It's a parking one!

[Themermaidspool]

I’m looking for some unbiased opinions and if there is a solution to this issue.
We live at the top of a hill on the corner of two roads. Our neighbours opposite also live on the adjacent corner. We’ve been here two years, our neighbours have been here for four. We both have two cars and they have a driveway for one car. Ours takes two just. It’s a quiet part of town so there is lots of parking space nearby. Our neighbours always park in exactly the same spot directly opposite our driveway. This means you can’t reverse out and swing the car round in one go. You also can't see it as there's no lighting and it's black. Annoying but not the end of the world. After a number of near misses the inevitable happened this week and I reversed into their car. (It was raining, I was rushing to pick up child from nursery but no excuse I’m 100% at fault. To be fair they were very good about it and as the damage was quite minor they agreed to letting us try and polish the scratches out which thankfully removed the damage. While discussing, I asked if they would mind parking slightly up or down (still in front of their house/garden) but this was flat out refused as they don’t want to park under the trees. Fair enough it’s their car and they have a right to
Park wherever. Neither of us can park around the corner due to double yellows. If we park both cars on the drive we just can’t get the cars in/out easily / get kids out so we end up putting one on the road. Now I’m so worried about hitting the car again that partner and I now park both cars on the road. This means that we are making it harder for the neighbours to get their car off their drive. Is there a solution or do I just need to suck it up? My biased view is that they only need to move their car about 2m (which is still not directly under a tree but closer) or outside our house (where there is space) and life’s easier. We generally get on, take in parcels for eachother, have a drink a few times a year so I don’t want to fall out over it.

We have two cars parked opposite our drive most of the time (one hasn't been moved in about 9 months). Makes parking difficult but we just suck it up. They're entitled to park there.

Park one car on the road and reverse the other into the drive. You shouldn't be hitting a car, regardless of how dark/rainy/badly lit it is. If they don't want to park elsewhere then you've done all you can by asking. You'll have to live with it.

Look into getting a reversing camera

Can you widen the bottom of your drive to make it easier?

I park our second car (legally)in our road and neighbour mention she’s scared she’ll hit it as she did hit the previous house owner’s car. So I politely stopped parking there only for the same neighbour’s son to move home and park his car there… so I decided she must be over her fear and if she hits my car because she can’t drive then her insurance will cover it.

while it would be nice for them to move their car, I don’t think your inability to take care is a reason to inconvenience them. Seriously, you were reversing and didn’t see a parked car that you know is normally there and you’re making that their problem?!

Could you not park under the trees?

Perfect. Everyone has to park on their drive and they shouldn't be parking there anyway. Sorted.

Can't they park in there own drive on the other side of their house

Yanbu

Why the hate for SUVs, some people need them.

80% of women seem unable to drive them.

So now women can’t drive big cars, I have heard it all, misogyny at its finest.

Why do people need an SUV in a suburban area.

Wasn't it popular at some point because of tax relief

You need to reverse onto your driveway but if you don’t want to do that, get a reversing camera fitted (they’re not massively expensive). Yes your neighbours could be more flexible about where they park but the ultimate responsibility is yours to only complete a driving manoeuvre when it’s safe to do so.

80% of all women or just 80% of women you know? Looking forward to you posting the link to the peer reviewed research for this little gem of information .

I'd always avoid parking opposite someone's drive if space allows (which it does here) - it's just good manners. I think they are being very inflexible.

Nothing you can do about it though, so sadly it's a 'suck it up' situation.

Yabu to ask your neighbours to park elsewhere as you're not able to safely reverse out of your drive.

The solution is for you to move off safely.

As pp said, thank goodness it wasn't a pedestrian or cyclist.

And why was it inevitable ? You know they always park there, it didn't come as a surprise.

I live in London, and I have an SUV, I am surrounded by fields where I live, but live in suburbs, we also have horses.

A hate the generalisation that SUV are “only for those in the middle of nowhere”

Yes I can park under the trees. Doesn't bother me. Except that's on their side and they don't like us parking on their side because the kids wake them up going to school.

They don't have enough space for both cars on their driveway anymore as they reduced the size.

I find it really interesting that most of the responses are aggressively saying 'its because you can't drive' when actually everyone makes mistakes every now and then for various reasons. No one is the perfect driver all the time.

Neighbours also don't like us having both our cars on the rd either (because ironically it makes them getting off their drive difficult) but this is the only solution we can come up with that mitigates risk.

Reminder I've asked for them to move their car a maximum of 2m and the thread was if the flexibility was unreasonable, not a nasty comment on peoples driving skills. My feeling is if they are this inflexible in this then they will be in various other neighbourly issues that may arise and i will not be as flexible in the future as I otherwise might have been.

If you can't reverse off with ease, you probably can't reverse on with ease either... I'm with you OP, I think your neighbour is being an arse parking directly opposite your driveway.

everyone makes mistakes every now and then for various reasons. No one is the perfect driver all the time.

Of course, but most of us don't rely on beeping the horn to stop us hitting someone every time we come off our driveways.

Seems like your neighbours have quite a few 'dos and don'ts' which unsurprisingly favour only them!

Instead of parking both cars on the road, can you not have one reversed into the drive (leaving enough room to get kids on and off) and one on the road?

Your request wasn’t unreasonable but they also weren’t unreasonable to say no, unfortunately.

@Themermaidspool You could contact your local council Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) team?

That's bizarre behavior for a start, why you watching certain posters.

But actually being able to drive instead of beeping your horn to clear the way would be a better use of your time.

Have you? That's a bit odd then, as I've only been here under this account for three or four days 😂

She's also making it up as I've only had this username for four days