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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to reverse out of my driveway?

74 replies

EmmaGrundyForPM · 16/08/2024 13:10

Any parking thread on here where someone says it's difficult to reverse out of their driveway becayse of a badly parked car leads to hordes of responses about never reversing out of a driveway, you should always go in forward.

We live on a fairly busy road. I go swimming most mornings at about 6ish, when the road is quiet. However, when I get back home at some point between 7.30 and 8, the road is much busier. There are usually people very close to me. If I go past my house and then try to reverse into the driveway, there are often about 5 or 6 cars that have to reverse in order to let me do so. It can take ages. Whereas if I swing in forwards that issue doesn't occur.

So in our case, reversing in isn't always the best option I don't think. AIBU for going into the driveway forwards or should I be holding up half the town by insisting on reversing onto my drive and making the whole queue reverse as well?

OP posts:
Zingy123 · 16/08/2024 13:11

Put your hazards on as you approach.

FuckThePoPo · 16/08/2024 13:11

I would go out when it's quieter and swing it round then

Kaaraa · 16/08/2024 13:15

I would pull over with hazards on and reverse in when there's space to do so.

kitsuneghost · 16/08/2024 13:16

I agree OP
But when you try and explain on here about reversing in with a queue tof traffic, they don't seem to get it.

You will get a whole lot of slow down, indicate, put on hazards
none of which work. you can stop the traffic but as soon as you move forward and turn to reverse the queue starts moving with you

I would drive in too
Anyway - If you can't reverse out your drive safely you really shouldn't be driving

Sirzy · 16/08/2024 13:17

So you only ever go out at 6.30am?

RoseyLentil · 16/08/2024 13:20

I live on a main road in a 50mph zone. I give vehicles behind plenty of notice by alternating hazards with left indicator. I slow down as I approach my drive then keep hazards on and pull forward of my drive before putting into reverse and reversing in. Everyone gets it. There's no way I could reverse out 😳

LadyInDecline · 16/08/2024 13:21

I live on a main road and always reverse in. It usually means I need to pull up and wait for a gap to reverse as the cars following don't tend to realise! Both my neighbours do the same!

WonderingWanda · 16/08/2024 13:24

I live on a quiet cul de sac but I still drive onto my drive. Its a shared drive up a hill and then round a 90 degree bend. If our neighbours are parked down their side it's very hard to reverse up and round the corner. Much easier to reverse out slowly using the break and gravity. I don't know why....I am good at maneuvers usually.

HotCrossBunplease · 16/08/2024 13:24

I guess the question is what happens when you do reverse out, as the road will also be busy then?

My in laws live on a busy main road through a village and we have to reverse into their drive when we visit them. I find the whole process stressful because, as you say, I have to hold up traffic and they don’t immediately understand what manoeuvre I am about to do so don’t leave enough space behind me when I pull up with hazards on. I wish I had a pop-up sign that said “I’m planning to reverse in a moment! “

I sometimes chicken out, park on the road and get FIL to move it in as he is so practised at doing it. (He’s insured on our car).

That said, it’s the lesser of 2 evils as reversing out would be impossible because their drive has high walls either side and there is no visibility. To reverse out would need someone in the road to stop the traffic. Is that what you would do if reversing out of yours?

regementaria · 16/08/2024 13:24

I am in the same position you are in, probably worse. I live on a 40 mph dual carriage way turn off. Right on the corner.

i always reverse into my driveway. Wait for a window, check again, hazards on and approaching traffic just has to wait for me.

its much more dangerous to everyone if i reverse out than reverse in. Doesn’t matter if you hold up ‘half the town’

yabu

suburburban · 16/08/2024 13:27

Yanbu

Sometimes it is easier to drive into your drive and slowly reverse out especially now a lot of cars have cameras on

I tend to reverse into my drive but my road is quiet even though it can be a rat run at times

I hate people watching me manoeuvre or being impatient

JumpingAtShadows1 · 16/08/2024 13:29

EmmaGrundyForPM · 16/08/2024 13:10

Any parking thread on here where someone says it's difficult to reverse out of their driveway becayse of a badly parked car leads to hordes of responses about never reversing out of a driveway, you should always go in forward.

