Trades man yelled at me from his van after I called him about his parking!

[pontipinemum]

On Saturday I was in my very small town with my baby and toddler. Baby was in the pram, I was holding the toddlers hand.

There is a pedestrian crossing, not a zebra crossing, at one point in the town. There is a dropped kerb, a yellow box, and blister paving on the path beside it. There are a few of these in town and it is a constant problem with people blocking them.

A van was blocking it this time, since his number was on the side I decided to call him, I said 'Hi, you are parked in a yellow box blocking the pedestrian crossing, where the kerb is dropped to let people cross easily' He said he was doing a quick job.

I then crossed the road by lifting the toddler, and lowering the pram backwards onto the road. It is a little steep. I was able to then use the dropped kerb on the other side.

The man returned to his van and happened to drive by me. He yelled out the window at me that 'it is not a pedestrian crossing you idiot' something else I didn't catch. And smirked/ laughed. I just said it is. I felt a bit intimidated.

It is inconvenient and dangerous for me with a pram. But blocking those crossing means that people who use wheelchair cannot cross at all. And we have 3 (that I know of) people who use electrical wheelchairs in town.

YABU - not your business where he parks stay out of it
YANBU - it was OK to call him on it

I'd have just crossed the road and got on with my life.

That's great, way to blame the person affected.

Also means whenever you come on and post your dilemna on here @Meandmyguy , I'll make sure to remind you of your axiom - "just move on and get on with your life".

Me too!

@Meandmyguy @YouWillFindMeInTheGarden he was blocking the crossing! Before having to use a buggy I know I wouldn't have said anything because I would have crossed just as easily

The entitlement of so many drivers these days is shocking. His convenience while doing a "quick job" definitely does not trump your right to be able to cross the road safely and easily. You were justified in calling him out.

Maybe somewhere in the middle of your AIBU options.

Not true that he can park on a dropped kerb (if i understood that correctly) but I also wouldn’t have just stopped with 2 young kids to phone him about it.

I would have also just made the crossing and not found it a big deal.

Same! I can’t imagine actually phoning someone about this 🫣

Are there any other markings or signs to indicate this was an actual crossing? In my town there’s multiple dropped curbs but they’re not places where people can’t park.
Also, how did he know it was you who’d phoned him?

I think you did the right thing OP. People like that do what they want because they think there are no consequences and that no one will tell them that it's unacceptable. You told him. Yes he responded badly, but that's a defensive mechanism and he might think twice before doing it again. If more people were like you, people like the van driver wouldn't be able to get away with their shoddy behaviour because they'd know that no one would stand for it.

I think you were well within your rights but my experience is that the kind of driver who parks like this does not take well to being challenged, especially by a woman. We have very narrow pavements where I live and I have occasionally asked vans to move off the pavement as they’re blocking access, sometimes for pushchair and wheelchair users, sometimes for everyone. Occasionally - very occasionally - they apologise. More often than not, they “won’t be long”and are still there when you get back from the school run.

The one I challenged who was parked closest to my house made a point of then reversing really aggressively onto my drive before driving off.

How did he know it was you that called him?

People don’t like being called up to be told they are wrong so I doesn’t surprise me he she shouted.

@JacquesHarlow I'm not blaming op for anything. Don't be making things up now.

No problem if I posted a thread and posters responded with what you've written.

Yes, good point @HunnyPot how did he know it was you op?

He's a dick and you were right to call him out. It might not change his behaviour but at least it lets people that people do notice, it has an effect, and it's not anonymous.

I once got a tirade of abuse for gently beeping a truck which was in the middle of my road, blocking it (instead of their pulling over to one side), which I'd been waiting behind to move, assuming they were only going to be 30 seconds and weren't actually parked. These guys are absolute dicks, entitled, the worst drivers and often angry and dangerous behind the wheel.

I don't think you did wrong - if he had been in his van I would have said something. Phoning is a bit extreme though.

However, if you've just pulled someone up on their bad behaviour, I think it is unlikely they are going to smile sweetly and thank you politely for pointing it out to them.

I am intrigued as to how he knew it was you who phoned him though.....

I love that you did that. As a wheelchair user it's hard enough getting by, but this would have really made things difficult.

Yep, as the previous poster said: the guy was a dick and should have found better parking. You were absolutely right to call him out on it. No idea why so many people on here are claiming they'd just have got on with their lives - probably this demonstrates the 'I don't give a fuck about anyone except me' attitude that seems to be so prevalent right now. It really takes nothing to be considerate of others.

I have no idea how he knew it was me to be honest. It is a really small town, and not many people were walking down the road that he passed me on. I was the only one with a buggy.

But it's every time I go into town. Someone is parked in the yellow box blocking the dropped kerb.

When we say we would have just crossed the road and got on with our day, that’s exactly what we’d do, especially with 2 young children. Sometimes you just have to not get angry at every small thing and pick your battles.

There is a yellow box in front of it. I think it does need to be better sign posted.

I really don't know how he knew it was me.

Someone else IRL said I should have taken a picture and put it on SM. But I preferred to just speak to him directly

The dropped kerbs are indeed places where you can’t park. What do you think they are for? They have been put there to allow people to access something or to allow people with disabilities to cross the road. If people park across them then that access is denied.

Highway Code rule #243

Yanbu to call him out but he was never going to roll over and be apologetic was he? I’m not surprised that he yelled at you- bad drivers and inconsiderate people don’t really admit they are wrong. Was it about letting off steam and making a point?

Well the op interacted with them and they interacted back now the op feels 'intimated' but the op felt fine enough to start it

Yes i also would have got on with my day or accepted if I said something to somone they would say something back and not play the 'i am a poor little intimated woman' card

Total non event.

You did the right thing, OP. So many worthwhile laws are broken every day by selfish people who know they're going to get away with it due to lack of policing.

So it's up to the citizens themselves to hold the offenders to account where feasible.