Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Would you park...?

98 replies

LunasOrchid · 01/12/2019 06:43

It's freezing this morning, was driving around looking for somewhere to park. All available spaces on the road taken.

Here's my AIBU... There was a space outside a house. The house has turned their front yard into an obvious drive but it was currently empty. However, there is no dropped curb leading ontonthe drive.

How many of you would have parked their?

YABU - It's someone's access to their drive with or without a dropped curb.

YANBU - You can legally park there as it isn't a dropped curb.

Grin
OP posts:
RebootYourEngine · 01/12/2019 07:42

These people have illegally restricted parking outside their home by creating a 'driveway' but not dropped the kerb. No different to putting out cones or a wheelie bin. I would have parked there.

Where did you park in the end OP?

Winesalot · 01/12/2019 07:48

Yes. Park there if they have no dropped kerb. Our council is very strict on it as there is a shortage of parking too. People still do it but you are not supposed to just decide that they can magic a drive in front of the house. There is a list of requirements the drive has to meet and if those are not met, crossing the pavement to park in front of your house is considered dangerous to others.

But..... I am so heartened to see the number of people who respect driveways on this thread.

dottiedodah · 01/12/2019 07:49

I probably wouldnt park there ,but I dont like confrontation! As far as having a "drive but no dropped kerb" I dont get this .Do you drive on the pavement then ? surely illegal? Never seen this where we live .

adaline · 01/12/2019 07:51

I would park there.

If they want to concrete their front garden that's up to them, but it doesn't make it a driveway!

Zebrasinpyjamas · 01/12/2019 07:51

I would park there.

diddl · 01/12/2019 07:53

YANBU.

They have no legal means of access do they?

TheStuffedPenguin · 01/12/2019 08:08

What is the difference whether it is empty or occupied ? Either stand by your statements and do it all the time or not at all .

mumwon · 01/12/2019 08:09

isn't the reason for dropped kerbs so people don't damage the pavement -so you pay for it to be adapted

Nquartz · 01/12/2019 08:12

I would park there & i have done so before.

Read a great comment on a previous thread that I'll plagiarise... It's not a drive its a patio with aspirations.

No dropped kerb = treat it as a normal bit of road.

Winesalot · 01/12/2019 08:16

There is a perception that if you are blocking someone from exiting it is illegal. Maybe this is true if they too are illegally parked such as this - happy to have people tell me where to look in highways code. It says ‘should not’ park over dropped kerbs though.

To be honest. That Highway Code is just ridiculous as a legal document. It should be either yes or no and not ‘must not’ or ‘should not’.

DowntownAbby · 01/12/2019 08:18

Neighbours should be prosecuted for illegal use of pavement to access their property with a vehicle.

Munchietime · 01/12/2019 08:19

A dropped curb is more than just a dropped curb as the council reinforce the pavement too. If someone is driving over a non dropped curb constantly they'll damage the pavement and potentially any pipes underneath.
Which is what happened to soneome in the next road to us. The pavement started to break up and the sewage pipes were exposed. I'm surprised more councils don't crack down on it.

Mjlp · 01/12/2019 08:21

YABU - It's someone's access to their drive with or without a dropped curb. It may be legal but its still 'wrong' to block someone from getting to their drive. For all you know they might be disabled.

Chasingsquirrels · 01/12/2019 08:23

Assume it's not a private road?
We used to own a house on a private / unadopted road and we DID own the pavement and road (to the middle) outside our house - it was on our deeds.
So we could, and did, park on the gravelled area in front of the house, crossing the pavement to get there. And all related pavement repairs costs were ours to bear.

So private road - no.
Public road - tbh I probably wouldn't, but you are legally within your rights and actually the "they are illegally reserving a space by doing this - no different to them putting a wheelie bin out" arguments are very true.

ivykaty44 · 01/12/2019 08:26

It’s illegal to drive across the pavement when there isn’t a drop kurb, so why would it be a problem to park your car legally on the road

MyKingdomForBrie · 01/12/2019 08:29

Only on MN. Every other parking thread ever where someone wants to some how reserve the space outside their house - they are unreasonable. Suddenly because they've chucked some concrete on their garden they are reasonable?! Bollocks.

GruciusMalfoy · 01/12/2019 08:29

I wouldn't. I'd know that I could legally, but I couldn't be bothered with the argument when I was getting back to my car.

FamilyOfAliens · 01/12/2019 08:29

For all you know they might be disabled.

If they need special access arrangements due to a disability surely they would be able to tap into funding to get the appropriate road markings and dropped kerb? Not just pave over their garden and hope people guess they’re disabled?

Smileyaxolotl1 · 01/12/2019 08:33

YY mykingdom

babycatcher411 · 01/12/2019 08:39

I wouldn’t park there out of courtesy, though I know legally I can.
We have a ‘aspiring patio’ situation because we applied for a dropped kerb (got permission) and then discovered it was going to cost £1500 to have it completed, which we couldn’t afford.
Regarding taking up parking space on the street; by parking on our aspiring patio we create more space on the street as we can get two cars on the drive (bay parked) in the space that we could get one (parallel parked) on the street, so we’re taking up less space.
We will eventually one day have saved up to have the dropped kerb,

SoupDragon · 01/12/2019 08:42

it was going to cost £1500 to have it completed, which we couldn’t afford.

Can you afford any fines you might incur for driving over the pavement?

BlessedBeTheFruitCake · 01/12/2019 08:50

No dropped kerb then it isn't technically a driveway so I'd have parked there.

misspiggy19 · 01/12/2019 08:55

I would have parked there too.

Thehop · 01/12/2019 08:56

Legally okay but morally wrong IMO

OhWellThatsJustGreat · 01/12/2019 08:59

I'd park there becauseits empty, you're blocking access but you're not blocking exit.