To wonder why people are so precious about parking outside their house!

[Snowflakes1122]

I was driving along a street today, phone rang so I parked up (safely and legally) to answer it.

Next thing I know a woman is outside my car window staring at me, gesturing me aggressively to move my car forward. I look behind and her husband (I assume) was pulling his car off their drive and wanted to park exactly where I was. Despite a half empty street full of parling spots and their double drive.

Why are people so precious about parking outside their house?! Especially when they have a double drive

I generally end up asking them to back up and leave the room.. and tell them its someone's parking space and they need to move it at X time.

You tell people that an area on the public road is reserved from a certain time? Don't they just tell you to fuck off?

God, I love these threads.

We had the police called out to us on several occasions just because we dared to park outside our own house, which prevented the neighbours directly opposite us parking outside their house (narrow street). I had abuse shouted at me a few times by said neighbours and told to move my car more times than I care to remember. They used to continue to park in "their spot", not leaving enough room for traffic to get through and then call the police! I refused to move out of principle, I was there first!!

The way I see it is that it's first come, first served. The neighbours thought that they owned some kind of legal rights to the road because they'd lived there for 15 years and we'd recently moved in. The funny thing is that it only meant them parking 6ft further back so it's not like it was even an inconvenience.

Incidentally, it would be impossible to implement now but I agree with ifailed that if it had been deemed unacceptable to park on the road when cars first became popular then we'd all be in a better place now - more car-sharing, less congestion, etc. However, quite a few people would have to find another pointless thing to care about - washing on lines, maybe?

Piazza do you think they saw your car outside, went on the computer, printed out the word "rude", cut it out, then stuck it on your car? Or do you think they have a stock of "rudes" to put on people's windows?

I too am one of those sad people who obsess about people parking outside my home. I just can't help it, even though I try in my head to give myself a reality check and tell myself off for stressing about it so much, I can't seem to stop. I had a friend visit me recently and someone had already parked outside my house, so she parked outside my neighbours, who then knocked on my door asking that I ask her to move her car, which she did. 24 hours later, and the same neighbours daughter parked outside my house! . I was spitting feathers and left an arsey note on the windscreen asking that she didn't park outside my house. Same neighbours DH came banging on our door, shouted at my poor DH who answered the door, and who was oblivious to my note. The result of all this is that we are now not talking to our neighbours. When I see it written down it all sounds very childish and pathetic. I think I need therapy.

I love these threads - more diagrams please

I am very territorial about my drive.

I would not want somebody using it to turn their car around, if you can't do a three point turn you shouldn't be driving. There is no need to use a drive as a turning circle, you wouldn't go on the pavement (or you would like to think you wouldn't) why use a drive.

I never used to be that bothered about this, until I lived in a ground floor flat with a private drive and people using it as a turning circle would mean lights blaring into my bedroom window, really no need the street was huge.

But what really annoyed me, was the fuckers who felt it was perfectly acceptable to park on my drive and block me in, if there was no street parking.

I wish I had thought of those rude stickers

Some people are fiercely territorial and 'guard' what they see as their space.

They know logically that the road is not 'theirs' but they still see the space in front of thier house as belonging to them.

I feel a stab of annoyance whenever I see someone parked outside my house, even though i have a large drive and it doesn't cause me any problems and I cheerily wave to the relatives who park up every sunday and visit my neighbours.

It's irrational but I'm a very territorial person and can't stand it when people stand too close to me in queues either or those who park right next to me on an empty car park.

I parked on a street on Tuesday . On the road, not blocking a driveway etc etc. The house owner came out and and told me my car would be damaged if I left it there.
He was about 60 and old enough to know better.
Makes me mad!

We live in a small cul-de-sac and we don't have either a drive or a garage (and no way to do anything about it) and have been here donkeys years. Most of the other houses have both. (Parking was never an issue when we moved here, there was always plenty of room).

A lot of folks don't seem to use their garages to park their car in any more, the garages seem to be full of storage boxes, barbecues, mountain bikes, patio furniture, old trampolines and other assorted clutter.

I must admit it does get on my nerves a bit when neighbours park outside my house when they have a garage, a drive, have gravelled over their garden to make an extra car space and have room in the road to park outside their house as well. It means that I have to park my car in a place where it will annoy someone else.

I like to park outside my house - looks nice doesn't it, your car your house.

However that is usually a very rare even everywhere I have lived - typically might end up parking a few streets away.

