Driveway wars - awkward petty neighbour

[Tarytino]

We live on a shared drive way (shared with 3 houses). We’re in the middle. Yesterday we had a friend over and I told him to park just outside of our house (on the shared driveway) as house 3 was out. An hour or so later house 3 arrives home - instead of simply asking him to move the car they sat there honking on the horn. It’s a short driveway, they could have parked at the end and walked down to their house (plenty of parking on street at end of driveway) but no. Friend went out and moved his car - no thanks, no acknowledgment. Once they had got passed friend moved his car back where it was.

10 mins later - horn honking outside. House 3 had decided to go out again. Friend goes out to move car. 20 minutes later more honking outside. I went out and approached neighbour asking why she is honking her horn rather than using her words. She said “I need to get to my house and there is a car in the way” 🙄 I said “yes, but you don’t need to honk the horn, just knock”. She said “can’t be arsed getting in and out of car”. I left her to it and friend moved car. Needless to say, 20 mins later, more honking outside.

now it was very obvious that neighbour was deliberately going in and out of driveway to make some kind of point. So we played her game and this went on for about 2 hours before she eventually got bored.

Today, we are having gravel delivered and they will be parking on the shared driveway. Normally I’d warn neighbour to let her know to get her car out of driveway so she doesn’t get stuck but because of yesterdays performance - I’m not going to bother. This isn’t the first time we have had issues with this neighbour btw. AIBU to let her get her car stuck? Chances are she won’t be going out anyway but no doubt as soon as she sees someone parked there she’ll suddenly develop an urgent need to go out 🙄

Your family and friends should not be on a shared driveway. I have this problem sometimes as we have a similar set up. You shouldn’t be expecting a thank you either for moving a car that shouldn’t be there. I think you should be more mindful here and hopefully neighbourhood relations will improve.

To be honest I’d say you’re in the wrong.. it’s their drive way? They shouldn’t need to get out their car and knock to enter or leave it? That would piss me off too..

So you blocked her access, you even said she could have parked on the road, your visitor should have parked on the road rather than block access.
And 8am on the weekend is early to be outside making noise. You're the nightmare neighbour

YABU, I would be as infuriated as your neighbour if I was prevented from parking on my own drive and I certainly would be taking issue with you over it. The obvious common sense solution is to ask your visitors to park on the road at the end of the drive.

I told him to park just outside of our house (on the shared driveway) as house 3 was out.

So you deliberately blocked her access to get to her house, I'd have been fuming, if parking outside your house blocks the (SHARED) drive, then you shouldn't be allowing people to do it, and you certainly shouldn't be telling people to do it.. proper entitled behaviour.

Why should she have to get out the car to politely ask you to move it when it shouldn't even be there in the first place?

Cleaning the car at 8am on a Sunday is a dick move as well.

You are totally totally in the wrong! No diagram needed to know who being unreasonable - you! I would hate hate hate to be your neighbour. It's not p a beeping the horn. I'm gobsmacked you thought they should come and ask permission to access their drive. Get a grip.

You are the nightmare neighbour.

Impressed that your neighbour had the nerve to do the honking: bet you’ve been pissing them off for ages.

you should be mortified at being such an arse, and your friend is an idiot for allowing their car to be weaponised in such a fatuous exercise.

Your poor dog. You are responsible for keeping your dog under control. If it was in the path of a vehicle that is 100% your fault. If the dog had been hit it would have been your fault. The exception would be if you were taking normal measures to keep your dog contained and it bolted out of the house or somehow broke off its lead. Since you admit it did neither of those things, any injury that comes to the dog is your responsibility.

and your friend is an idiot for allowing their car to be weaponised in such a fatuous exercise.

This is the bit that gets me too, he doesn't even live there, so who does he think he is, repeatedly blocking someone getting in and out of their own property!

Any normal person would be mortified to be so in the wrong.

Watch out for the Free Catalytic Converter! signs on your friend's car and yours.

Surely this is a reverse because no one can be this selfish, self centred and pathetic.

I'd have done the same as my neighbour. Honestly, if I were being blocked repeatedly from leaving my drive I'd have got the car towed.

Wow.

Yeah you are being unreasonable, and very petty.

When you are having company over, or deliveries, you should ask the visitor to park on the street where there is, by your own admission, ‘plenty of parking’ - that way they are not causing an obstruction to the people who actually live there and have every right to be able to access their driveway unhindered.

I have a similar set up where I live. We share a long driveway at the rear of our houses and everyone's parking spaces/garages goes off at that, around 8. If someone parked on the driveway, no one would be able to get in or out. You just don't do it. Simple.
To antagonise your poor neighbour like that, wow.
I hope I'm going to see this is a reverse later!

How is OP being childish? After that tantrum the neighbour threw with OP’s friend, I’d not be informing her at all!

YABU you’re asking for trouble allowing your visitors to park in neighbours spaces . I’d do exactly what your neighbour did but not as politely

I beg to differ.
Years ago, I worked on a Police Safer Neighborhood Team. Call one day about 2 neighbours making threats of violence to each other. Turns out that one had washed their car and the soapy water went across the shared drive. One look showed that the drive was made so that the water would do this as that's where the only drain was! Appropriate words of advice about threats given.
Found out later that one neighbour had acted as a witness in the others divorce - dobbed them in for "playing away"! You couldn't make this stuff up.

That must have been a while ago, who did what to who in divorce is no longer relevant and hasn't been for some time, the law doesn't require witnesses or proof.....not in the UK anyway.

I understand your frustration and the childish behaviour of your neighbour. However your guests did block the shared drive. Whilst you might not act the same way, how would you feel if this was done to you. Try to move on and don't react to childish, attention seeking behaviour.

My neighbours constantly block me in (sometimes them, sometimes their visitors) and it BOILS MY BLOOD.

They say, just knock and we'll move the car. But WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO KNOCK TO GET OUT OF MY HOUSSEEEEE.
One of these days, I'll be in a mood and I'm going to ram of their cars. I can see it now.

Some evenings I'm blocked in and I ask them to move and they say 'oh, we didn't think you'd be going out' 🫠🫠

So I massively side with your neighbour and her beeping of the horn. She should 100% be able to get in and out of her driveway without knocking into your house.

A MASSIVE YABU.

You're batshit.

Your neighbour has every right to get to and from her house down the shared driveway. You had no right to block it with your friend's car, that's totally antisocial.

To then expect her to get out of the car, knock, wait for answer, wait for you guys to harrumph about and move the car, then move it. And repeat all that palaver again to get out.

I'm so glad I don't live near people like you.

So how does your friend parking on your designated piece of the driveway stop the neighbour from entering their share of the driveway ? I’m baffled here 🤷‍♀️
I don’t think you should allow the workmen to block the driveway, it sounds like you are enjoying this war. It’s no use coming on here complaining and asking for advice when you are clearly throwing fuel on the fire and revelling in the aggro. YABU

It's three houses next to each other (all with their own driveway), but with a narrow private dead-end road running in front of the houses which they all have to drive down.

The narrow road out front is only wide enough for one car at a time, so if someone parks in front of the first two houses, no one can drive past to access their houses further down.

The friend was told to park in front of OPs house (no. 2), blocking the road, and blocking access to house number 3 'because she was out', OP was being a dick.

You and your mate both sound like a pair of moronic ignorant kids. Grow up, find something to do with your life.