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AIBU?

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Original poster

Bloody entitled school parking

36 replies

m0therofdragons · 03/04/2019 18:21

I understand that people living by schools get annoyed at bad parking but seriously, if you live next door to a school and somebody dares to park completely legally outside your house (not blocking your driveway), you do not have the right to shout at that person and demand they move.

It was after school as I was collecting from the after school club and was the last parent (but on time). I got soaked walking to my car from work so was wet through and cold. I parked legally ensuring suitable space for dropped kerb. I got out my car and a woman ran from the house shouting at me for parking "in the middle". Through her rants I struggled to follow what the issue was but turns out her dh drives a van and always parks across her drop kerb so she wanted me to move back. I initially got back in the car then realised she was being an entitled knob and I was soaked and just wanted to pick up my dc. I didn't move, got out my car and said "actually, I'm parked fine and will only be 5 minutes." She carries on yelling and I picked up dc.

I don't want to be shouted at in the street after being at work all day.

Aibu to say, you don't own the road outside your house and if you live by a school, people will park outside your house. You can't be angry about that! (Obviously if people block your drive/park illegally then anger is fine!)

OP posts:
Iloveacurry · 03/04/2019 18:24

Yes she’s a knob.

SimonJT · 03/04/2019 18:28

She is an idiot, I would just ignore her if it happens again.

Ihavealwaysknown · 03/04/2019 18:30

I’d just ignore her and then continue to park there legally each time I needed to pick DC up 😂

windsorthewashingbasket · 03/04/2019 18:32

You were definitely not being unreasonable.
The latest school parking here involves people parking on a roundabout. As in, the hump of grassy area in the middle of a roundabout.
I can’t believe they’ve had to put a sign up to instruct parents not to park on a roundabout!

ChateauneufDuTwat · 03/04/2019 18:50

YANBU

I had a similar experience recently. Parked (completely legally) outside a house waiting to go in to get DC when a car pulled up in front of me and a woman starting gesticulating madly at me. I put my window down and asked her what she wanted. She told me to move because she lived in the house I was parked outside (which had an unobstructed, unused driveway may I add) so it was "her" space.

I told her that wouldn't be happening and got out of the car and walked away with her screaming behind me.

A week or so later I drove past to park further down the road (no spaces) and she was doing exactly the same to some other poor bugger.

People are very very strange.

Original poster
m0therofdragons · 03/04/2019 19:00

She actually has a double drive but the dropped kerb is only single. Because I couldn't face an argument over parking I deliberately left space as it the drive was double dropped kerbbed. Shouldn't have bothered. Bet she reports me to the school!

OP posts:
OffToBedhampton · 03/04/2019 19:07

Does sound unfair. She can't shout at you for legally parking on a public road.
But I can understand how frustrating it must be to someone living next to a school.

grumpyyetgorgeous · 03/04/2019 19:10

She's an idiot! Our school has a large, posh housing estate next to it. They complain to the school constantly about this type of thing. School as a result tries to tell us that we can't park on the housing estate at all and need to park on the main road ten minutes walk away....... we ignore them!

Longtalljosie · 03/04/2019 19:12

I get that people do park like nobs near school sometimes (not you, OP!) but it’s not like they didn’t know the school was across the road from them when they bought it - and if the school’s a good one, they benefit from an uplift in their house price too. I remember someone ranting at me about annoying parents as I dropped DD at nursery when she was small. The nursery was in the building of the former village schoolhouse, and had been a school of one sort or another since 18-whatnot...

mbosnz · 03/04/2019 19:12

I had a man start banging on the roof of the car, and the frontscreen, swearing his head off at me, when I parked perfectly legally for the school run. It turns out that he had arranged to be picked up from EXACTLY that spot. Not the spot perfectly available immediately in front of me, or the one behind me.

I was feeling a bit guilty as he was older, with a walking stick, until he very spryly walked to the car that pulled up immediately behind me, got into it, and then did the fingers at me as they pulled away. . .

People are WEIRD.

EmrysAtticus · 03/04/2019 19:15

I work in a school and recently took a complaint from a resident that students (6th formers) had parked their cars legally just on the side of the road with houses on rather than the side of the road with the school on. She genuinely believed she had the right to always park on 'her' side of the road.

