WIBU to put a note on this car?

[JammyGem]

Our street is really bad for parking - it's very tight and narrow and difficult to get a space. The last few weeks the same car has parked outside our house. There are no designated spaces or permits, so although it's annoying as it means sometimes we have to park a couple streets over if there's no space, it's just one of those things.

However, this car always parks halfway up onto the pavement. I understand that the street is narrow, and everyone wants to avoid getting their car scratched, but they are the only ones to do this. There is enough room to get the pram past it on the street, but often they park right in front of our gate so there's hardly any room to manoeuvre the pram out of the gate onto the street iyswim. A couple of times I've bumped into their car (thankfully with my body rather than the pram) and I'm worried I'll scratch it. Plus it's just plain annoying.

I could assemble the pram on the street and then carry DD to it, but to be honest I just don't want to do that as it's really inconvenient.

WIBU to put a note on the car? I don't know who it belongs to, or even if they live on this street, as I never seem to catch them. I was thinking something along the lines of: "Hi, please be mindful of how much of the pavement you take up when parking - it makes it difficult to get our pram out of the gate and I'm worried about damaging your car! JammyGem @ [housenumber]"

Is that rude?

[Longlivepenguins]

Put dc in a supermarket trolley, not pram, then attempt to steer past car, then leave polite apology?

[Cheeserton]

Quite impressive the number of people suggesting they'd criminally damage a car.

Yes it's parked foolishly, but there are correct channels for complaint if necessary.

[Toneitdown]

When I first started driving I used to mount the pavement to park. I wasn't very confident and saw others doing it so I assumed it was just what you did. After a couple of weeks a neighbour left a note on my car saying I was blocking the pavement and they couldn't get their pram round my car. I was mortified as I genuinely hadn't even thought about it. I stopped doing it after that.

So yeah, leave a note. It will either stop them from doing it or alert you to the fact that they don't give a shit. At least then you know where you stand and not to bother being careful with the pram next to their car.

[flumpybear]

I'd leave a polite, but factual note about manoeuvring around their car being difficult and you're worried you'll scratch their car - I wouldn't bother getting shirty as it'll be less effective

[ivykaty44]

without even pointing the problem out to the driver?

Drivers have to take a test to obtain a licence to drive, part of that test is to learn the Highway Code so the driver already knows rule 244 and already knows they shouldn’t be parking as they are

www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/parking.html

[VivaLeBeaver]

I certainly wouldn’t deliberately scratch someone’s car but if it happened I wouldn’t lose sleep over it.

Someone near me parks like this on the cycle path and I have to squeeze between their car and a hedge. I slow right down so I can get through the gap as best I can but my handlebars often rub along the car....thankfully handlebars are rubber so don’t seem to damage the car. Alternative is to step out into an ultra busy A road which I won’t do.

I think the note sounds fine

[ivykaty44]

Police deal with motorised vehicles blocking pavement & cyclepaths

Council deal with non motorised blocking e.g caravan ship hire etc

[unicorncupcake]

I would smear dog shit under the driver door handle so when they open their door they get shit on their fingers.

What an aggressive and unpleasant overreaction. I find it depressing that so many people would jump to an immediately aggressive response to an annoying situation rather than trying to sort things amicably as the OP is doing. However I hope the anonymity of this site means that most people saying they would deliberately criminally damage a car for parking badly is just exaggeration.

[Lulualla]

@Cheeserton

And those complaint procedures take time. What do you do whilst you're waiting? Just not leave the house?

There was one road which was really bad for it. The road was massive; loads if space to park without mourning the pavement. Because the road was so wide, the pavements where very very thing. A pram would take up about 3/4 of it, so if someone parked on the pavement it meant you couldn't avoid scratching their car. Sometimes they parked so far up that the pram wouldn't fit at all and you'd need to walk around onto the very busy making road through town. There were several accidents on that road. If I had the choice of fitting past them but scratching their car, then that's what I did. Taking my baby into a busy main road just to save a car from being scratched was an absolutely no.

[Lulualla]

Ignore the typos. I'm not wearing my glasses.

[NoSauce]

Some nutcases on here. You’d damage someone’s car because it was parked in your way somewhat?

[Lulualla]

They are illegally parked. The only way to fit a pushchair or wheelchair down one of our streets is to scrape the handle down the wall at one side and the cars at the other side. It's either do that, it walk on a main road which is always busy.
The drivers can quite clearly see that they've left no space. There are signs all along the road telling them not to park on the pavement. They do anyway. If I scratch the car then that's their fault, not mine.

[NoSauce]

I know they’re illegally parked and I obviously don’t condone that but deliberately scratching the car is wrong.

[homeishere]

What did you do?

[NoSauce]

I would smear dog shit under the driver door handle so when they open their door they get shit on their fingers

My point proven.

[Lulualla]

I didn't purposefully go up against the car and scratch it, whilst leaving space on the other side of my pram which I could have walked on. It's a thin pavement. If someone parks up with their wheels just on the kerb then there is only enough space to fit down if you scratch against both sides (wall and car). There literally isn't the option of not scratching the car. Unless you go out onto the road, which is the main road through town. And one of the only roads which lorries can fit down so it's the the through road for all the delivery trucks. You don't take a pram or wheelchair into the road if there is any other way to get past. That way includes scratching their cars.

[ivykaty44]

This is becoming more common to prevent motorists driving onto the pavement- contact your local council highway department and put in a request

[Juells]

HRTFT but I wouldn't identify that you're living in that house. Just leave a note that it's difficult to get a pram by.

Mentioning how hard it is to get by without scratching the car is quite inspired though

[Cheeserton]

What do you do whilst you're waiting? Just not leave the house?

Obviously not, but certainly not start vandalising cars, unless particularly keen on getting a criminal record for something so stupid...

[Submariner]

I never scratched a car, but for those people who are shocked that people are suggesting she scratch this one car that's in her way ... It's never just one car. As a pedestrian with a buggy or a wheelchair user it's multiple times per journey, multiple times per day and eventually it does make you quite ragey.

My worst example was when I was walking up the hill with buggy and walking toddler, past a dentist that has a tiny car park. The car park was full so some woman in the traffic made eye contact with me, then pulled across the pavement next to the car park and parked, fully blocking the pavement. She had the nerve to backchat to me that there was nowhere else to park. Ok, great, I'll just take my kids into the main road then? Yep, she was happy to watch me do that.

Your car is not worth more than a human life.

[Rubbinghimsweetly2]

Can't believe so many would damage the car on purpose.

[strawberrypenguin]

I'd leave out the bit about damaging the car in case they use it to come back at you if the car does get scratched by someone walking by.
The rest is fine though

[Lulualla]

I can't believe so many people tho k paintwork is more important than the safety of a child or of a wheelchair user.

I don't think some people understand what a main road is. A road which no one ever drives at the speed limit; They bomb down at 50. It's never clear. But yes, I will take my pram out into the middle of one lane just to protect the paintwork of an illegally parked car where, unless the driver was blind, they could clearly see there isn't enough space to safely pass a pushchair.

[Pollywollydolly]

For god's sake don't mention that you are worried about scratching the car. You will be leaving yourself open to all sorts of claims. Ring the police and tell them it is blocking the pavement. If it gets towed they'll soon stop!

[NoSauce]

Nobody would put their baby at risk by walking around the car when traffic is passing at 50 mph. You would wait till it was clear. I’ve done it myself, wait till the road is clear then walk around the car. Not ideal at all but is certainly doable. You’re making out it’s the M1.