Really shaken up. Did I do anything wrong here?

[seventymodules]

For past two years I have done the school run, I park on a street near the school. There is a detached house with a driveway and a patch of grass next to the driveway. I park in front of the patch of grass, not blocking the driveway whatsoever.

Once I drop my child at school I get collected by my workmate (we are cleaners so have company car) and then work till 3 until I have to return for school run and car.

This morning as I was getting out of the car the lady in the house came charging out, she said 'can you stop parking your car in front of my house?' I said 'it's a public road' and she said 'you park out here 5 days a week, if you refuse to move it I should make you aware that I will be cutting my grass today and any damage to your car is not my responsibility' said with a sarcastic smile on her face, she then walked back into the house shaking her head.

I've left the car but worried now she is going to damage it.

Am I being unreasonable parking it there? It's a public road and not on her property at all.

If there is no pavement and the grass verge goes right onto the edge of the road it will be a bit annoying if a car parks there as a matter of routine every single day for hours at a time. I think as she has a drive she is being very unreasonable but if your car is always there it would still annoy me, also if it’s position means she can’t manouvre the mower around to cut the edge of the grass it would wind me up. I have neighbours who put bollards out to reserve their space so people can get very OTT about it.

@IntermittentParps

I would honestly not notice which car(s) parked outside my house. Do people keep a spreadsheet or something? Or just not have anything better to do than stand in the front window fuming?

I only notice because over the last 6 years I have got to recognise the woman, who works in town. So I talk to her when she is working as well as when I pass her when she parked outside my house - and the pavement is only 3 feet wide, so it is REALLY hard to miss here and her car!

It hasn't crossed my mind to be annoyed, let alone fuming etc. She is parking! In a free parking space!

The issue is too many cars, too few parking spots and lots of little streets due to historic reasons. Perfect storm. Humans fight over a scarce resource.

Happily we have residents parking which after our lobbying is now in effect at weekends too. We live right by a large hospital apparently before we moved pre residents parking there were queues to get into our cul de sac as hospital staff waited for residents to leave to get a free daily park 🙄.

My neighbour had a baby and a toddler at the time and was trying to unload her supermarket shop so she just double parked in the middle of the road to unload. One of the blaggers got cross as he was stuck. She just shrugged and said too bad you will have to wait so he helped her unload!

Some people on this thread are so weird. Its a public road, you dont get to dictate who parks there. Moving your car off your driveway so someone couldn't use the space is pathetic

From the answers OP has given so far, it seems like she is parking right up to the edge of the grass as there is no pavement. Perfectly legal. However, if she is parked like that, then it surely would make it difficult to get a lawnmower right to the edge of the lawn when there is a car right there? Perhaps that’s the issue? That would have annoyed me if it’s been going on for 2 years if there are easily other places to park like across the road. Although I would have politely asked the OP first, by saying it made it difficult to manoeuvre the lawnmower and also risk of car damage - I’ve had a small stone fly up and smash a downstairs window once. If they continue to to park there after that I don’t think I’d bother being as careful around their car because if they don’t give a shit I wouldn’t either

It's legal but also inconsiderate to abandon your car outside some else house 5 day a week.
Doesn't matter how big her drive is I never park on friend drive when visiting them I park on the road outside .
You can take as many pictures of your car as you want you'd have to prove she'd anything to it a before and after picture mains nothing .

It's just inconsiderate I wouldn't do it .

Also people get in the habit if tradespeople visit to ask them to park on the road so that they can still get in and out of their drive but if your car is a constant there during the working week then it is really irritating. I think the problem is not that you park there in a normal stop, start way it’s that you use it as your designated parking spot, park there every working day and your car is there for hours at a time.

@rwalker

It's legal but also inconsiderate to abandon your car outside some else house 5 day a week. Doesn't matter how big her drive is I never park on friend drive when visiting them I park on the road outside . You can take as many pictures of your car as you want you'd have to prove she'd anything to it a before and after picture mains nothing .

It's just inconsiderate I wouldn't do it .

How does ‘abandoning’ differ from ‘parking’?

I don’t think anyone can say whether it’s unreasonable or not without actually seeing where you park. However, I’d echo what has been said previously - just because something is legal doesn’t mean it’s not a massive piss take or very irritating.

We have no off street parking and the guy over the road occasionally parks his van in front of our house. He’s perfectly entitled to do so and I would never say anything but it’s a total shit heap, looks awful and really irritates me.

