To ask people to move their cars if its on the pavement and you cannot get past?

[ShonC]

Hi all,

I am not sure why this bothers me so much but I guess it's the sheer ignorance of some people or perhaps they really don't care.

My dad is reliant on a wheelchair or mobility scooter. He is allowed to use his scooter on the pavement as it's below 12MPH. There has been times where he has been out and he has had to ride in the road because he cannot use the pavement as cars are parked there and I couldn't even get through. I worry for him as people drive very dangerously and often use mobile phones so I don't like him going in the road and neither does he, nor should he have to.

My partner says that I am going to get smacked by someone one day as there have been times where I've knocked on people's doors asking if that is their vehicle blocking the pavement and explain my reasoning, they are usually very understanding/ embarrassed and move it immediately. I think sometimes people just don't think.

AIBU? There are some disabled people who wouldn't have the confidence to ask that someone moves their vehicle for them.. I feel like I do this to help. I am never rude or confrontational either, hence why I think people are reciprocative.

I just think it's unfair that people park like this when it's so difficult for disabled people using wheelchairs or scooters to find a dropped kerb and takes longer for their journey. Similarly unfair for those with young children or prams..

I know that roads and pavements aren't built for purpose but I think people need to be more accommodating for the needs of others. I also don't spend my days knocking on doors in case anyone thinks I do, just if there are serial offenders or I cannot get past myself.

Here is a recent image of someone who I asked to move and they did, but he does this all the time

Anyone who parks on a pavement like that is an inconsiderate [add expletive of choice] and deserves to have the car scratched by a wheelchair or buggy trying to get past.

Pavements are for pedestrians.

Some housing estates are designed with pavement parking in mind (and will be quiet enough to go in the road anyway) but most cases of it are selfish (and illogical as you just end up causing an obstruction to pedestrians AND drivers instead of just drivers).

It's about time pavement parking was properly banned in most areas and cars were impounded and scrapped. That would stop it pronto!

Often it's done to be considerate to road users to not block the road

Why are drivers more important than pedestrians? And usually they just block both - even on the pavement, you're sticking out into the road enough to cause an obstruction. And usually there is a side road a few metres down the road that they could park down, but no, lets block the pavement instead so I don't have to move my lardy arse more than 5m.

Some housing estates are designed with pavement parking in mind

I wondered if that was the case. There is a road here which has pavements 2 cars wide on each side. You could park a tank and there would still be space.

Ive never knocked on a door but ive told people who i have seen parking like that, and stuck a note on the windscreen when someone did it outside my house making me go in through the back as i literally couldnt get in.

Actually, i did once knock on a neighbours house and ask them to tell their workmen to move

I'm glad i'm not alone

I dont require a wheelchairs or pushchairs etc, but its ignorant, lazy and entitled. Appreciate people want to park at their homes, if this is the case then buy a house with a drive. If not why should people be made to go in the road to satisfy someone's laziness to park further away.

YANBU at all, it’s so selfish. There’s a house about 10 doors away from me who park their people carrier on the pavement. It’s a 7 seater so you’d think clearly having a family they’d be more considerate of people with a pram but they just aren’t. They have a driveway but don’t use it which just baffles me. I hate them so much, it literally makes me seethe every time I have to walk in the road to get around their car. I’d love to ram the side of the pram into their car but I obviously don’t. I want to confront them but equally am not a fan of confrontation so I just silently seethe. An elderly man who says hi to me every day has whacked cars on the pavement with his walking stick before now, I don’t blame him!

@BIoodyStupidJohnson

YANBU. It's illegal here (London) and there's been talk of making it a fineable offence in the rest of the country too.

I hope they don't do that everywhere. I have no off street parking and the pavement is extremely wide and it's impossible to block the pavement if you go up with two wheels. Most of the roads around here are the same so there would be nowhere to park.

I definitely don't agree with idiots blocking narrow pavements though.

I think a good general rule to live by in life is try not to obstruct people unnecessarily

I had a rubbish buggy that I used to ram down any small gaps
More fool them for parking that way.

@Robbo94

On a similar note, I've spoken to two arctic drivers now who have told me that the police have turned a blind eye whilst they scraped past rows of cars parked on double yellows.

One was outside a big network site which I've been to, and I know it's a nightmare to get out of in a truck. It's one way and you have no way of knowing what the street exit will be like until you leave, by which time the automatic barrier has closed behind you.