I parked on a street on Tuesday . On the road, not blocking a driveway etc etc. The house owner came out and and told me my car would be damaged if I left it there.
He was about 60 and old enough to know better.
Makes me mad!

If he meant damaged deliberately, I'd have told him quite 'assertively' that I knew where he lived.

WonkyDonky: I think I would have taken a photo of him, made a fake call to 101 in his earshot giving the address and saying a man was threatening me and saying he would damage my car, and say 'I don't think I need assistance now but I am reporting the threat in case any damage occurs'.

These bullies!

I have to admit to being exasperated with some of my neighbours who lack spatial awareness and blithely park in the middle of a two car space.

It just looks like a car outside a house to the rest of the world :)

I could understand if you wanted to keep an eye on it

My brother is moving house because the on-street parking police in his neighbour hood have got so batshit recently he's had enough of it. His exact comments "I've got to get out of here another few months and I will be like them, I can already feel it starting to happen"

People that get a angsty about other people parking outside their house - what do you do when you visit friends?

My parents live in a small cul de sac, and have a double drive, but my sister still lives at home so they have 3 cars - 2 on the drive and whoever gets home last parks outside the house. When we go to visit we used to park across the road in front of the house that's empty, but recently the people next door to that house have started to park their car right in the middle of the two houses so nobody can park outside the empty house except them. Nuts. It doesn't bother us unless the street is packed, which happens a lot, and two spaces are taken up by this prat.

It just looks like a car outside a house to the rest of the world

Yeah, I know :-) I'm not really bothered about parking outside the house - although when you've done an ikea trip and there is a space close that is always a relief!

I did call 101 , I also asked him if he was threatening me to which he replied again my car would be damaged if I left it there.
I'm a really non confrontational person and this really shocked me 😔

I parked up the street on the other side and my car got trashed by yobs. They broke the wing mirrors. Why? So I try to park outside the house now.
Where I previously lived I used to share an allocated space (which legally doesn't mean either the neighbour or I had a right to it) but as it was outside his house he threatened to beat me up when I parked there. I didn't know what to do so I just screamed like a loon and he never came near me again.

yello things like this do strange things to people, I've always had a drive or parking space, so the fact is I may well be "one of those people" I more than likely am :) it wouldn't surprise me

My NDN asks me to move if I park outside his. He has a double drive, I have no drive. We have annual parking permits that we pay for. I usually will move the car because they do several trips a day, whereas I sometimes go weeks without driving. Still, he doesn't own the bit of road, and I have paid to park on the street.
The traffic wardens are keen where I live and visitors who don't realise that parking in town centres is like gold dust usually get a ticket. It's a bit of a PITA but before the permit holders only rule you couldn't park anywhere - not good if you come home late.

Good work, WonkyDonky. What a nob .

I get the train to work from a small rural train station. Can't afford the train station car park so I park on a nearby residential street which has no parking restrictions. The houses on this street either have driveways or garages at the back. The residents have taken to putting out traffic cones on the spot outside their houses (blatantly nicked from nearby roadworks) or wheelie bins (I get so tempted to move these and park there anyway ).

Anyway, the thing I find unbelievable is that some of the residents have recently gone as far as having block paving put in over their front gardens and a drop kerb installed, making a driveway where they didn't have one before and meaning people can't park on the street outside. Having recently paid for a new driveway myself I know how expensive this is.

Thing is, they aren't actually using the driveways to park their cars on!!! (I know this as I work shifts and park/collect my car at all times of day) - so it's blatantly been a commuter blocking exercise!! Crazy!

milady that is an excellent diagram. Colour coded and everything.

The "rude" on the windscreen is mad!

It pisses me off! We don't have a drive, young kids and shopping etc when you have had to park across the road is a nightmare. It's rude especially when it's someone who knows you.

Awesome diagram Milady

I think the issue of parking availability is getting worse everywhere and people become a bit weird and territorial because of it. It's particularly bad in new estates.

We have a new estate a few miles away and the council have a pick up truck going around each week to remove illegally parked cars which are blocking drives or blocking access. It's a shame developers aren't required to include adequate parking for new homes. In my local authority they are building 4 bed houses with only one parking space and no off street parking anywhere in the vicinity. And yet wonder why they have to dedicate a pick up truck each week to removing illegally parked cars! Even more strange is that people buy these houses knowing there is insufficient parking

Perfectly legal, on street parking is so rare there is no wonder people defend it (however crazy this may seem).