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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think it's actually illegal to . . .

47 replies

GreebosWhiskers · 26/04/2008 18:23

. . . park a car fully on the pavement?

Dh, dd3, ds & I were out for a walk today with ds in the buggy. The streets round here are bad for people parking on the pavement but usually they leave enough room (just) for buggys etc to get by.

There was one car tho' (a big jeep-type thing) which was parked fully on the pavement with no room to get the buggy past on either side. It's a busy road with cars & buses going by all the time & I had to take ds's buggy out on to the road to get around.

The owner came out & saw me looking annoyed & informed me that it's outside her house, she lives there & it's her right to park there. I asked if she couldn't park with 2 wheels on the road to let people past & she said no 'cos she has to keep the road clear for cars & buses

We had a wee bit of an argument & the upshot is that as far as she's concerned she pays her road tax so is legally entitled to park there. I told her she's blocking the path for buggys & wheelchairs - cue a look round & a "I don't see any wheelchairs response". I gave up at that 'cos she obviously couldn't care less but surely there is some kind of law re parking on the pavements?

OP posts:

didoreth · 04/05/2008 13:41

This drives me nuts! Particularly when people do it thinking they are being considerate to other road users because they are leaving more room on the road - pavements are for pedestrians ffs!
Did you report her to the police, GreebosWhiskers?

windygalestoday · 04/05/2008 13:45

there was huge lorry pared on the pavemnt of a busy main road near me i needed to get past and i had a toddler and a baby in a pram (not my children either)- i asked the driver how was i supposed to get past 'walk in the road'in the direction the traffic was coming i took my fone out and made like i was dialling his firm.......hence 3 burly workers escorting me around the lorry

chefswife · 04/05/2008 17:19

You let the air out of the tires!!! Awesome!!!

TinkerbellesMum · 04/05/2008 23:28

As much as I could until TD told me off, so I left the caps under the tires.

I'm not in anyway advocating damaging someone's car (but if you park where you shouldn't you can't complain when you accidentally get bumped... or something)

LuckySalem · 04/05/2008 23:30

Careful as to whether it is illegal in all places as I know my parents have an agreement (with the council I think) to allow parking on the pavement as long as they leave space for buggies, wheelchairs etc (REALLY WIDE PAVEMENT)

Quattrocento · 04/05/2008 23:44

How did you let down the tires? Did you have the wheelnut jobbies to hand? Or did you take a shortcut with a stanley knife? Just interested.

Heated · 04/05/2008 23:46

This really gets on my tits. The worst offenders near me are parents at drop off/pick up time at the local primary who arrive 20 mins early to get the closet spot to the school gate. One moron actually hooted at me walking slowly with ds at toddler pace because we were occupying 'her' space on the pavement .

TinkerbellesMum · 05/05/2008 00:23

I just used my thumb nail on the valve, unfortunately time and my OH stopped me from completely flattening them all, but enough to make it soft.

I gotta say, I'm not boasting about this, just answering questions.

LMAsMummy · 05/05/2008 09:19

This is illegal and really hacks me off. we have a bloke down our road (3 large cars, 2 adults living in house.... Why does he need so many 4 by 4s???) who does it loads. I went round and shouted. I think he was totally taken aback as I am quite short and not usually abusive. I threatened to report him. He hasn't done it since. (I am - of course - just waiting for the brick through our wondow.........!)
Oh yes, I feel really strongly about this...

SlartyBartFast · 05/05/2008 09:32

i would walk really close to it with buggy,
oh dear, scratched the car!

alfiesbabe · 05/05/2008 09:40

LMAsMummy - he needs so many 4 x 4s because he's an inadequate wanker who needs a fuckoff huge child killing gas guzzler to make him feel like a man!

LMAsMummy · 05/05/2008 12:08

Yeah - I suspected as much!!!

TinkerbellesMum · 05/05/2008 12:13

i would walk really close to it with buggy,
oh dear, scratched the car!

...with the keys I just happened to be holding in the hand closest to the car.

cornsilk · 05/05/2008 12:27

I've often wondered who would be at fault if my ds scratched a car that was parked on the pavement with his bike as he went past (on the pavement.)

TinkerbellesMum · 05/05/2008 13:29

The driver and I know Mum would have defended us completely if there was come back on it. It's never happened but I can hear her telling the driver off lol

weirdbird · 05/05/2008 13:42

I did ask this a while ago to my local PC, cornsilk after I had squeezed past parked cars with my buggy for the umptenth time on busy roads, and was told that it would count as criminal damage even if they were in the wrong for having parked there

EffiePerine · 05/05/2008 13:47

we get people DRIVING on the pavements, let alone parking on them. Idiots . Stupid private car park with exit in the wrong place.

LMAsMummy · 05/05/2008 18:22

Wierdbird, that's totally outrageous. I am v annoyed now. What, you are expected to take buggies and children into the road?? Right, that's it, I am writing to my MP!!! (Cos that's going to make a massive difference.....)

Woollymummy · 05/05/2008 18:36

Walk round her on the road side of her car so close that you scrape all the paint off her nasty big car. Perhaps aim for the door too. sorry I know vandalism is horrible but she gets what she deserves. seriously though, photograph her car from all angles before she moves it, take the number plate, ring the police and let them teach her a lesson. we need a dial-a-wheel-chair service in theses situayions too, just to make sure she gets in the papers for seriously annoying "adults" as well as mums and babies.

calvemjoe · 05/05/2008 18:50

I think this is the 1st time ever that an aibu topic has unaminous support.

supportman · 05/05/2008 22:15

This is something that really annoys me, as a support worker, I have often had to take a client in a wheelchair into the road and putting them in danger.

Weirdbird, I once enquired with the police and they said that it might be seen as criminal damage if I was to scrape a wheelchair down the side of a car but also acknowledged that I have a duty of care for my clients. They said it would probably come down to the insurers of the car owner and the insurers of the care home, if appliciable, to fight it out between themselves.

I once walked down a road with a car on parked nearly fully on the path and decided that I would not put myself at risk from going into a very busy road and continued on path... end result car owner had to buy a new wing mirror and will hopefully learn the lesson not to park on the footpath again.

TinkerbellesMum · 06/05/2008 09:44

Surely it's on;y criminal damage if it's deliberate... [innocentface]

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