How can this be allowed?

[BadAmbassador]

This is my very first AIBU!

I’m afraid I’m turning into THAT neighbour - help 🤣

I live in a quiet residential street, houses with families, houses on my side are quite close to the road ie not far back at the end of a long drive.

11.15 this evening, really loud engine/mechanical noise started up outside my house, across the street. The kind of noise that would wake you up if you were asleep.

Looking outside - there’s a big van with the side door open, engine running, interior bright light on, man inside doing something to a tyre on a very noisy piece of equipment.

Evidently he’s repairing someone’s car tyre in situ (as posed to them taking it to a garage), so an emergency call out service for people who don’t have a spare tyre.

I went outside to see what was happening because it was so loud. Gave man in van a very hard stare which he ignored for quite a while 🤣 He carried on another 10 mins or so, eventually seemed to realise I was still there and turned off the noisy machine - he’d left it going while he was fiddling with the tyre. Engine still running of course. So 15 minutes of very loud, intrusive noise - like having roadworks outside your house at night when you’re in bed.

Is that acceptable? It’s not a busy high street with loads of traffic noise, it’s not a main road or a motorway. I know you can’t help where you break down but surely there are bye laws about loud noise after 11pm and this is just really inconsiderate?

it wasn’t a lone woman driver being helped btw it was a man. He stood and had a loud chat with the mechanic in the middle of the road before driving off - cheers for that, now know exactly where the mechanic is based 🤣

Is it me? Why is it me? 😭

I saw curtains twitching but I was the only one who went out - if he hadn’t finished the job when he did I would have gone over to say something. And I’m small, shy and non confrontational but this was Very Annoying!

However I HAVE reached the age/life stage of not giving a fuck 🤣

I dunno, what’s normal behaviour any more? One person’s convenience for a street full of people having a broken night’s sleep? Woken babies?

Storm in a tea-cup? Shut up and put up? Angry mob with pitch forks?

Help me Mumsnet! 🤣

Pretty annoying yes, but if someone has broken down and he needs that equipment to help then so be it. It’s a one off, not like he’s out there every night. He probably thought it was a bit odd you were staring at him, why not just ask him how long he would be, or just stay inside. It was clear he was doing something to help someone who had broken down.

Presumably they could get a taxi, which would be the more polite thing to do.

Presumably you can both easily get a taxi and easily afford a taxi... not always the case.

Since you were awake anyway, it’s hardly worth getting worked up about.

One day that might be you that needs an emergency tire repair or replacement late at night and you need to get to work/get to the hospital to visit a dying family member, etc.

I don’t see how anything that is a one off and is helping someone out could be seen as unacceptable. Yes you really are turning into that neighbour. Would you not want the same help if it had been you or one of your family?

Fucking hell

It was clearly an emergency, I doubt this is something happening on the regular.

I'm not sure how going out with the stare helped the situation.

I hope your neighbours are less judgemental if you ever find yourself in a difficult situation and need assistance after hours

If i was night shift and discovered I had a flat tyre id be calling someone out to replace it and hope my neighbours would know it was a one off

I certainly wouldnt be paying £40 each way for a taxi to & from work.

I can see why this situation could end up happening, whilst not ideal, I'd just let it go.

I've finished work very late (nurse) and been in areas a long way from home and needed my car...if I'd have been in this situation, I'd have possibly used this service to avoid being stuck there . At that time I lived with non drivers and couldn't have afforded taxis home and back again.

Its clearly a one off emergency and not an everyday occurrence

I certainly wouldn't stand there giving the man a "very hard stare" for 10 minutes. And what would the point of going over to say something be? He's just doing his job!

As pointed out - not every car has a spare.

Furthermore, wait till the morning?

You do realise people have jobs outside of the bullshit 9-5 office world?

Some of the comments here are unreal.

@JMSA "It’s absolutely unacceptable but I’d have said something, rather than just standing around staring."

If I was having a tyre fitted at home as in this scenario - if you'd have said something to me, I'd have given you some verbal right back!

