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.

Same here @RubyFowler! I would understand if someone was blocked in but I genuinely can't understand it otherwise. It seems to be a case of 'well obviously it's annoying' but nobody seems to be able to explain why it's obviously annoying! Wouldn't be on my radar, and I've lived on busy roads with public parking so it's not that I haven't been there. Glad other people are as bemused as me!

Id just think why can't she park outside her own house. i wouldn't say anything and would never damage someone's tho. Wouldn't be annoyed as a one off, but would be if it was every day

The woman wants to mow her God damn lawn. She shouldn't have to plan her lawn mowing around the OP.

She's not being prevented from mowing the lawn. She's doing it today, even though the car is there.

So 30 pages of opinions, OP what do you think you’ll do? Carry on parking there or have a change of scenery?!

Not a popular question, but Op what do you drive?
Not that it matters but I’m curious.

can you not see how annoying it must be to have the same person park outside your house all day 5 days a week?

I honestly cannot.

But it's not really about the mowing is it?
Of course it’s not. There’s nothing to suggest this is even her lawn, just a “patch of grass outside her house” I have that and we definitely don’t own it. She has had multiple opportunities to mow it outside of OP parking there (post, 3pm school run and weekends) if the car is actually causing problems. And if she genuinely can’t mow it any other time then after 2 years the grass would be so pissing long she wouldn’t even be able to see the car

Surely if the owner doesn't like it they put their car there, if a regular car parked outside your house and you knew it was coming you would just put a car there yourself

@Crocidura

She's still unlikely to get to all of it if OP is parked all the way up to the grass, unless she rams her mower right into the car I suppose.

@Crocidura

can you not see how annoying it must be to have the same person park outside your house all day 5 days a week?

I honestly cannot.

Nor can I. There is nothing annoying about it. It’s like begin annoyed that the wind blows or the rain falls or the sun shines. Why are you annoyed? Roads are made for cars.

@daisypond

And it’s No Mow May now. We’re not meant to mow.

And it’s Mow May never, Mow May never no more!!!

What i don't get is when people are up in arms about where visitors will park.

When I visit someone, I don't lose my shit if I can't park directly outside their house

I don’t understand it either.

But I’ve just mentioned this thread to my partner and he said he wouldn’t like someone parking outside our house every day. I asked him why and he did say he knows he is unreasonable but in his unreasonable mind he likes to think that the bit of road outside our house is his. 🤣 Its territorial apparently. I told him he wasn't a cat, bloody territorial 🤣, but was a bit of a twat for thinking the way he does to which he agreed. 🤣 He wouldn’t indirectly threaten someone’s car with a lawnmowing related incident though. 🤣

@ToodleSquat

People are so weird about parking. I see nothing wrong with what you're doing. Fine it irritates her but such is life. Where I live parking is a 'mare and people often park near my house (no driveway) and go to work in the high street. Yes it's irritating but are they doing anything wrong? No.

This And for all those saying about keeping the space for visitors - wtaf! Can they not walk? An absolutely ridiculous comment.

@MikeWozniaksGloriousTache

It says the grass is next to the drive, so it's clearly her front garden. That doesn't work with your point though, does it.

Just because she may have worked around the OPs car for the past 2 years it doesn't mean she should have to anymore. Why should she have to wait until the OP moves or do it during the weekend?

@MissKeithsNeice

What i don't get is when people are up in arms about where visitors will park.

When I visit someone, I don't lose my shit if I can't park directly outside their house

Exactly. Visitors can walk fgs.

@Besswess88

If you think you do, perhaps you'd like to pay for the road maintenance

I do!! The bloody road tax!!

You don't pay road tax in the UK you pay a Vehicle Excise Duty which is based on either engine size or fuel type and CO2 emissions, depending on when the vehicle was registered. Roads are paid for by general and local taxation, not 'road tax'.

Can someone who would get annoyed by a car parked outside their house legally and safely explain exactly what is annoying about it please, that's something I've never actually seen explained in any MN parking threads.

I just don't see why you can't drive home park at your own house and get work van to collect you from there.

Really? You don't think the extra unnecessary emissions this would cause are not worth it?

Ha she would hate living on my street. You can't even park outside your own house. You've done anything wrong. She is a nimby

I don’t blame the woman who’s home you park outside everyday. My mum experiences the same, so her visitors, some who are disabled cannot get to park anywhere near her house. It is irritating, why not park somewhere where you are not affecting someone else or at least refrain from parking there all the time. You are being unfair and if others constantly experienced this and it affected their visitors they eould be pissed of at you.

Whatever tax it comes out of there is no law against parking on a road that hasn't got parking restrictions so OP can park there as often as she likes

TBF though, VED is the mechanism by which you buy the right for your car to be on the road. And it does go into the big pot which pays for roads.

@Anjo2011

So 30 pages of opinions, OP what do you think you’ll do? Carry on parking there or have a change of scenery?!

I was thinking the same! OP, I've already posted earlier but came back to see how the debate was going. As I've said before, you haven't done anything wrong so I would ignore the crazy lady, but I would also seriously just get a dashcam in case she goes full crazy on you and decides to take her mower to your car bonnet

[quote JesusIsAnyNameFree]@MikeWozniaksGloriousTache

It says the grass is next to the drive, so it's clearly her front garden. That doesn't work with your point though, does it.

Just because she may have worked around the OPs car for the past 2 years it doesn't mean she should have to anymore. Why should she have to wait until the OP moves or do it during the weekend?[/quote]
I don't understand this at all. What's stopping her mowing her lawn, the OP isn't parked on it. I'd be on her side if she was.

If you park by the grass next to her drive, you may well be causing her difficulties with getting her own vehicle in/out safely. There are builders near us and their 4 vans park on the roadside literally just leaving enough space for me to get out our drive (and sometimes not even that.) There's no visibility until I pull pretty much most of the way out onto the other side of the road, and it certainly doesn't feel safe given the way some loons bomb around. They're perfectly within their rights but it is a pain and I'll be glad when they've done.

It does also sound like you're treating it like a car park. Which is quite cheeky and might be winding her up. You're not doing anything wrong, but it's perhaps not massively considerate as the owner didn't purchase a house with a car park right in front of it, which I'm guessing is what it feels like to her.