Insane parking behaviour - intentionally blocked in

[sadkittymum]

I was coming back to my car last night after a shift at work (I’m a vet). The branch I was at does not have a car park, so I was parked on the road next to the practice. I’ve been parking on this road for over a year with no issues, but it is busy as it is also next to a school. I parked my car in front of someone’s house, however no part of my car was over the dropped kerb, and I was in no way restricting access onto their drive. I was behind another car.

Upon my return, the owner of the house that I was in front of had moved their car so it was directly behind mine (the bumper was, and I am not at all exaggerating, 5cm from the back of my car). She had specifically moved her car (leaving her own drive clear of a car, and now parking her car to block her own drive), to do this. This left me completely blocked in as there was also a car in front of me.

Not knowing what to do, I went to knock on the door and I could see that the woman had gone upstairs and was not responding to me at the door. I even knocked on neighbours doors to try to get some help! After about 15 minutes of this, another member of the house arrived home in his car, so I approached him and said the car blocking me needed to be moved. It was also preventing him from getting on his own drive! The woman came out, and said nothing at all other than ‘I’m only moving this to allow him on the drive’.

I really really regret not saying anything but I just was so glad to get in my car and drive away from there. I’m only 25 and very non confrontational and this was a middle aged couple! Surely it cannot be legal to do this - what if I had had an emergency and I was stuck? I was parked on a public road not obstructing them!

Pretty sure I am not being unreasonable, but is this something that people do???

You are not allowed to park across a dropped kerb at all, plus it is always a good idea to leave some space between you and the car in front. The person who blocked you in covering a dropped kerb and trapping you in did not have the right to do so. If it happens again take photos/video on your phone so you have evidence.

It seems very unfair, though. The idea of guaranteeing you access to your drive is surely based on it being better for everybody for as many cars to be parked off the road as possible. It was never intended to effectively reserve you an exclusive space on the public road.

Just as, although you have permanent free access to drive over the pavement to access your property, that doesn't give you the right to park on or otherwise obstruct that pavement other than for a few seconds to drive over it.

I'd still be wary, as if you're permanently parking on the road, the council could make the argument that your drive isn't properly in use as a drive - one with free access to and from it - so therefore you no longer need guaranteed access, the dropped kerb can be removed and it just becomes another free-for-all space for everybody.

Its a nasty thing to do to someone, they are bullying you so that you don't park in that particular spot any longer.

I agree. They must know that they don't actually have any more right to the space than anybody else, but they're renting on people being too scared to use a public facility because of the implied threat of what they might do their car.

A kind of vehicle equivalent of the old "do you want to give up your rightful ground to somebody else, or do you want to stay and fight and end up as the most righteous person in the graveyard?"

Relying, not renting (thanks, autocorrect).

@DotAndCarryOne2 Yeah, lets not worry about wheelchair users, people pushing prams.

Highway code rule 243.

People are such dicks about parking. My car has been blocked in for 2 days now because I have someone right behind me and right infront of me. No dropped kerbs, no driveways. Most of the houses don't have driveways so I don't know who the cars belong to.
The woman you are dealing with sounds nuts OP. She doesn't own the road. I think I would have said something back to her but I can understand you just wanted to get away from her.

I do have some sympathy as if someone parks right up against my dropped curb, and someone is parked opposite I cannot turn left out my drive (right is ok as my neighbours drive is there so no one parks on the street). As this is the way I want to turn 90% of the time it is annoying (especially as we're near a station so this happens often), but I accept I can't do anything about people legally parked on the public road. You're perfectly entitled to park there, but could you move forward a couple of feet in case something like that is going on?

Why are ppl so bloody weird about parking on public roads. YANBU, I'd be upset by that too. I once came back to my completely legally parked car to find it covered in shitty notes telling me I couldnt park there (reader, I could and I did). I knocked on a few doors but noone would speak to me. So rude.

Honestly. Id want to key her car big time She could never prove it was you. It’s a risk she takes by being such a dick.

id definitely put a note through her door saying you were legally parked and if she does it again you’ll call the police. Pp was correct you can’t park over your own dropped kerb. Anyway she was also blocking access to other drives. And yes leaning on your horn non stop till she comes out is another good option

Put a towbar on your car - gives you a little more space. Honestly I don't think this is about you. It sounds like others have been unreasonably inconsiderate in the past and even though you weren't you've got it in the neck cos you happened to be there at the wrong time.

Hand breaks aren't that strong. You never driven off with your handbrake on?

No...

But I'd imagine trying to nudge a handbraked car out of the way is different to actually driving it.

This is the reality nowadays.

Park there again but leave a bigger gap between you and the car in front

Depends what car you have and they have. I have a 4wd landrover because I live on a farm, i have to move alot of stuff, you can tell by the bumps and scrapes. I could move most normal cars. If you have a 1l seat Mii i wouldnt reccomend trying it. You're not moving it far or fast. You dont ram into it, you very gently make contact and push. You could push a car out the way a few foot. It wouldn't be good for their car and if it kerbed you could damage the bumper. Its risky but just seeing you do it would encourage them to move it.

Well I know this is beside the point, but because you’re a vet I think you (and all vets) should be able to park wherever you like, 24/7, and all traffic lights should be green when you want to go through them. Vets, NHS staff, and carers. Love you all.

I hate this! I used to work teaching at a school which only had a tiny car park so all of us would park on the residential streets which all had garages and large ample drive ways, large detached houses. Cars parked sensibly not blocking anyones drives.
Staff had aggressive notes placed on their cars constantly asking us not to park there again or had people come out of the houses telling us to move on as they “didn’t want to look at our cars all day” the poor TA’s on really crap wages being shouted at and told to park in a car park in town which would cost a fortune. 3 of the girls had very suspicious flat tyres in returning to their cars which the tyre fitters all said looked deliberate. Awful behaviour from entitled pricks!

Smile sweetly, apologise, then tomorrow night, key every panel. 😆

No, you can’t. People do but you can’t and can get a ticket for it.

People like this are actually insane. Wtf are they thinking?!

She sounds like a piece of work who probably does it to everyone. You were just unlucky. As a vet I’d also call the police, she could be preventing you reaching an emergency for all she knew. I lived in a street like this and it was ridiculous. People were constantly running out of their houses to park in the middle of a space so nobody could park in front or behind. I saw one person throwing her cones at the back of a car that dared to park outside her house. And all of them had driveways but wanted ownership of the road outside too. It’s insane.

Yes I reverse nudge too - I think it's quite common in London - just v gentle so there's no mark but push them back so you can get out x

wtf was the OP supposed to do otherwise? The woman wasn't opening her door, they were just lucky that another family member happened to come home so she could get out. You expect the OP to just stand there or get a taxi home until this woman decided the OP was punished enough for daring to park on a public road?

People are so petty. I used to live in a permit parking zone and it was first come first served. To be honest I'd feel lucky if I got parked on my street. My neighbours were batshit about it despite not having mall children unlike me. They once knocked on the door to tell me my space was free so I could move my car. I told them I couldn't care less and certainly wasn't going out in my pyjamas to claim my space....so then they moved their second car into it.

I've also been blocked in by a car which was about 1mm from my bumper, they were also massively overhanging a drop kerb....what they failed to notice was that my car was significantly bigger so I just reversed and pushed theirs out the way.