JFC.

A lot of cars don’t come with a spare anymore.

i have had to call out an emergency tyre replacement thing once.

it is the sort of thing that happens (although only once in my three decades of driving).

I do think you were a bit unreasonable. It’s not like it’s going to be regular.

I’ve been dropped off by a massive recovery lorry before. Reversed down the street, spent 10 minutes clanking about getting the car off. Chat about the paperwork and what needs to happen. It was after 11pm on a Saturday.

If anyone had come out to have a go I’d have told them to sod off. I was well aware it wasn’t ideal having spent 6 hours waiting in a car park for him.

Most cars don’t come with spare types now (with the exception of yours I’m sure). What if he/she was on their way to the airport and it was too far/expensive for a taxi for instance? I’m sure the neighbour didn’t do it on purpose and not everything can wait until the morning.

Wouldn't bother me in the slightest, it wasn't really late and didn't go on for very long. They needed the tyre replacing and you could be in the same situation one day. There could be a reason they needed it doing straight away. As for the suggestion someone made to call a cab, you are assuming they are travelling locally, what if they are the other end of the country!

Paddington is now a proud MNetter.
🐻👀

You may not be a driver yourself, but surely you understand that a car cannot be safely/functionally used with a defective tyre? The tyres aren't there just as a pretty accessory.

And whilst some people do keep vehicles purely for leisurely jaunts in their spare time, most people have them because they need them for work or other essential purposes.

Honestly, considering how much the driver must have been charged for the service to come out at that time of the night, they must have had a genuine need for a usable car early in the morning; otherwise they would surely have waited until 'standard' daytime hours and paid a lot less for it.

The owner of the car using rhe service could even have been one of these magic taxi drivers who are supposedly always available - even they can't operate without four properly functional tyres!

An emergency repair is fair enough. Someone might be stranded!

What does ‘as posed’ mean?

A one off thing? Thats just life isn’t it.

Yes it would be annoying but I can only assume it was an emergency to do it at that time. I think YABU to go out there for 10 minutes to stare at them. Surely you’d of been more comfortable sat in your own home?

Men need to get home (or wherever they're going) too, not just lone women.

Sometimes these things happen, its unlikely to happen again, is it? Im sure the man didnt want the agrro either! The recovery service man should have been more considerate of cutting down unneccessary noise levels where he could, but having said that, on a silent street at night, noise can travel and seem louder because everything is so quiet.

Yeah yabu he broke down what did you expect him to do sleep in his car all night until you woke up before it could be fixed. Im sure it was a lot more annoying for him then it was for you. I remember breaking down once and the people in the street couldn't of been nicer they brought me drinks and offered for me to use their toilet it was just so nice to have the kindness of strangers about when something crappy happens.

Did the car owner immediately drive off somewhere? If so it could possibly have been an emergency but if they all went to bed and will drive later today then no, not an emergency.

It’s just a one off, and they likely need the car the next day.
annoying but no worse than other one offs

i can’t change a tyre and wouldn’t learn just to keep the peace at 11pm so a spare tyre isn’t useful to everyone!

It sounds like the man whose tyre was being repaired was not a neighbour, unless I’ve misunderstood when you said ‘he’ drove off.

so, as a one off Yabu. Bloke broke down. Might have been driving 100 miles home or to work at that time for all I know.

if the repair man is a neighbour and people are driving to him for late night repairs Yanbu.

either way, at that time of night, I would have expected him to turn off machinery when not in use. DH and I both get up about half 4/5 for work weekdays and would not appreciate a prolonged noise for no good reason.

“Well given that there are noise laws in the UK and restrictions on how late noisy work can be done, no, the OP wasn’t being unreasonable”

it always makes me laugh a bit when people say this. What difference does it make if there are noise laws? Laws just mean you can be prosecuted. Noise laws are civil law. They obviously don’t stop anyone making noise in the moment😂

of course, should the OP be minded she could complain to the council today but we all know that will be futile.