I just lost it over parking

[tallinmanchester]

I live near a post office and a woman just rudely parked outside my drive and was on her way into the post office when I shouted out the window that I'd like her to move her car.

Do you need access to the drive was her reply.

That's not the point, it's called being respectful and I said she should park down the road - literally loads of space like 20 yards further down (quiet residential road).

She got aggressive. I got aggressive. Words were had, she stormed off... I went outside but she obviously knew I wasn't letting it go and she came back and moved her car - together with name calling - which I returned.

Thing is, I don't know why it bothers me. I feel out of sorts at the moment with lockdown and my fuse is really short.

People parking in front of my drive are pissing me off.

But why do I feel off - is it because I'm stuck at home all day working and not getting out much?

YABU even if she was blocking your drive because you weren’t needing to use it right then. She was doing you no harm whatsoever.

WTF? I'm massively more laid back than the average MN about neighbours sometimes using but randomly blocking someone in is incredibly sickish.

YWNBU, OP. You aren't always going to act like a robot when someone is giving you abuse and she was inexcusably in the wrong.

True but I don't think OP was remotely that friendly with the woman.

Baby oil comes in very handy sometimes

True but I don't think OP was remotely that friendly with the woman.

If you have a dropped kerb, can you call the council parking to have a mobile parking inspector come and issue a ticket?

I very much understand how you feel OP. To all those who say, 'no harm', I have so far missed vital doctor's appointments because I have not been able to get out of my drive, had to pay plumbers extra while we have had to wait for CF parkers to return from a 'just a minute' park, been blocked from entering my driveway for hours, been blocked from leaving my driveway for more than 24 hours amongst other incidents.

Obviously 'no harm' came to the CF parkers except a parking ticket. Or in the instance of one who parked me in for days, several parking tickets.

Eventually, the council came through and put yellow lines across the driveways on our street due to the constant stream of complaints from the residents about people who believe there is 'no harm' in parking across people's driveways and blocking them.

@PlanDeRaccordement

YABU even if she was blocking your drive because you weren’t needing to use it right then. She was doing you no harm whatsoever.

This is such a ridiculous comment. The woman was clearly willing to block the driveway regardless of whether or not she needed to use it!

Don't beat yourself up.

Everyone has short tempers at the moment, little things are just setting me off in ways I've never experienced.

Honestly, is it any wonder?!

I think there are short fuses all round TBH so don't stress too much about it. The woman really shouldn't be parking in front of a residential path whatever the reason, well unless you are an ambulance saving someones life.

I just near lost it out in my local town. I have things to do before Thurs lockdown and I am very busy. I need to do things like bank, go the tip, sort out a couple of medical appointments etc. I was in the bank and there was a long queue, one cashier. One women gets to the front and decides to sort out her whole future there and then with a million questions. Luckily a person behind me lost it before I did.

@PlanDeRaccordement

YABU even if she was blocking your drive because you weren’t needing to use it right then. She was doing you no harm whatsoever.

Hardly the point is it. 🙄

@PinkSparklyPussyCat and @donquixotedelamancha

Well she may not be a “cheeky mare” and she didn’t block the OP in as the OP said she wasn’t in need of the drive while the woman used the post office. It very well might be that the lady had mobility issues and parked there because the post office had no disabled parking space.

I tend to think of that because I had horrible experience living in the U.K. that was similar. I was out walking back from co op, when I had an asthma attack. So I sat on a wooden planter on the edge of a person’s drive. The woman in the house opened her window and shouted at me for sitting on “her property” and to “clear off”. I could not answer as I could barely breathe and waved my inhaler by way of explanation. She got very aggressive, called me names and threatened to call the police. All this was very distressing on top of an asthma attack and I just think that if someone uses my drive for five minutes and I don’t need to leave/use it just then, I would be tolerant and not so mean as to chase them off. To be shouted at like that, I think that is being rude. Not the temporary use of space that isn’t being used.

I park in front of drives if it's the only space available, but never if there's a car in the drive or a garage at the end of a drive.

YANBU

I used to live on a village " High Street" opposite a free carpark.
We had a dropped kerb, double yellow lines and people still parked over the driveway.
You cannot reason with some people!!!

@Opinionator
The woman was clearly willing to block the driveway regardless of whether or not she needed to use it!

The woman’s first question to OP was “do you need access to the drive”
The OP did not. But if OP did, I think she would have moved her car. Otherwise why ask the question? If she was willing to block regardless she would have ignored the OP and kept walking.

YANBU. I'm disabled and can't walk more than 60 seconds or so without pain, and I still wouldn't block someone's drive. No excuse.

YANBU. I can see why that would be annoying especially if it's happening all the time! Maybe that one woman didn't deserve it however it sounds like it was a build up of it happening over and over again.

Can you ask to have double yellows painted on the road or put a no parking sign at the bottom of your drive just to reinforce it?

Otherwise, I like the golden syrup idea above! Hehe

It's a small thing you can control in a world of uncertainty. It's rude. Yes not dignified to shout but sounds like end of your tether.
A response to do you need to acess drive would have been no I don't but my disabled mother is coming in 5 minutes and she does. Hopefully make her think twice.
We have a no parking sign on our drive as people kept parking on it when we moved in and looked put out when we asked them to move (we are next to a park)

@PlanDeRaccordement

YABU even if she was blocking your drive because you weren’t needing to use it right then. She was doing you no harm whatsoever.

I would say the opposite. In what world is it ok to park across someone's drive? She was a cheeky mare and the OP had every right to get cross.

[quote PlanDeRaccordement]@Opinionator
The woman was clearly willing to block the driveway regardless of whether or not she needed to use it!

The woman’s first question to OP was “do you need access to the drive”
The OP did not. But if OP did, I think she would have moved her car. Otherwise why ask the question? If she was willing to block regardless she would have ignored the OP and kept walking.[/quote]
It's irrelevant whether she needed access at that moment or not, it is still against the law to park in front of someone's driveway - Especially when OP explained there is more parking further along the road.

I'd have been put out if it was my driveway she'd parked across. I used to live near a school...I was once blocked in by a parent at the end of the school day...I couldn't get out to the home birth I was on call for.
Midwife

@PlanDeRaccordement

She was being a cheeky fucker & you’re missing the point. You don’t purposefully block someone’s drive because you can’t be bothered to find an appropriate parking space like everyone else. If she had a genuine emergency, i.e a medical problem such as you did then of course you would cut her some slack. But in this case she was just being lazy. And obviously arrogant enough to think she could be granted special exception.

People like this tend to push the boundaries of politeness. What business of hers was it to ask if the OP would be using his drive? Rude, rude rude, sorry. She would have got an earful from me too.

Maybe she’ll think twice about taking the piss again.

@SkedaddIe but what if the owner gets home but can’t park on their drive because you’ve selfishly blocked it? I bought a house with parking because after a long shift in the hospital I want to park outside my house. How are you in a position to decide whether someone is planning to use their drive or not that given moment?

There are no excuses. I don't care what pathetic reason you would care to use - don't park on or block my drive you selfish CF.

You probably do need to get out at some point in the day however that doesn't excuse her parking there. If you usually don't work at home maybe she regularly parks there.

I've been blocked in making me late for work before & the same car tried again recently. I shot out with my big bump & gave him an earful about pregnant women needing to be able to get to hospital, and driveways not being parking spaces, how he never knows what other people might need to get out for. I've only seen his car quite a long way from my house since