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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

But it's OUR drive...

482 replies

amammabear · 22/11/2016 12:11

Our drive is directly opposite the drive of the house opposite, it's a quite, dead end street so not much traffic. When I reverse off if, I turn as I do so that I'm facing the right way on the road and then off I go, the person who lives opposite however (in his perfect BMW with private plates...) doesn't do this. He instead reverses straight across the road, onto OUR drive, then drives off again.

Normally this only annoys me a little, but today, as I was reversing out of our garage I noticed he had his reverse logged on and then started moving so I stopped outside of the garage, on the drive. By the time I'd stopped, I noticed that he was fully back on his own drive. So because he saw I was going to be in his way, instead of reversing properly, onto the road instead of someone else's property, he went back out of reverse, and drove back on.

So being annoyed, I waited. And waited. And the insert name for irritating person here waited too. Eventually I had to leave, shaking my head at him, and watched in my mirrors as he priced he had been specifically waiting for our drive by reversing straight across as usual.

AIBU to be annoyed about this? It's our private property, that we have to pay to buy and maintain? I know it's quite a little thing and it doesn't usually bother me too much more than a minor irritation, but today it really infuriated me.

OP posts:
diddl · 22/11/2016 13:24

If it's so quiet I don't understand why you don't both reverse onto your own drives so that you can just drive off in the morning.

I can see why it annoys you, but I can also see why he does it.

Bertucci · 22/11/2016 13:25

Yes, put up a chain or a bollard or police your driveway 24/7.

And you neighbour will think you small minded and ridiculous and very un-neighbourly.

Headofthehive55 · 22/11/2016 13:27

Most people tend to be creatures of habit. Park so he can't reverse into your drive, as you are there. He will start altering his actions.

8misskitty8 · 22/11/2016 13:28

Neighbour opposite drives forwards onto neighbour next doors drive and then reverses into her drive as it is opposite. In the winter next door almost get blinded by the cars headlights as she comes flying down,
She doesn't slow down either, she keeps going at the same speed as she was coming down the street which isn't slow despite it being a school street and has speed bumps.
In our street we aren't allowed fences or gates in our front garden/drive so we can't get penguin bollards :(

NerrSnerr · 22/11/2016 13:30

'To all the pp who are snarking at the OP for this (bigger problems etc type comments), maybe you should try paying hundreds of thousands of pounds for a facility that you have to maintain and then watch someone (or someones) use it and cause wear and tear every single day'

Hundreds and thousands of pounds for a drive? I think whoever did your drive ripped you off a bit. This wouldn't and doesn't bother me at all. People can reverse or turn in our drive if they like. It's not as if someone is driving a lorry over the drive numerous times a day, if someone reversing once or twice a day causes that much wear and tear the people who did the drive did a rubbish job!!

AgentProvocateur · 22/11/2016 13:32

I would really struggle to bring myself to give a shit about this, TBH, unless there is a huge backstory that you've not told us.

Isitjustmeorisiteveryoneelse · 22/11/2016 13:32

I can see why it's annoying, it is a disrespectful sense of entitlement. And to everyone who has said why don't you just ask him not to do it if it bothers you, fair enough, but, if it was me that lived in a narrow lane and found it easier to do the manoeuvre he's doing, I would have come round to you and politely asked you if it was ok to reverse on to your drive to get out. I imagine if he'd have done that you might have a bit more amenable, no?

amammabear · 22/11/2016 13:32

Blimey, I wasn't expecting so many replies.

I'm sorry to those who think this is all I have to complain about, perhaps you'd like to check my other recent threads. Just because I'm unhappy about this doesn't mean the rest of my life is perfect.

This reply from lacontessa sums it up for me. "It's the casual use of someone else's property without so much as a acknowledgement that you are doing so. That is the rankly bit"

But the fact that today he didn't "just" do it, but went out of his way to go back on, wait while I faffed around with my heating, music, phone charger etc just so that he could avoid driving proper use my drive.

I mentioned that he has his posh BMW with private plates as this (like many others I can mention) also seem to be the same sort of people that abuse p&c spaces and disabled spaces so that they don't get their perfect car scratched- it's the sense that their car is so important that they can ignore all the rules because they're property trumps everyone else's. It's not that ALL drivers with that sort of car do it of course, but it's never someone with a car like mine clapped out old Vauxhall, they're always the shiny expensive ones.

Unfortunately, I can't block the drive, as although we own it, our ndn have a right of access across it to their garage and that's perfectly fine. When it does need resurfacing (which it will do soon) they are hoping to contribute, not much, but they want to. The bloke across the road isn't going to though is he... Perhaps we should send him a bill... Lol.

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OP posts:
MollyHopps · 22/11/2016 13:32

OP, park your car at the end then he can't do it.

Then come back and report what happens to us Grin

AgentProvocateur · 22/11/2016 13:33

It's like these people who have a "no turning in the drive sign" - you just know the kind of petty people they'll be.

amammabear · 22/11/2016 13:35

Oh, and the reason I go on forwards is because I'm disabled and that gives me the nearest and safest route to walk in and out of the house. He however isn't disabled, doesn't have any clear reason for it, and in fact has to actually walk further by going on forwards, so heaven knows why he doesn't!

OP posts:
PrivatePike · 22/11/2016 13:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Bluntness100 · 22/11/2016 13:36

Okaaay, the rant about the expensive cars is a bit strange. Well a lot strange. Some jealousy perhaps?

amammabear · 22/11/2016 13:37

The people who think it's petty, what other liberties are you ok with people taking with your property?

OP posts:
Sirzy · 22/11/2016 13:37

You seem rather bitter about his car?

If you really don't like it you could always go and talk to him?

amammabear · 22/11/2016 13:39

Bluntness100 not a rant, just in my experience, the people that do that, do it because they have expensive cars and think that's more important than others. I know lots of people with expensive cars who would never ever behave like that, but I never seem to see people with less valuable cars do it. Does that make sense?

OP posts:
PaulDacresConscience · 22/11/2016 13:40

Go and talk to him and ask him not to do it again.

It would annoy me, but the easiest way to resolve this is to have a chat with him.

ChocolateForAll · 22/11/2016 13:40

Chuckling at "you can't put a price on victory."

amammabear · 22/11/2016 13:40

I'd be annoyed whatever car he drove, not because of the car, which actually I'd hate.

OP posts:
Bluntness100 · 22/11/2016 13:41

Op, whenever I've seen it done it's been a variety of cars, from older lower cost models to higher end more expensive ones, but generally it's just your average run around I see it happen with.

Bertucci · 22/11/2016 13:42

I wouldn't view it as taking a liberty. I would think it was more convenient for him and was not having impact on me.

I simply would not want to waste energy getting upset over something so trivial. He's oblivious and you're all wound up and bitter sounding.

LikeaBatoutofHull · 22/11/2016 13:42

I think you should install an automatic retracting bollard like this. Sadly not penguin-shaped, but paint it pale pink with a fingernail on it and you've got a whole new way of 'flipping the bird' as you depart in your car.

NavyandWhite · 22/11/2016 13:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

amammabear · 22/11/2016 13:45

I'm surprised bluntness perhaps it's an area thing? Whenever p&c/disabled space abuse comes up on our local pages on fb it's usually the big extensive cars, people even comment who do it themselves defending why which just proves to everyone else wht they don

OP posts:
PrivatePike · 22/11/2016 13:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

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