Advice please - urgent

[Zaab213]

Someone has blocked my driveway abs I cannot get out. Too late to start knocking on doors (10:38pm) here in Uk. What can I do? Need to get kids to school in morning and I need to get to work. What can I do if they don’t move it by morning?

We don't strictly need to have access to food at all times but most people like to store some in the fridge or freezer to prevent needing to buy fresh food every day. There are a lot of things we don't strictly need but are a normal modern convenience.

People lived for years without hot and cold tap water, a sewerage system, indoor bathrooms, washing machines, televisions, vacuum cleaners, telephones...how far do you want to go back with this We don't strictly need... business?

But the fact remains that the person parking had no idea whose drive they were blocking, or what their private circumstances may be. I have an elderly and very vulnerable parent with dementia, we sometimes have to dash off in the middle of the night to deal with emergencies like falling and not being able to get up, or 'accidents' of the messy sort. Ambulance responses for non-life threatening things like falls without injuries indoors are measured in hours if not days round here. And 'accidents' don't qualify for emergency responses, but still need dealing with a.s.a.p.

Of course I don't disbelieve that people take their kids to hospital. And obviously some kids are frequent hospital visitors due to health problems. But

• some people don't drive or have cars


• I've taken my kids to hospital maybe 2x in over 20 years - I would imagine this is not uncommon for kids with no health conditions


• I've also taken my husband once - no one ever suggests however that we should all be ready at all times to take our partners to the hospital. This would obviously lead to a situation where no adult (with a car) ever drinks at home while others are in the house, just in case they have to drive someone to hospital


• During that 20+ years, with 3 hospital visits, I've been to work about 6 billion times, and visited family, and gone shopping, and to activities, and appointments. For most of us these situations are far, far more common than unexpected hospital trips.

I've always enjoyed the Mumsnet insistence that cars must be available at all times to transport children to hospital.

Presumably they need sober drivers too. You're screwed if you're a single parent aren't you. You basically can't have a glass of wine with dinner for about 20 years.

YOUR CHILD MIGHT NEED TO GO TO HOSPITAL AND NO OTHER TRANSPORT OPTIONS ARE EVER AVAILABLE. HOW DARE YOU DRINK.

Lol. Thank goodness the real world isn't actually like that.

It doesn't matter if hordes of parents are driving their children to A&E at 1.00a.m. every night or not, it's fucking entitled to park over someone's driveway and not let it cross your mind that they may need to leave the house using the car they pay a not-insignificant amount to run before you've finished your oh-so-important, must-park-here business.

you don't need to have access to a personal vehicle at all times. You might like to have access to your personal vehicle so as you don't have to pay twice for a taxi, but that's a different issue, which I wasn't addressing

I pay car finance, insurance, tax, warranty, and breakdown cover because I want access to my car at all times, not to be blocked in by another selfish idiot who had chosen to park the way they did.

I don't think anyone's suggesting people shouldn't have access to their car at all times. That's entirely reasonable.

It's just the Mumsnet favourite example that you need the car BECAUSE A CHILD MIGHT NEED TO GO TO HOSPITAL that raises eyebrows. Because it's just nonsensical hysteria that weakens the argument.

Car owners have every right not to be blocked in. No need for the crazy justifications.

Exactly this.

Also lol at the idea having a personal car available to you 24/7 is somehow equivalent to fresh water, indoor toilets, etc. Rather reinforces my argument.

It makes no difference whether the OP's car may have been needed for an emergency. Or whether the OP's car had broken down and therefore couldn't move even if she wanted it to. Or, as in her case, she needed to use it the next day and was still hemmed in. The point is that you don't park across or in someone's drive unless you check that it's OK.

It's like strolling into someone's house and using their loo without permission. It's their property and you ask before you do something to someone else's property. It's not rocket science and it doesn't need an if, but or maybe. The person parking was in the wrong, rude and obviously was too up themselves to worry about the person who actually owned the sodding drive. Regardless of whether a car was on it or not.

And yet it wasn't ... they were knocking on doors at 7:15 because they had to leave!

People really are that rude and entitled. Shame we can't just have them towed them easily like they do in other countries.

I beep my horn until someone comes out to move their car, which eventually someone does. It used to happen all the time, but now my neighbours and their friends know not to block me in my own driveway

Occasionally there is an emergency though. I have a friend whose dd has severe asthma. She needed to get her to hospital fast and couldn't get out of her drive because of car parked across it. Thankfully this was 20 years ago when ambulances arrived reasonably quickly and hospital was 10 minutes away.
Child was intubated and in ITU for 3 days.
My own baby was very ill with bronchiolitis and my lovely GP took us to hospital in her own car. That wouldn't happen nowadays and the possibility of a child dying is much more likely given how difficult it is to ambulances/medical help.
Idiots blocking you into your own property don't help.

Came home today to an arsehole blocking my driveway who seemed utterly amused when I asked him not to do it again!

I hope you found them quickly OP. This exact same thing happened to me with a car that kept appearing on our street and being left for a week at a time so I did assume they were from a street across from us. I was going on a short break with a friend the next morning to Edinburgh and was anxious I’d be blocked in. My OH put a message on the local Fb group and luckily one of the owners neighbour saw it and told her. She knocked on the door and apologised profusely. Tbh I wouldn’t of it was me, I’d have scarpered out of embarrassment. How you can fully park over someone’s driveway and not know I’ve no idea, especially when there is actually a car parked on it and full sized gates etc. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Did you get the hospital?

Wow I’ve just logged in and so many replies! Thank you all. Didn’t want to leave you all hanging so here’s what happened: it was owned by a lady opposite us 5/6 doors down. She came out in her dressing gown huffing and puffing and giving us daggers! I was still tired and fed up at this point to care and just wanted her to move it. DH did say something to her.

Completely selfish woman. Wasn’t even sorry! To be honest we’re moving from this area (not because of this) just generally I come across this entitled attitude often.

She came out in her dressing gown huffing and puffing and giving us daggers!

What a cow. I’d have keyed her car on the sly. But glad you were able to track the owner down and get it shifted.

Thanks for the update, OP. I have wondered what's happened with this probably far more than is reasonable today.

Wow! Entitled cow. How people can have the gall to make out you are inconveniencing them in a situation like this is beyond me. I don’t blame you for looking at moving, if that’s a regular occurrence OP.

If she does it again, scratch cunt on the bonnet

I don't think 10.38 is THAT late to be knocking. I wouldn't answer because I'm a woman on my own, but it wouldn't bother me if someone phoned at that time. It's a bit late for non-urgent things, but understandable for this.

That woman was obviously very rude but could you not have taken a bus, or cycled if needed?

She used her car?

Why assume the OP and the children all have bikes, or that there are bus routes going to their respective schools and work?