We live on a fairly busy road. I go swimming most mornings at about 6ish, when the road is quiet. However, when I get back home at some point between 7.30 and 8, the road is much busier. There are usually people very close to me. If I go past my house and then try to reverse into the driveway, there are often about 5 or 6 cars that have to reverse in order to let me do so. It can take ages. Whereas if I swing in forwards that issue doesn't occur.

So in our case, reversing in isn't always the best option I don't think. AIBU for going into the driveway forwards or should I be holding up half the town by insisting on reversing onto my drive and making the whole queue reverse as well?

Mines the same.

I literally could have written your post.

about seven years ago, one of my nearby neighbours was Tboned trying to resverse on to his driveway and killed

Mines a two lane road- just after where the single road splits in to two and which is one of the busiest roads in the City during rush hour.

There is a bus stop right outside of my house which when the bus pulls in, partially blocks my drive and both lanes of traffic

When the bus driver pulls over to let people on the bus they are beeped at constantly and without fail - every single rush hour - despite drivers clearly being able to see the queue of people getting on the bus as quick as possible lol

Even to go on to my driveway FORWARDS during rush hour I potentially wait for the bus to FO , which already has everyone in the traffic queue already hot under the collar having to wait a minute, - ...then the only way to actually swing on to my driveway is to get in the middle of both lanes (even to go on forwards) , due to the fact the council kindly popped a lamp post right on the edge of the path outside my driveway which leaves too tight a turn to stay in the left lane only. I get beeped at every time

Not to mention that My house is on a slight left bend and people will always speed up this road and you dont know they are there until they are anchoring up behind you blasting their horn

I am not down for that.

I found it all very stressful and actually stopped me leaving at certain times of the day

What we did was change the layout of the front garden so i could drive in and spin round in the garden

HotCrossBunplease · 16/08/2024 13:30

I think that the thing to bear in mind is that no driver should think you are unreasonable for reversing on to your drive. So, as long as you have the hazards on and make it as clear as possible what you are going to do, they might kick themselves for getting a bit too close and having to start a backwards reversing chain, they are not going to get annoyed at you performing the manoeuvre. Whereas they could legitimately get annoyed at a vehicle reversing out in front of them.

JumpingAtShadows1 · 16/08/2024 13:32

Id speak to them if you can rather than just jumping to reporting it

It may not be that they are cheapskates - they may genuinely not be able to afford storage etc

Give them a break - at least until they prove to be assholes llol

HotCrossBunplease · 16/08/2024 13:34

JumpingAtShadows1 · 16/08/2024 13:29

Mines the same.

I literally could have written your post.

about seven years ago, one of my nearby neighbours was Tboned trying to resverse on to his driveway and killed

Mines a two lane road- just after where the single road splits in to two and which is one of the busiest roads in the City during rush hour.

There is a bus stop right outside of my house which when the bus pulls in, partially blocks my drive and both lanes of traffic

When the bus driver pulls over to let people on the bus they are beeped at constantly and without fail - every single rush hour - despite drivers clearly being able to see the queue of people getting on the bus as quick as possible lol

Even to go on to my driveway FORWARDS during rush hour I potentially wait for the bus to FO , which already has everyone in the traffic queue already hot under the collar having to wait a minute, - ...then the only way to actually swing on to my driveway is to get in the middle of both lanes (even to go on forwards) , due to the fact the council kindly popped a lamp post right on the edge of the path outside my driveway which leaves too tight a turn to stay in the left lane only. I get beeped at every time

Not to mention that My house is on a slight left bend and people will always speed up this road and you dont know they are there until they are anchoring up behind you blasting their horn

I am not down for that.