InternetArgument · 03/04/2019 19:18

What a bunch of head bangers. Of course they are BU and not you. It’s distressing and horrid behaviour.

Get a bodycam and make them YouTube famous.

Thesearmsofmine · 03/04/2019 19:18

She’s an idiot. I live by a school and I get really pissed off with the parents who park across my drive but the ones not blocking my drive don’t bother me (apart from when they double park and nobody can get down the road!).

Original poster
m0therofdragons · 03/04/2019 19:19

My parents live next door to a village school and can't drive their car out of their driveway when it's school pick up. It's not due to cars though, a granny picks up on horse back with her granddaughter's horse beside her. My dp plan around it and think it's hilarious.

I am a confident woman but I hate confrontation. I walked in to collect dc shaking and annoyed she'd got to me. I think I've finally dried out now. I only park there when doing the 5.30 pick up once a week. Dh picks up the other day and said he'll park there in our massive car (not my tiny Ka) and follow drop kerb rules. He's amazing at confrontation as he's supper polite and uses long words managing to make the other person look like an idiot.

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 03/04/2019 19:19

shouting at me for parking "in the middle".

Were you parked in the middle of two spaces?

Original poster
m0therofdragons · 03/04/2019 19:20

Reading your replies, some people are nuts about parking aren't they?!

OP posts:
Original poster
m0therofdragons · 03/04/2019 19:23

@SoupDragon I was parked "in the middle" if you include her driveway. Sort of, ish. That's all I can assume. There was space for a car behind me. Because of the time of pick up there was one other car parked nearby (after school club manager's car) then no other cars.

OP posts:
LakieLady · 03/04/2019 19:31

I feel your pain, TheseArms.

To get to the underground car park at work, we have to drive down a very narrow (6'6"), L-shaped street. At the corner of the L is the entrance to a school.

Parents just stop on the corner to drop their kids off. It wouldn't be too bad if they just dropped them off, but they sit in the car and chat, get out to kiss them goodbye and generally block the street for any other poor bugger.

The road is very short, and the queue sometimes backs up to the much busier road (bus route and leads to the railway station), where it holds up the through traffic as well.

Where they stop is about 50 yards from the corner where there's a much wider road and some council flats with a car park, so they're holding all these people up for the sake of a 50 yard walk, the lazy fuckers.

Norma27 · 03/04/2019 19:32

I live next door to a school and get raging mad at bad parking. A teacher once apologised for someone parked legally outside my house. I said to her I don’t own the road and those legally parked are fine.
It is just the bloody aresholeswho block me in or park dangerously I have a problem with. If you are parked legally then ignore.

mclaleli · 03/04/2019 19:35

I parked legally ensuring suitable space for dropped kerb.

What does this mean? Suitable space for dropped kerb? Were you over it?

in the middle

Or perhaps did you leave too much space after the dropped kerb that you were in the middle of what would usually be space for 2 cars?

I'm struggling to see what she was mad about. That said, even if she was raging for nothing, I would have just moved the car up/back a bit before going to school.

ForalltheSaints · 03/04/2019 19:36

YANBU but unfortunately given all the other instances of bad parking there have probably been outside this house, I can understand anyone being upset.

Order654 · 03/04/2019 19:37

Park there every single time now. She’s a knob.

SunshineCake · 03/04/2019 19:38

I parked outside someone's house when picking up DS. This road has restrictions so people can't park 10-4 but they do. 4:02 and the house owner arrives home and parks behind me. Leaves barely a cm of space. He's tried to bully me before when I parked there but that time reversed towards me dangerously fast then glared at me trying to intimidate me. I'm parked legally and he's just a prick.

The road is next to two schools which teach 2200+ kids with nowhere near to park and only buses running sometimes. The bus company sometimes forgets to send the buses to take the kids to school so driving is all there is for some and there are no public buses for them getting home after normal finishing time.

Ellenborough · 03/04/2019 19:46

YANBU. I have had similar arguments with people myself.

bmbonanza · 03/04/2019 20:05

Presuming the school was there when they bought the house no sympathy with them. As long as you are legally parked ignore them.

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