Aibu for removing tyre caps (PARKING THREAD!)

[JackieakaBritney]

Background, live in converted 3 flat house for 6 years odd, we are attic flat.

Been here since 2015, bought car 2017, previous neighbour had a defunct car on drive which he moved when he moved out late 2017

Since then I've parked my car on drive at least overnights, during day (pre Covid) was parked at my work, insurance detailed the same.

However since beginning of 2020 we have had two different neighbours move in on the middle floor flat and ground floor flat. Neither of the houses moved in with an existing car

Since the two flats have moved in, there has been an constant influx of visitors (particularly during lockdown) but also pretty much every weekend and these visitors decide to block me in, over a dropped curb. It's not the
Same car each time, it's a rotation of 4 or 5 different ones?

I ignored it to the best of my ability during lockdown as we weren't supposed to really go anywhere but then why is ok for them to block my car in?

Then when restrictions eased my husband put a note on one of the cars saying "illegal to park on dropped curb/driveway. Park somewhere else." This was ignored
The next time a car blocked me in by a visitors there was a note saying.

"If I've blocked you in call...."

Tonight I've come home and I'm blocked in again. Tbh I've kinda lost my rag and taken off two of the tyre aircaps. Aibu??

I am sick to death of worrying about asking neighbours To move their visitors cars during the last year especially when I might need it in an emergency etc and they have been asked for their friends/visotors not block me in previously?

@PastMyBestBeforeDate

mybrainhertz Read it. It's all about debris in the valve stem when you inflate tyres. It doesn't say your tyres will suddenly lose pressure while driving.

I’m with *@mybrainhertz on this one. It isn’t just all about when you inflate tyres. It’s also* about the debris in the valve causing the tyre pressure to reduce whilst driving. However unlikely that may be, it’s still a possibility!

@JackieakaBritney

No one else is using the frigging driveway! Is it that hard to understand? I have had my car parked here for 4 years!! No one else in the building owns a car!

If someone else owned a car here I would compromise! But they don't and just block me in every fucking day regardless. If I came home from being out and someone was on parked in the drive then i would park on the street in a space like a normal person. Instead I have to ask permission everytime I want to leave my own property in the car and I am tired of it.

It's not on and tbh you lot know it.

Jackie- you are in the right! I'm not sure what you can do though, parking wars are a nightmare. Removing the caps won't harm the tyre pressures (ignore what others are posting- they keep dust out and they should be on though). I'd feel like deflating the tyres if you can get away with it. And I'm sure it is illegal to block people in like has happened to you.

I share your pain OP. My drive is regularly blocked by neighbours' visitors or workmen staying at the Air BNB opposite. It drives me insane and there is so little I can do about it. I spoke the the neighbour whose step-daughter's huge 4x4 is regularly across my drive and it hasn't happened since. TBH I don't think the space she uses has been free during any of her recent visits and as her mother refuses to acknowledge my existence, presumably because I was friendly with her husband's first wife, I'm not confident that it won't happen again.

I regularly have to rush out and catch men who have parked large vans blocking me in and make them move before they head off to the pub for the evening. I don't see why I should have to beg them to let me out if I want to, so their "just knock if you need to go out pet" doesn't help the situation.

Yesterday the people across the road had a kids party in their front garden and guess what - a car was parked in front of the drive. We managed to get out with a bit of manoevering but why should we? There were parking spaces free that wouldn't have blocked anyone in.
DH wouldn't let me interrupt the kids party to ask for them to move but the birthday child's father is very quick to tell people to move if they are even near his drive.

I have tried to get the council to put white lines across the drive to deter parking but our local council won't do them even though adjacent council's do.

I don't know what the answer is OP and I REALLY don't know why you are getting slated, anyone who has been in your situation will understand your frustration. Tbh I wouldn't take the dustcaps, they'll never know it was you so it won't achieve anything. The person who used to live two doors down used to drive into any car that was across his drive and claim not to have seen them because they shouldn't have been there. I'm not sure that's a valid tactic either. I'm seriously considering solicitors letters, maybe you could do that?

I hope you can resolve it. DH retires this year and we are reconsidering an extension we planned as we are not sure we want to stay here long term, partially due to the parking issues.

[quote JackieakaBritney]@ThursdayWeld

What would you do then? After repeatedly requesting people who don't live at your address to not block you in? [/quote]
I think you should go and knock on the doors of the other 2 flats and ask them to move the car.

Repeat every time someone parks over the drive.

If it kept happening when I'd asked them several times I might start sounding my horn instead of knocking.

But please do go and put the tyre caps back on.

Op, daft to remove the dust caps but honestly that would drive me crazy being blocked in regularly.
Put a sign up maybe?
Or tell arsehole neighbour you are starting a new job that is mighty irregular hours...
Like you might have to leave early hours of the morning often?

[quote MangosteenSoda]@EastWestWhosBest there are actually a lot of people on this thread who are saying just that.

