To ask how you would feel about learner drivers being parked outside your house, every flipping hour of the day

[Derlei]

We live on a street that attracts a lot of learner drivers. On a normal day you can see up to 15 an hour driving past or doing some kind of manoeuvre (I actually counted! Most of the time it's the same ones going round and round in circles)

They particularly seem to like the front of our house, as we are on a corner, so they love to practice reversing into the street next to us.

I can cope with the cars going up and down the road as they have paid their road tax just as much as I have, however I'm getting irritated by the ones (of which there are many) who park up outside our house for more than 10/15 minutes a time obviously just talking about their manouvres/re-capping etc. They are doing this constantly. They don't block the entrance to our drive but are right in front of our living room window. We have huge windows so because of this we keep the blinds half drawn pretty much all day.
After being parked up for ages, the learner would then swap sides with the instructor and while they do so, they can't help but naturally glance in to our window as it's so big and they are smack bang in front of it.

Some of the learners park on the opposite side of the road to our driver which is less annoying but if I'm driving in or reversing out of the drive it can be a bit tight.

Aibu to be annoyed by this and do I just have to suck it up?? I feel like putting cones up along the length of our drive but I don't think I have a right to!

Nobody hotwires cars any more, they take the keys.

Another sign of the younger generation becoming deskilled?

Which if you park on the drive are almost certainly in the house behind.

Would that affect household insurance then too?

I live in a similar kind of house to OP, but the only thing that troubles me is feeling I need to look away if I'm outside when learners are having trouble with a manoeuvre. I used to hate feeling I was being watched, and I don't want to put anyone off. I'm pretty sure nobody bothers to look in my windows. Nothing to see.

If this was all day, every day, then it would tick me off too - YANBU.

I don't think you can do anything though except park your cars on the street during the day.

YABU.
I can't believe you have learner drivers outside your house every hour of the day, no Driving Instructor I know works at night.
I have parked cars outside my house sometimes 24/7 and it doesn't bother me.
You don't own your view.

YABU. Everyone has to learn somewhere and if it's a public road and they aren't blocking your drive then you are just being a bit precious about your view

I live down the road from the local test centre so there are often more learner drivers around than qualified ones and because I park outside my house I often see them using my car as a practice one to reverse around - doesn't bother me in the slightest. It can be a bit annoying when they occasionally stall in front of me when I'm on my way out to work but I expect to be delayed now so leave that bit earlier

They have to park up somewhere, you need to just suck it up, or look elsewhere. I wish I had time in the day to just sit and be annoyed at who was parked outside my house for 10/15 minutes!!

Definitely take a note of the Driving School names and give them a polite phone call, it can work.
My parents have their car parked in a marked bay in front of their house (they have a blue badge), driving schools were using the road all day every day - not a problem for my folks. But during the day (neighbours out at work) there were spaces around their car so the learner drivers were using their car as a "marker" for parking, reversing etc. My folks were very anxious that their car would be hit as it enables them to have freedom to get out and about. Obviously Driving Schools have insurance but it would be a real issue for them to be without a car (one they felt comfortable driving - not a replacement).
A couple of phone calls reduced the number of learner drivers practising around their car but my parents had no problem with the learners using the road in general so I think you are BU.

I bet the learners that supoosedly glance in your window are alot less interested in you than you seem to be in then.

I really am struggling to work out why this would annoy you if they're not obstructing your drive or stopping you from being able to park or use the road, or why you seem to spend so much time watching them.

In short, I think you just have to suck it up and find a way to distract yourself from counting traffic.

That's what happens if you buy a house on a test route.

Same as if you buy opposite a school, cars and buses will drop off children.

And if you live near a station, people will park on your street when the car park is full.

And if you live beside a pub it will be noisy at night.

S'not rocket science .

Hmm. I do think that if you buy a house with large windows and an unobstructed view of the road, and make no attempt to create a barrier there (curtains, blinds, hedges) then you are being a little OTT to complain that objects on the public highway are giving you a view not to your liking. And though I agree with Kr1stina's point above, everything she lists is actually more obtrusive than what you describe. It's really not a big deal, is it?

I genuinely don't understand what is irritating about someone being parked on the road outside your house briefly.

Cars are parked outside mine all day long. Not that I'm sitting in my front room looking all the time, have far too much on my plate.

The only time it affects me is if a car alarm goes off, which is annoying, or it is a van or lorry, which blocks my view of the river outside. But it's a free country and a public road, so it's fine.

My DM has this. Wide quiet road on the test route, constant learners doing 3 point turns outside her house. Every time I park there my car is used to reverse round. There are usually 5 or 6 learners on the length of the street. Can have to wait for each in turn to finish a manoeuvre to get past. Someone complained to their local councillor, who sent a questionnaire round all the houses asking how much of a problem it was and the results was nearly 100% that it was a problem. The councillor then spoke to all the local driving schools and all but one agreed to only use this street just before a test as it was often were the examiner used. Probably moved the problem to someone else's street but at least helped reduce the number in theirs to more manageable. Sorry first sentences should have been in past tense

On a purely practical note, you don't need a front garden to put in a hedge. Potted hedging could work well.

Like this on pinterest

We have it all the time. We are a quiet dead end road, we have no test centres locally so all the driving schools seem to like our road I like to look at the positives-
It keeps the cat amused as she likes watching them.
AND, more importantly it deters burglars.

Contact the driving schools. Red Driving used to give instructors a list of streets they couldnt use due to complaints.

"
Another sign of the younger generation becoming deskilled?"

No, more a sign of the use of computerised immobilisers.

I wouldn't be bothered at all. In fact, I'd like to watch them, see how they are doing. I love people watching though.

Contact the driving schools? Yes, if they are causing a nuisance, blocking access, obstructing traffic, hitting other vehicles, endangering road users and pedestrians but not because they are spoiling the view from someone's window by parking legally on a public road. Wtf is wrong with people?

Boo hoo. YABU.

Yes it is a lovely area and I guess it's not a huge thing to deal with in the grand scheme of thinhsb

It is funny sometimes I will admit! I was cleaning my windows outside when a driver was doing a 3 point turn but literally kept stalling every few seconds. I didn't laugh of course. There was another time when a learner came out of nowhere and did an emergency stop right outside our window! But it was the way it literally just zoomed in from nowhere and abruptly stopped that tickled me!

Yes I'm sorry for saying the previous poster was rude, I misread the tone - she wasn't rude at all

I imagine that when you and your family learned to drive, you did so on someone else's road? People have to learn somewhere. I would guess that they choose areas that are quieter than average - otherwise it wouldn't really be advantageous for inexperienced drivers, would it? Which still means that, compared to many people, you have fewer cars on your road.

OH god, OP, don't go all lovely and funny and reasonable now, and make us all warm towards you, when we had you down as Hyacinth Bouquet

This is a great example of understanding the limits of our control. Yes, plant a hedge. No, don't complain about learner drivers using quiet streets to practice in.

YABU but you have my utmost sympathies. We live on a test route in the perfect spot for reversing around a corner manoeuvres

The road is continually in use by learners/test candidates but I knew it was on a test route when we bought it (passed my test here ) so it's tough shit unfortunately.

Most of the instructors are great and thankful for your patience but there are a couple of gobshites, who won't even acknowledge the fact that you've sat waiting for ages for their client to complete manoeuvres.

Can you spend a few evenings naked in the front window? May put them off for a while?