Not really. I am a 'Trade' and often have to park and walk to the house I am working in. The most I will do is circle round to see if someone moves, but I don't expect a nearby free parking space in some areas.

And plumbers etc just park up as they like regardless!

@IntermittentParps

I would honestly not notice which car(s) parked outside my house. Do people keep a spreadsheet or something? Or just not have anything better to do than stand in the front window fuming?

Why would you need a spreadsheet to keep a note of one car? 😂

Can I suggest an abacus?

Legally you have done nothing wrong but I would park elsewhere in future and also vary it to avoid annoying someone else in a similar way. Parking outside the same house every day all day does seem inconsiderate. It was understandable that she asked you not to, especially if she does want to cut her lawn and is concerned about access. If she implied she might deliberately damage your car, that was wrong and you should report it to the police if you find anything obvious. Hopefully she just said it out of annoyance and frustration. I would have moved my car rather than worry about that or risk continuing the confrontation just to make the point your parking is legal. There are more important things to worry about - who needs the additional and unnecessary drama?

We live in a rural area, popular with walkers and tourists. There is a car park but inconsiderate people park in the narrow lanes instead to avoid the fee. It can be a nightmare, even if it is legal. A little consideration goes a long way.

Also, I wouldn’t, as a rule, leave my car routinely on a residential street I didn’t live on unless I was doing something on that street.

@MiddleParking
leaving ,parking ,dumping ,abandoning all the same thing are you bored ?

Can't believe the number of people who think the OP is wrong parking there because the householder might be expecting visitors! If she's expecting visitors then they take pot luck with a space or park on her drive. When did we start being allowed to reserve road spaces for visitors?

I can understand that it's a bit annoying for her (it annoys me!), but it is a public road so you are perfectly entitled to park there. Take a photo of your car though, as she has made a threat.

@ifIwerenotanandroid

I'd like a diagram & a photo of the OP's car so we can decide whether it's hideous.

If it was me & someone told me not to park outside their house, I wouldn't - even if I had every right to. I used to work at a big site & parked for free in the car park there, which was near my office. But some people working at the other end of the site parked in residential streets nearby - until one of the residents got fed up & there was an incident involving paint stripper...

I can't believe we have a parking thread with no diagram, I thought it was mn rules

I am wondering @seventymodules do you have an ugly car, does she think you are lowering the tone of the neighbourhood?!

that entitlement goes both ways though, doesn't it? People don't park outside somebody's house for their amusement/to cause distress, do they? It's because there is limited parking and it's human nature to park in the closest (legal) space to where they need to be.

If the space is there every weekday - for two years - it would lead one to believe there is not a terrible fight on for car parking spaces in that street.

This has become the OP's private parking spot.

But apparently people with four car driveways (whatever they are) are not actually people, and one need have no consideration for them.

@AndreaMarteau

Just because it's a spot outside her house doesn't mean she owns it. She has a drive so it's not like you are taking a space you need. I hate entitled people like this

See, this kind of attitude makes me laugh. The woman whose house it is, is 'entitled' because she's pissed off about someone parking outside her house, despite how it may inconvenience her (and let's face it, we only have one side of the story here). Yet it's ok for the OP to leave her car somewhere where she doesn't live, on a residential street, all day because it's easier for her than parking at home.

There's a bit of entitlement here from both of them, let's be honest.

True, entitlement on both sides... thankfully we have the law to tell us who’s entitlement is right. TBH I never understood why people think they can dictate how parking spaces should be used just because they are in front of their house.

[quote rwalker]@MiddleParking
leaving ,parking ,dumping ,abandoning all the same thing are you bored ?[/quote]
No, but thanks for asking! I didn’t realise our cars were abandoned on our driveway, I’m even less likely to be bored with this kind of drama 🎭

Can I suggest an abacus?
Sure, why not.
I'm just curious about how people notice and record/remember who parks where.

I suppose I'd be inclined to rotate about a bit, not the same place everyday.

But apparently people with four car driveways (whatever they are) are not actually people, and one need have no consideration for them.

It's a bit more specific than that - one need not worry about using a space that a visitor to their house might use, because there is space on the drive for them.

So, are your wheels on her grass or not?

I live near a school and it’s really annoying having to cart my kids half way down the road because mums and dads are sitting outside my house in a resident only parking bay sitting on their phones, I’ve never said anything though. As long as your not stopping her parking I see no problem really.