Normally the absolute sanctity of the dropped kerb reigns supreme on MN.

Taking the little plastic things is a dick move, yes. But so is parking like a bellend.[/quote]
Are they? Is there anyone saying that parking like a dick and blocking someone in is just fine?

Only if there is a car on the drive which is prevented from leaving.

This is untrue.

It really shouldn't surprise me that people are out there with a driving licence who don't understand the rules of the road?

@SoupDragon

Why don’t you park where they are parking ? Problem solved.

Because it's unlawful?

Only if there is a car on the drive which is prevented from leaving.

Councils will usually issue fines if asked to do so by the owner of the drive in question, whether there is someone on it or not.

I would be totally pissed off. I would probably rub margarine on their windscreens though. Far more of an inconvenience for them , and safer, than removing hub caps. Marg takes ages to clean off. And all posters saying you’re hogging the space, what would they suggest? That before you park there, you should go around the immediate neighbours asking if it’s ok? When op leaves the drive, there’s nothing stopping others from parking on the drive when they want to. The diagram clearly shows a car blocking her in. On what level is that acceptable??

I'd have wanted to do the same OP. I wouldn't have as I'm a wuss bag but I'd have wanted to. That would seriously piss me off being blocked in all the time. So rude of them.

[quote JackieakaBritney]@korawick12345 so people can just park over a dropped kerb in the middle of the road whenever they want? Do you even drive? How
Is it a shared space??[/quote]
Blocking you in is wrong, yes. Attempting to cause an accident that will injure them and other uninvolved people seems a heavy punishment, though.
Perhaps you should do something actually direct like sit there with your hand on the horn until they let you out?

Be prepared for them to park in the space whenever they want, by the way.

"If I've blocked you in call...."

There you go. They have given you your solution. You now need to become rather nocturnal and take 3am visits to Tesco etc.
I mean you don’t really even need to go out, they’ve blocked you so just call them. And if that doesn’t work, knock.

Inconvenience them and they will stop inconveniencing you.

Ooh. I totally get why you’d be annoyed. I really do

But I’d keep either knocking on their doors. Or ringing 101. Or ringing the council

Taking off their air caps is incredibly dangerous. Not only that but then you’ve gone and posted a picture of said air caps on a public forum. This is mumsnet gold!

I noticed someone’s done it the other side too?

I’d stop for the moment. Parking on the drive. It doesn’t look like w fire engine would be able to get through either.

It’s the driveway actually yours though? Or shared between all the flats, because when you moved in the other neighbour parked there?

So maybe you’re the CF thinking it’s your solely to use.

@AdobeWanKenobi

"If I've blocked you in call...."

There you go. They have given you your solution. You now need to become rather nocturnal and take 3am visits to Tesco etc.
I mean you don’t really even need to go out, they’ve blocked you so just call them. And if that doesn’t work, knock.

Inconvenience them and they will stop inconveniencing you.

That would be fine if it was op personal parking space, I suspect OP doesn’t want them to actually move as they would then take the parking space on the drive

The hogging the space comments are absolutely ridiculous.

Of all the people that live in the building, only the op owns a car.

How is that hogging the space? A spare for a car must be shared with non existent cars or it's not fair on the people who don't have a car?

Maybe the neighbours should put deckchairs out there for use when it's their turn.

Is she supposed to say ok there are 3 flats so I'll only park in this space every third day and the other 2 days you will each have your turn at the use of the drive so it will be empty 2 days out of 3 because you don't actually have cars but if you happen to have a visitor on the day it happens to be your turn then your visitor can park in the space.

Or maybe the visitor should knock on the OPs door and say it's my turn to have the drive today, can you move onto the street please.

I mean, I know bashing the OP is the the aibu endgame but seriously. 🙄

I have dash cams. Which are activated and send the video to my phone every single time someone even walks in front of my car. What if someone’s car has a dash cam and filmed this whole event?

OP: AIBU
Mumsnet: Yes
OP: SCREW ALL OF YOU HUNS I KNOW I AM RIGHT.

Why bother asking op?

FWIW that would send me nuts too OP. You're going to get people on here saying you're being unreasonable as it's not your personal private drive but it's clear those who are blocking you in are being unreasonable IMO.
But taking their tyre caps off - no. Just no.

Are you absolutely sure it says shared driveway in the rental contract. If it doesn’t, perhaps one of the other tenants are paying extra for the space.

adobewankenobe but surely a note saying if i’ve blocked you in call.... is passive aggressive, as unless the car owner has mental health issues, it’s pretty clear that they are actually blocking the person in? It’s totally irrelevant if it’s overnight, the op should be able to leave the driveway at all times. I would bet 99% of people on here saying it’s okay, would not accept their own driveway access being blocked.

Put the caps back, report them and have them towed.

Hi OP, would it be best for you just to park your car on the dropped kerb yourself and the visitors cant take that space then?