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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Would you ever park across someone’s driveway?

91 replies

TheStarsComeOut · 10/08/2022 12:57

Even if it was just for 5 minutes?

I live on an old street so the road is narrow and I’d say 25% have drive for 1 car.

The amount of people that park across my driveway is insane - neighbours, deliveries, work vans.

I also don’t live near a school. But I just find the entitlement quite shocking that people think this is in anyway ok. Yet so many do it.

OP posts:
AnneElliott · 10/08/2022 13:00

No I wouldn't as I used to live near a school and feel your pain! If I'm delivering something to a friend/ relative then I might park across their drive to drop it in but certainly not their neighbours!!

Ohtoberoavingagain · 10/08/2022 13:00

No.

Seeline · 10/08/2022 13:01

The number of times I arrive home (live on a busy main road, although all residential) to find someone pulled in across my drive has increased rapidly over the last couple of years. Delivery drivers I have some sympathy with as there are few gaps in the parked cars to pull over, and they are usually very quick. People on their bloody phones I have less sympathy with. There is never anywhere else for me to park so I have to keep driving round the block until they move.

The ones that give me the absolute rage are the ones that wander off to visit someone else. And leave their car for ages.

No - I don't park across other people's drives.

PeppaPigIsBacon · 10/08/2022 13:01

Only if I was visiting the person whose driveway I was blocking

IsDaveThere · 10/08/2022 13:02

No, I wouldn't. do you have a dropped kerb?

LookItsMeAgain · 10/08/2022 13:04

PeppaPigIsBacon · 10/08/2022 13:01

Only if I was visiting the person whose driveway I was blocking

This.
I would also try to park so that no part of my car was overhanging someone else's driveway/parking spot.

LondonQueen · 10/08/2022 13:04

Only if it is someone I was visiting, I wouldn't block their neighbours!

Inklingpot · 10/08/2022 13:06

People on their bloody phones I have less sympathy with. There is never anywhere else for me to park so I have to keep driving round the block until they move.

Why would you drive around waiting for them to finish? I’d stop and beep at them. If they didn’t move, I’d pull up and tell them to move.

WaltzingWaters · 10/08/2022 13:06

Definitely not! Unless it was the driveway of the person I was visiting.

xogossipgirlxo · 10/08/2022 13:06

No, never. Unless I visit this person. I've lost the count how many delivery cars with takeaways block our drive. It's not even for us.

rightonthyme · 10/08/2022 13:09

No. You can call 101 for help if you don't feel comfortable confronting the person/have got nowhere by speaking to them. They can get it moved. Source: me with my CF neighbours and yes the police turned up and told him to move it or else.

Original poster
TheStarsComeOut · 10/08/2022 13:10

IsDaveThere · 10/08/2022 13:02

No, I wouldn't. do you have a dropped kerb?

Yes I have a dropped kerb. They don’t care.

OP posts:
MintJulia · 10/08/2022 13:14

Only in an absolute emergency or getting out of the way of an ambulance or similar.

But some people's sense of entitlement is astonishing.

latetothefisting · 10/08/2022 13:15

depends - I might pull in to, for example, check my phone for directions if I got lost, or, yes, possibly for a delivery, but only if there were no other options, and I either remained in my car or was within a metre or 2 of it (e.g. the distance to walk to door to deliver, come back), so I could move immediately if needed. I can't really see how someone blocking your drive for however long a delivery takes (30 secs?) has a negative effect on someone tbh, and don't care when people block my drive for this. Anything where you are out of sight of your car, so not available to move immediately if needed, is u, but otherwise I wouldn't care.

ILikeHotWaterBottles · 10/08/2022 13:16

Nope. Not unless I was visiting that persons house then I do as there usually isn't anywhere else. But that's not the reasons you're giving.

Somanysocks · 10/08/2022 13:16

It's infuriating so wouldn't do it unless there was nowhere else and I was literally only being seconds delivering something (I don't mind delivery drivers stopping briefly).

Annoyingly whenever my neighbour calls an ambulance they always park over my drive blocking me in and out, even though they have their own drive. You can't ask ambulances to move so have to suck it up which bugs me.

PatientlyWaiting21 · 10/08/2022 13:30

I did it once totally unintentional! I parked at night, not where I normally park and when I came out the next morning I was getting a very angry glare, then realised I had parked across their driveway!!

I was mortified, apologised profusely but they were having none of it. I’ve never made that mistake again!

lilroo87 · 10/08/2022 13:37

No, it's rude.
There is an area out the front of my house that is shared between me and neighbour (we are detached houses with no other neighbours), it's in front of my gate and is technically an extension of our driveways.
People always stop there, right in front of my gates (usually open) and on first look from the road you might think it's a parking area but when you see a house then surely you'd keep driving! There's also several actual parking places they pass.
We get people getting out to let their kids wee, or wee themselves, sometimes throw up.
Once, someone put a portable potty on my neighbours garden so their child could poo.
I live in Cornwall and it is always during the height of tourist season that it happens.
I've had people threaten and shout at me if I go out to ask them not to wee up our walls or to even move their car.

Hotpotatohotpotato1 · 10/08/2022 13:41

Nope. Our neighbours and their friends do it all the time and it really annoys us. There's often parking over the road too so I don't get it.

girlfriend44 · 10/08/2022 13:42

No it's illegal and stupid even for 5 minutes.

How do they know your not going to want to get in or out in that 5 mins.

Don't block a driveway means don't do it at all

Seeline · 10/08/2022 13:42

Inklingpot · 10/08/2022 13:06

People on their bloody phones I have less sympathy with. There is never anywhere else for me to park so I have to keep driving round the block until they move.

Why would you drive around waiting for them to finish? I’d stop and beep at them. If they didn’t move, I’d pull up and tell them to move.

It's a busy main road - I can't just sit blocking traffic while some idiot finishes their emails or whatever!

Comefromaway · 10/08/2022 13:47

Not unless it was an absolute emergency eg to give first aid/medical assistance to someone.

TwoBlueFish · 10/08/2022 13:48

If I was literally just dropping something off and I could see my car at all times then yes. I used to sometimes park up to collect my DS from high school and I would sometimes wait parked across an unofficial drive (no dropped kerb), I’d have moved straight away if needed.

I live on a very small and people often block my drive, if I’m not going out it doesn’t bother me. The only time it was really annoying was when a neighbours builder completely blocked me and went off for lunch.

FOJN · 10/08/2022 13:49

I have a similar situation to you OP but all my neighbours have parking for at least two cars and for most it's 3 or 4 but lots of people just dump their car in the entrance to my drive if they only going to be a few minutes because they can't be arse either reversing onto a drive on a narrow road or backing out of the drive when they're done. They use my drive way because they would be blocking the road if they parked anywhere else. If I'm at home and notice them I usually go out and ask if I can help them. Pisses me off.

dworky · 10/08/2022 13:55

An offence in London.

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