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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Would you report this or mind your own business?

250 replies

shadowkitty3 · 18/03/2023 18:47

There is a man who lives in a van in my town. For the last year or so he has been parked in a particular public car park. He is definitely homeless and lives in the van.

Out of curiosity I put the numberplate into the online car tax checker a few months ago. The van is SORN and the MOT expired four years ago.

So he shouldn't be parked there if the vehicle is SORN but I thought, it's none of my business and not up to me to do anything about it.

However, I've now noticed he has been driving the van around on the road. The van had moved to another part of the car park this week, and another time I saw it actually driving on the main road in the town.

This is concerning as he obviously doesn't have insurance and the vehicle doesn't even have an MOT. I don't know if I should report this to the police, but obviously no one else in the town has bothered. What would you do?

OP posts:
ExasperatedbyJanuary · 18/03/2023 19:30

I feel this one of those threads where the first couple of responses set the tone and everybody piles on in true AIBU style. If an OP had posted ‘I’m going to drive my vehicle uninsured because I’m in a bad place right now’ the very same posters would be up in arms. It’s pathetic.

WhenDovesFly · 18/03/2023 19:33

If he was staying in the car park I'd definitely turn a blind eye. The fact he's driving it in the public road and it hasn't been MOT'd (and likely not serviced) for 4 years is a concern though. I get that it's his home, but my concern comes from the fact I had a great aunt and uncle mown down several years ago - they were on the pavement, not crossing the road. One of them died instantly and the other died after several weeks in hospital. An unmaintained vehicle is a danger, and when it goes wrong it may not be an inert object he hits.

BreatheAndFocus · 18/03/2023 19:35

It’s the fact he’s driving it that’s the issue. He has no insurance and the vehicle hasn’t been MOT’d. What if his brakes are dodgy and he hits a pedestrian? He could hurt or kill someone, or himself.

FishBowlSwimmer · 18/03/2023 19:36

It's a difficult situation on the one hand it's not safe for him or the general public for him to be driving a vehicle without an MOT, but on the other hand that's his HOME. The best solution for everyone would be if this person got the help he deserves so he doesn't have to live in a van. I definitely wouldn't report it I'd feel awful if he ended up sleeping on the street because of me. I'd probably start by seeing if I could help him in anyway by looking into homeless services locally, etc. Have you ever spoken to him?

uhOhOP · 18/03/2023 19:36

The people who are saying leave him alone, etc, haven't mentioned the expired MOT test. Fine, the lack of insurance will not cause big problems for anybody he collides with, but having not had his vehicle tested for 4 years?

Here you can download a document with a list of what parts of the vehicle are inspected. Wheel bearings, wheels, tyres, braking systems, vehicle structure are included. Would you like to collide with a vehicle that hasn't had these things inspected for 4 years? Perhaps the ultimate test is to ask how you'd feel if your kid were to be hit by such a vehicle. Maybe the car is absolutely fine. Maybe the man is a mechanic who works on his own car as necessary. But maybe his brakes are fucked or his tyres are bald. Who knows.

MelchiorsMistress · 18/03/2023 19:37

It would be really nasty to report this.

iwontforgetyoumyfriendwhathappened · 18/03/2023 19:37

ExasperatedbyJanuary · 18/03/2023 19:30

I feel this one of those threads where the first couple of responses set the tone and everybody piles on in true AIBU style. If an OP had posted ‘I’m going to drive my vehicle uninsured because I’m in a bad place right now’ the very same posters would be up in arms. It’s pathetic.

I think you're right but I also think nobody will be honest enough to admit that Wink
The idea of a fundraiser to pay for his insurance and mot is a lovely idea, not sure how feasible but a really lovely thought!

red78hot · 18/03/2023 19:38

It's the poor guys home.

HangingOver · 18/03/2023 19:40

Leave it, it's freezing out

tillytoodles1 · 18/03/2023 19:43

You're a nosy busy body checking his registration on line out of curiosity. Just leave the poor bloke alone. If he has an accident with no insurance he'll he found out anyway.

ÉireannachÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ · 18/03/2023 19:43

That you even have to ask. Jesus.

IfYouDontAsk · 18/03/2023 19:43

ExasperatedbyJanuary · 18/03/2023 19:30

I feel this one of those threads where the first couple of responses set the tone and everybody piles on in true AIBU style. If an OP had posted ‘I’m going to drive my vehicle uninsured because I’m in a bad place right now’ the very same posters would be up in arms. It’s pathetic.

I agree! I’m surprised that so many people are saying to leave it alone. I think “mind your own business” is all very well for things that don’t have the potential to cause serious harm to others. If he was just staying in the car park then I’d say keep out of it.

But if he’s driving around then he’s unfairly putting others at risk. There could be all sorts of safety issues with that vehicle. What if the breaks are completely fucked? He could easily kill people.

I feel enormously sad for anyone whose life takes them to a point where they end up homeless. But I would say the risk of this vehicle being on the road would mean it’s the right thing to report it.

IfYouDontAsk · 18/03/2023 19:44

Argh brakes not breaks!!

Bepis · 18/03/2023 19:45

I don't know about reporting him but he must have some money to live on as he can put petrol in his van.

Thefriendlyone · 18/03/2023 19:47

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JessesMum777888 · 18/03/2023 19:49

Why would you even check his MOT and that ?
take him a cup of coffee and have a chat instead of thinking about taking the roof over his head :(

SnappyDragony · 18/03/2023 19:52

How about an anonymous phone call to a local charity (shelter? Not sure if that's the right one)?
Then you can feel you are doing your civic duty and the bloke might get some help he could probably use to get him out the van and into some sort of accommodation?
Surely this would be the most practical and compassionate thing to do for a fellow human being?

ExtraOnions · 18/03/2023 19:54

I would 100% report …but my friends relative was killed by an uninsured driver in an unroadworthy vehicle.

Maybe if someone here had lost a relative, due to a death trap car, they might have a different view.

He’ll be in much more dire straits if his brakes fail and he kills someone.

IfYouDontAsk · 18/03/2023 19:55

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Rather than just making really unnecessarily unpleasant personal attacks, why not say why you think she’d be in the wrong?

The irony of then telling the OP to think about who she is.

Awwlookatmybabyspider · 18/03/2023 19:55

You Googled the Registration number out of curiosity. Do you not have anything more interesting to do. Also I think the Police have bigger things to be worrying about.

iwontforgetyoumyfriendwhathappened · 18/03/2023 19:56

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Equally you'd need to be a hardcore cunt to drive around knowing your vehicle hadn't been mot'd in 4 years never mind the insurance. To hell with anyone else's safety on the road, sod everyone else's lives.
But I guess that's absolutely fine. Suspect you would have a different opinion if something happened to one of your loved ones due to the man's negligence.

My point here isn't to call you a cunt by the way, you're not. It's also not to call the OP or the man cunts either. It's just to point out that it's not as black and white as it might seem because the issue of disregard for anyone else's safety shouldn't be excused just because you feel sorry for the guy. He's still being thoughtless and putting others in danger.

whiteroseredrose · 18/03/2023 19:57

I'd probably report to be honest. Cars have to be road safe if driven around. If he had stayed parked I wouldn't.

grayhairdontcare · 18/03/2023 19:57

Have you always been a sniffling busy body or has this just developed because you like kicking the less fortunate and keeping them down?

iwontforgetyoumyfriendwhathappened · 18/03/2023 19:57

ExtraOnions · 18/03/2023 19:54

I would 100% report …but my friends relative was killed by an uninsured driver in an unroadworthy vehicle.

Maybe if someone here had lost a relative, due to a death trap car, they might have a different view.

He’ll be in much more dire straits if his brakes fail and he kills someone.

So sorry for your loss. That is heartbreaking.

TheSnowyOwl · 18/03/2023 19:58

Just leave him alone. How unpleasant to be thinking anything else.