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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To not have apologised for parking here

47 replies

Srirachachacha · 05/05/2021 23:03

I parked in a disabled bay today when visiting a friend. I am disabled but not particularly visibly, and displayed my blue badge. The bay was outside a row of houses but on a public road, not allocated or private parking. There was no where else to park on the street.

As I left a man came out and started yelling at me about how I shouldn't have parked there. I was polite and told him I had a blue badge and was entitled to park there. He continued to yell at me, asked me how I'd like it if he parked on my drive (not the same thing at all) and told me "park there again and see what happens", so I told him I'd be sure to let the police know. He then told me to fuck off.

So, was I being unreasonable? I have checked and it's much like parking on the pavement outside someone's house - they don't own it and as long as you have a blue badge you're allowed to park there. I don't think I did anything wrong, but he was incandescent with rage.

OP posts:

ChameleonKola · 05/05/2021 23:05

Of course YANBU. People get so weird about spaces that are near their house but anyone is legally entitled to park in. Pay no notice.

Lou98 · 05/05/2021 23:08

YANBU, as long as it wasn't a private space which it doesn't sound like it was from your post, you're just as entitled to park there as he is!

NC267891 · 05/05/2021 23:09

People are crazy about parking outside their house. However, devils advocate, was it "his" disabled space? As in could someone he lives with be disabled, be out and expect the space to be there when they come home?

MarjorieBouvier · 05/05/2021 23:10

Not unreasonable.

Just because the bay has been painted for a resident that needs it, doesn't mean the resident owns it. However, I can understand him being annoyed. It's a lot more frustrating then an able bodied person having to park somewhere else. And potentially could mean they would struggle to get home.

MinesAPintOfTea · 05/05/2021 23:10

Legally you were in the clear... But he will have applied for a blue badge space outside his house due to specific access requirements to get to his home.

KingdomScrolls · 05/05/2021 23:10

Our neighbour across the road has a parking bay on the street outside her house a blue badge space, the rest of the street is unrestricted but lots of people have dropped curbs so there aren't many spaces to park. The council put it in because said neighbour is extremely limited with mobility and has several disabilities/health conditions requiring regular treatment, it's basically used for the carers who come to transport her to hospital and to physio. It's not marked for her use only but as it's a quiet residential street it would be highly unusual for anyone else to park there. Have you parked in something similar?

mainsfed · 05/05/2021 23:13

@MinesAPintOfTea

Legally you were in the clear... But he will have applied for a blue badge space outside his house due to specific access requirements to get to his home.

But if it was just for him it would be a reserved, numbered bay.

Op was not legally or morally wrong to park there.

superram · 05/05/2021 23:16

You weren’t in the wrong legally but I have said yabu. If it’s outside of someone’s house you know they need to park there (they don’t have more right than you but it just feels wrong). It’s an unwritten blue badge code that you try not to do it. He shouldn’t have shouted though.

Original poster

Srirachachacha · 05/05/2021 23:16

@KingdomScrolls

It's a busy street with a range of businesses so not purely residential. There's at least 5 or 6 similar spaces on the same street with various cars parking in them (some of the cars in other bays had no blue badges incidentally).

OP posts:

mainsfed · 05/05/2021 23:20

He has actually threatened you, OP. I’m glad you said you would let the police know.

My mum has a blue badge, we do need to park in disabled bays in residential streets sometimes and she would be fine with other bb holders doing this on her road.

lanthanum · 05/05/2021 23:21

The law is on your side, but of course it must be extremely frustrating if, having had a disabled bay allocated, you come home to find that not only is it taken, but so is all other parking on the street.

