will have to agree to dis-agree

As I said I don't condone inconsiderate parking at all.

Equally if I'd been a position where I'd had to weigh up potentially scratching a car or putting my kids at risk it would be a no brainier.

But I wouldn't feel good about it and start posting about wanker 4x4 drivers. It all comes across (to me) as a bit boastful and self congratulatory. Look at me - I showed that flashy RR driving bugger (I don't own a 4x4 btw - don't like them!).

Fair enough, I think we're coming at this from the same view/place.

Lunar1 "I guess I should add that our car is worth well over your 35k barrier, it's not scratched though as we don't park like a cunt!"

You might not park like one but you definitely sound like one!

Parking like an arsehole grinds my gears but I can't for the life of me why anyone would deliberately damage someone else's property.

Having said I hate twattish parking, I visited a friend last week who lives in a brand new house on a new estate. The parking is atrocious. No driveways so everyone has to park on the road and the roads are so narrow that if homeowners don't park half on the pavement, no other car can pass. Never seen anything like it and I'll never know how it got through planning.

If the driver had parked badly due to some sort of massive (imaginary) emergency, then a little scratch on the car is likely to be way down the list of priorities, surely?

Yanbu, fuck them. Been there, done that, taken the paint off. Earlier today, some dozy mare came running to move her car just before I wedged my Maclaren between it and the wall. Yup, didn't even leave enough space for a compact single buggy to make it through. Selfish fucks, the lot of them.

I don't live in the UK, I live in Mexico City and from reading this thread have just realised that car drivers are much more considerate and less entitled here.

If I were in the UK, I would take a photo of every car parked on the pavement and send it to the police. The lack of consideration of entitled car drivers is ridiculous, to the point that they consider an old lady or toddler being hit by a car to be the equivalent of a car being scratched. Aaarrrggghh

Come on you obviously did it in spiteful way. "Too many cars to pass safely"'etc. That's PC BS. You're a twunt for criminally damaging someone else's property to make a point.

Did you just do it because it was a Range Rover too? Why is that relevant?

Has anyone thought of the other side. Driver may have been dropping off children/grandparent/disabled person and could not block the road so just left it there whilst they took the person in

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But much more likely, just someone who couldn't be bothered to park like they are supposed to and maybe have a few minutes walk. Much easier to just be an ignorant twit and park where you wish with little thought for anyone else.

The above kind of statement could be used to excuse anything really. Been pushed over in the street by someone who ignored it and kept walking/running? They could be on their way to the hospital and late, or even picking up children from school. And so on..

You were both unreasonable, but I agree with TheGreenKnight, you were more unreasonable.

I dont think think you were unreasonable. I'm sick of selfish idiots blocking the path with their huge cars and why should you go in the road? Might make them think twice in future. Love some of these responses, my guess is that some mumsnetters are selfish range rover drivers who think they can park like a twat........