The driver said that he had to call the police as he was stuck - couldn't get back through barrier as was an unmanned site after 5pm and his keycard only worked on the entrance. But couldn't get past the cars. The copper apparently asked if it would damage the wagon and when the driver said no, he told him to crack on but he'd ticket him if he saw him again that evening. Driver said he was scraping past BMWs and Range Rovers etc, some really nice cars!

Serves them right for parking on double yellow lines in the first place. It does annoy me. I see it more and more

@Robbo94 serves them right!! Glad he turned a blind eye

I thought it was illegal to park on the pavement everywhere in the UK, is it not?

Near us there's a football pitch and players all park half on the narrow pavement so blocking it apart from pedestrians can just squeeze down. More than once I've seen police community support officers walk into the pitch mid match and make the offenders move their cars.

There are too many cars for the road sometimes. Many roads were built when it was just the milkman and the odd rich persons car. They weren't designed for the number of car dependent people we have today.

That's not a judgement on individuals who need cars, just a comment on modern life, town planning and public transport provision.

YANBU. It's pig ignorant to block the pavement and force pedestrians into the road. Highly dangerous for those with wheel chairs and pushchairs who have to remain in the road between the drop kerbs to get back on the pavement again. I don't think drivers who do this think about parents wiyh young children, the disabled and infirm or those wiith poor eye sight and the blind.
Totally selfish and illegal.

This also gives me the rage and when I retire see it as one of my jobs to work to make illegal so many times have I ended walking on the road with buggy and toddler.

When I walk past one I am writing in my mind ‘AIBU to key this car as I squeeze past?’ Even a friend who is a Quaker is prone to this thought.

People can’t be asked to walk a minute or two, instead park on the pavement but will probably make a concerted effort to do some form of exercise.

@PinkSparklyPussyCat In London, on roads that are too narrow to allow parking fully on the road, however the pavements are wide enough to allow partial (or even whole car in some instances) pavement parking specific bays are marked out and signposted for this. You can then park like this.

However if there isn't a bay you just can't park there and have to park further away and walk. Yes it can be annoying but the road and cars do not take precedence over the pavement section of the highway.

YANBU. I now often tell people I see doing this on my street not to do that, which are visitors as everyone has driveways and those with multiple cars who park in the street don’t do this. No one does this

I only started a few months ago when I saw a blind person walking down our street and walk into one of these badly parked cars and fall to the ground. That really hit home how inconsiderate parking on the sidewalk is

[quote isitjustlockdown]@PinkSparklyPussyCat In London, on roads that are too narrow to allow parking fully on the road, however the pavements are wide enough to allow partial (or even whole car in some instances) pavement parking specific bays are marked out and signposted for this. You can then park like this.

However if there isn't a bay you just can't park there and have to park further away and walk. Yes it can be annoying but the road and cars do not take precedence over the pavement section of the highway. [/quote]
That's what I'm hoping our council will do if it becomes illegal to park partly on the pavement.

At no point did I say cars should take precedence over the pavement!

It's illegal to obstruct pavements and where I live, it's also an offence to park on grass verges, not that it stops anyone. The amount of people I see doing this despite having empty drives makes me so mad. I always hope their wing mirrors get knocked off

@PatriachyChickenChampion2020

YANBU.

If there are no dropped kerbs free for me to get round cars and vans, and I can just about squeeze through, I will. People should think about their paintwork before they park like twats.

Also. Fucking bin day. Many times I have had to come home without making it to the shops on bin day. I understand some people aren't home to bring the bins in but our pavements are wide enough to get past if the bins aren't left scattered all over them.

Probably more the fault of the bin men who tend to just abandon bins after emptying.

One of my (now ex) neighbours used to park on the pavement - although not quite as far on as that, but enough to make it difficult for my wheelchair using DC to get through. They actually had an unused driveway 10 ft away but presumably couldn't be bothered to manoeuvre onto it. The fact that the offender was a member of the local constabulary means there is no hope!

@PinkSparklyPussyCat - My second paragraph wasn't to you, I was just making a point in general. I just wanted to assure you that even in London, where there has been the rule for ages, there are sensible procedures put in place to allow parking to still occur.

Quite agree. Three is actually three vans parked here. The one on the very edge pulled up in front of me and blocked the pavement as I was walking and couldn't understand why I told him to move it. This is opposite a big car park! Also, what about massive hedges, that have actually been cut, taking up more than half of the pavement. What is it with all these space Invaders 🙄