Whilst with regular on-street parking, it's just a question of walking a bit further, for someone with significant disability, it could make it very difficult to get from the car to the house. Arguably disabled bays in that sort of area ought to be reserved for the resident, but then if they were going to be at work all day it would be silly for you not to be able to park there. There's no easy solution.

mineofuselessinformation · 05/05/2021 23:21

I've said this on here before, but it's worth repeating (DC2 has a blue badge, so I have experience).
Have a response ready. Mine was 'If you think I'm doing anything wrong, feel free to report me'. Something like that takes the wind out of their sails.
The best one was in Majorca (same rules as in the UK, we had hired a car). The people who we had hired the car from were waiting for us when we got back to it, as someone had phoned them to complain we were misusing the space. They were horribly embarrassed when we pointed out that we held the badge perfectly legally, and were using the space legally too.

DIshedUp · 05/05/2021 23:23

Is it like a carpark disabled space or like a bay you sometimes find on a residential road?

If one on a residual road I think you were being a tad unreasonable, whilst legally you weren't wrong, the bays are painted to ensure access to that particular property. So whilst technically you can use them, the idea is that they reserve the space outside the property so either disabled residents can access their own house, or carers access.

If its just a regular disabled carpark space then of course YANBU

MyDcAreMarvel · 05/05/2021 23:23

I have a blue badge and would never do this. It’s more important a resident can safety enter their home than you visit a friend. Just because something is legal doesn’t make it morally ok.

tulippa · 05/05/2021 23:25

Isn't a disabled space outside a house meant to be for the person who lives there? Otherwise what's the point of it? It's not like it's easy for the resident to just park up the road if they actually need the disabled space that's been painted for them. (If this is what the set up was.)

TheBigFatMermaid · 05/05/2021 23:27

He would have had to apply for the space outside his house, but would have been told anyone with a blue badge can park there.
YANBU.

Zolrets · 05/05/2021 23:28

I’ve often wondered about the status of these bays. I think legally you did nothing wrong but if someone needs to be close to their house to access it and they come back and find the space occupied then what would they do? I’d be worried they couldn’t get in their own home. I’ve also wondered too about what happens if the person moves do they get removed or left? Angry man didn’t explain himself to you very well but I guess if he had a relative out and about he may have been concerned.

Summerdayshaze · 05/05/2021 23:28

I have a blue badge but would never do this. He could have been less rude but is possibly worn down with it all.

BagORats · 05/05/2021 23:29

Nope YANBU you weren't breaking any rules. Just because it's been requested by them doesn't mean they can stop anyone else parking in it that needs it and you needed it

mainsfed · 05/05/2021 23:31

the bays are painted to ensure access to that particular property. So whilst technically you can use them, the idea is that they reserve the space outside the property so either disabled residents can access their own house, or carers access.

This isn’t true, the bays are for all bb holders to use. If the bay is numbered then it’s reserved for the bb holder at the relevant property.

minniemomo · 05/05/2021 23:37

Legally you can but disabled bays on otherwise unrestricted streets are installed because that resident needs one so I can see his frustration if his dp cannot access his/her bay and this means they can't get home.

Original poster

Srirachachacha · 06/05/2021 00:05

@minniemomo

Not to drip feed, but it wasn't for his OH, it was for himself that he wanted it from what I could understand from his ranting.

Had he spoken to me (politely) as I parked I would have been more apologetic and most likely have moved (not sure where though).

Given that it's not always the same cars in these bays when I'm there (which is often) it's fair to assume that some are left behind from when residents have moved. My friend has one outside their door, but didn't apply for it as it was there when they moved in.

My friend who lives on this street is also disabled, the parking is a bit of a free for all - no allocated bays and no allocated disabled bays. It has since transpired this friend has also had a run in with this gentleman on the same issue.

OP posts:

mineofuselessinformation · 06/05/2021 00:10

So, he was already at home, but still ranted at you because he wants the space left free?
He's an arse.
YANBU.

thereisonlyoneofme · 06/05/2021 10:16

The disabled spaces outside residents homes here have a notice fixed to the house wall too so people can tell its for that particular house.

Aprilx · 06/05/2021 10:22

You were not legally wrong, but I think you were morally wrong. You must know that somebody living there has applied for a disabled space because they need it and that was the only available option to place it. I can understand why the resident was upset.

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