Note left on car after parking outside someone's house.

[Thumbs]

Yesterday, a car was parked outside my house and there was no space on the pavement along my house so I parked around the corner.
There was no dropped curb so naturally presumed I could park there.

Spent my day doing things around the house when DH comes in saying there's a note on the car and that i've parked in front of their drive.
I read the note and it said something along the lines of
"Please don't park across our drive again, there are plenty of spaces on this street. Thanks."

I have never met this person despite living on the same street and never really took notice of their house to have known they have a "drive". Most of the houses on my street do not have drives apart from the odd one who has had their kerbs dropped.

But I was always led to believe that a 'drive' always has a dropped kerb. There is no dropped kerb outside their house.
Anyway I moved the car but DH told me it's obviously a drive even though it doesnt have a dropped kerb and he apologised to the owners of the house.

I feel stupid now because according to DH it was obvious.

@Charlieiscool the street was busy, hency why I had to park around the corner from my own house. Just because they wrote "there are plenty of spaces" does not mean there was at the time I came home. If there were a lot of spaces, don't you think I would have parked on my row of the street?

On our street quite a few houses have drives and some of them do have dropped kerbs and some don't.
We had ours done and it cost about £500 to have the kerb dropped. That was the cost to the council for surveys etc.
I'm guessing that's why some people don't have it done.

Some of the posters who are siding with the 'drive aspiring' neighbour are probably in the same situation - paid for a glorified patio but haven't paid for the right to use the patio as a drive.

The neighbour was a CF for putting the note on your car.

Your husband was completely unreasonable for apologising. If my DH did this (he wouldn't as he is fully aware of the legalities of parking and his loyalty would lie with me, not some random neighbour) I would be very annoyed.

I'm in the camp for parking outside the neighbour's house as and when I wanted to. Until the neighbour has paid for the privilege of a fully fledged driveway, you are essentially parking on the road in a legal spot.

*You can be neighbourly or you can be an inconsiderate twat5

The person who is being an inconsiderate twat is the one who has created a patio in their front garden and doesn't want to pay to turn it into an actual drive but leaves notes on legally parked cars telling them that their patio identifies as a drive and should be treated as such.

@Cygne

As usual on MN, being legally in the right trumps being considerate.

Perhaps because legally that is all that matters.

Clearly the people living there didn't see how busy parking was when the OP parked up. But that is seemingly irrelevant because there was plenty of space when they spotted the OP's car.

THAT is why the legality matters. It takes a the "he said, she said" out of this situation.

1. It's not a drive.
2. The kerb is not dropped.
3. At a guess there was no car on the patio so she didn't obstruct the neighbour from leaving their property.

Exactly what else should the OP do? Park in the middle of the road?

I agree with your DH. If they use it as a driveway you were U to block their access.

@HasaDigaEebowai

I agree with your DH. If they use it as a driveway you were U to block their access.

She didn't block access.

@HasaDigaEebowai

I agree with your DH. If they use it as a driveway you were U to block their access.

But you can't just use a paved area as a drive way, you need to follow the rules and get the keb lowered. If you could just drive over the pavement with no consideration then no one would ever get their kerb lowered and then people would be rightly moaning that the pavements were fucked.

The OP didn't block their access because they legally dont have any vehicle access.

@Charlieiscool

Exactly cygne If you can easily park out of your neighbour’s way then why on earth wouldn’t you do that? You can be neighbourly or you can be an inconsiderate twat. Incidentally you should have seen a drive even without a dropped kerb.

You can’t see a drive without a dropped kerb

Because without a dropped kerb it isn’t a drive

My friend failed her driving test for parking in front of a drive. She didn't notice the drive because there was no dropped kerb

It is a drive if it is wide and long enough for a car. Now you know, do not park there again. And there was an apology, so all sorted.

@OldCow1

My friend failed her driving test for parking in front of a drive. She didn't notice the drive because there was no dropped kerb

I would have argued that, quoting the Highway Code the supposedly test you against.

@OldCow1 there must be more to that story, unless there was a car she was blocking or it was a dropped kerb but she didnt notice, then everything in the highway code, google etc. states that only a dropped kerb signifies as a drive

@MushMonster so if your knowledge is correct that it's a drive if it's wide and long enough for a car, does that mean everybody on my street can start using their front gardens as a drive as all our front gardens are wide and big enough for a car?
Do you think the council would be happy if we all started mounting the kerbs in front of our house to use our front gardens as a car?
No. I think not.

Fucking hell.

It's fascinating how many people argue that the law is not the law.

Are you all free(wo)men of the land?

@MushMonster

It is a drive if it is wide and long enough for a car. Now you know, do not park there again. And there was an apology, so all sorted.

Except it isn't a drive unless there is a dropped kerb. Well, I suppose it technically it is but, as it is illegal to drive a car onto it, there will never be an issue about blocking access because there isn't any access.

The OP didn't block their access because they legally dont have any vehicle access.

That isn't always the point when it comes to being a polite member of society and I'm a lawyer! Technically it isn't a driveway but it's really inconsiderate behaviour. A bit like how it isn't illegal to sack someone with short service because you think they're ugly but you'd be a pretty horrible person to do so.

@Charlieiscool

Exactly cygne If you can easily park out of your neighbour’s way then why on earth wouldn’t you do that? You can be neighbourly or you can be an inconsiderate twat. Incidentally you should have seen a drive even without a dropped kerb.

Then we wouldn't be able to park anywhere, never, except our own drive and public car parks

@HasaDigaEebowai but there was no car on the drive so it is not inconsiderate to park in front of a house in which the kerb is not lowered!
If anything it is inconsiderate of them to expect people to not park outside their house when every other house on the street (minus the two with dropped kerbs) have people parking outside their house.

@HasaDigaEebowai plus what has you being a lawyer got to do with judging what being a polite member of society is?

That isn't always the point when it comes to being a polite member of society and I'm a lawyer! Technically it isn't a driveway but it's really inconsiderate behaviour.

How is it considerate for homeowners to take away a legal parking space that is not on their land?

I feel like I'm in the twilight zone.

@HasaDigaEebowai plus what has you being a lawyer got to do with judging what being a polite member of society is? confused

[Hmm] It was in reference to the multiple references to "the law".

Your DH is right IMO

[quote Thumbs]@MushMonster so if your knowledge is correct that it's a drive if it's wide and long enough for a car, does that mean everybody on my street can start using their front gardens as a drive as all our front gardens are wide and big enough for a car?
Do you think the council would be happy if we all started mounting the kerbs in front of our house to use our front gardens as a car?
No. I think not.[/quote]
Have you asked your husband this question OP?

A lot of people don't have the time or inclination for gardening. So they pave or gravel the garden for easier maintenance. Does that mean that no-one should ever park in front of their non-dropped-kerb house, just in case??

www.wilsham.co.uk/dropped-kerb-law-and-drop-kerb-applications/