I found it all very stressful and actually stopped me leaving at certain times of the day

What we did was change the layout of the front garden so i could drive in and spin round in the garden

Show quote history

Jesus that sounds horrific. Also, why on earth would people beep a bus when they can see the passengers getting on it? (Or at all, first rule of driving around buses is to make life as easy as possible for them, no? I always stop to let them out etc)

daffodilandtulip · 16/08/2024 13:37

I live on a quiet street, but it's used as a shortcut in a morning. The other side don't have drives so park on the street. When I get home from the school run there is a stopped row of traffic in front of my drive. No matter how much I indicate that it's my drive I want to go in, people always think I'm trying to get past the parked cars and often give me abuse because I'm still waiting. I dread to think what it would be like if I tried to reverse in too!

Changingplace · 16/08/2024 13:46

I live on a busy main road, I never ever reverse onto our drive, it’s just not worth the hassle and even if it’s super quiet late/early I’m just not in the habit now.

I drive straight on and reverse out waiting for a gap in the traffic, I’d have to wait for a gap in the traffic to drive off anyway so I don’t see what the issue is or why it would be worth causing an obstruction on the road with hazards on pulling up to reverse in.

HeChokedOnAChorizo · 16/08/2024 13:48

I never reverse onto my drive. I live on a quiet road with not much traffic (apart from school leaving / picking up time) so i dont have any problems really reversing out.

Also my drive is on a steep slope upwards, at the top its very level but reversing onto it means revving the balls of the car to get up the slope, much easier to drive in.

ShowOfHands · 16/08/2024 13:53

DD is learning to drive ATM and says they've given up teaching reversing into a space and instead teach driving nose first into a space and then reversing out of it. It's an acknowledgement of the fact that people just won't do it the way you're supposed to.

I reverse from the road onto my driveway. I indicate, slow, stop, wait for a gap, make sure my reversing light is on and visible before I begin the manoeuvre. "Half the town" can wait. They have clear visibility, indicators and a reversing light telling them what's happening. They won't get that if I reverse out into traffic.

BigDahliaFan · 16/08/2024 13:57

Reversing onto our drive isn't helped by the fact that at rush hour our road is used by people cutting through, it's a one way so they tend to turn the corner and speed up just at the point where we slow to reverse in.

I still slow and reverse in though as I'd hate to reverse out of it, we'd get wiped out.

Outside of rush hour there's hardly a soul around...

Coconutter24 · 16/08/2024 13:59

Do you have trouble reversing out of your drive? If you can see clearly all around you and can safely get out then just carry on doing as you are if that’s what you’re comfortable with. There’s no law that says you have to reverse in a drive. A lot of examples on here reversing on to the drive looks like the safest option but people don’t tend to think about doing it

GasPanic · 16/08/2024 13:59

What works best for you and causes least inconvenience to you and other people and can be done safely.

Jules131 · 16/08/2024 14:19

I’ve had similar thoughts OP! If it is quiet and there is space to do so I will reverse into my drive way. It can be a bit fiddly as we have two cars and when the second car is there it is tighter. We are on a hill too - a hill on the road, and a different slope on to our drive! However, now I’m paying more attention to this ‘topic’ (superiority in parking perhaps?!) I’ve noticed that not one of my neighbours on the street reverses into their driveway! And it’s similar on most residential streets around here….

Boogiemam · 16/08/2024 14:23

I can't drive but DH does and has to drive in, as the left hand side is up tight against next door and their drive / fence, there physically isn't enough room to get out, meaning when I'm in the passenger side I have to get out the car before he pulls in. DDs car seat is on his side too so she can get in and out safely. Can't afford to change the layout and it would likely mean extending the drop kerb which I'm not sure we would even be allowed to do. It is what it is. But we don't live on a busy road.

MontyDonsBlueScarf · 16/08/2024 14:36

@Boogiemam that doesn't make sense to me. If there's enough room to get out on the right when DH drives in hugging the left, then surely there would be the same amount of space available if he backed in hugging the other side? The drive and the car are both the same width as before. What am I missing?