AIBU for pulling into a private drive after my car failed?

[1hatchling1fledgling]

WWYD? AIBU. In a big traffic jam on an urban dual carriageway for ages. Suddenly my entire dashboard lights up like a Christmas tree, lose power steering, brakes etc. hazards on and get my car somehow into the left hand lane and then into the huge drive of a large house. Knock and explain. Call RAC who have arrived when the husband gets home. I instantly apologise and he says “yes my wife told me that you had abandoned your car in my drive” (I’d waited in the car). “Get it moved now”. So should I have (a) blocked one lane of the road in a heatwave, (b) blocked the pavement and cycleway or (c) done what I did. Fault transpired to be alternator malfunction at low speeds. I was quite upset, but the professional and kind RAC operative was brilliant. He needed to follow me home since I had his battery. So I gave him a bottle of lemonade and a couple of ice lollies, as wearing those fluorescents on a hot day he was really suffering with the heat. Note driveway/front garden large enough to accommodate 8 cars comfortably

This just makes me think, though, what about that emergency vehicle that can't get through traffic quite quick enough because the one lane is blocked and causing a delay with the traffic that causes them to be just that few minutes too late to the emergency. Whereas if said car was in a driveway, which still gave access to its owners, and both lanes are flowing freely then what difference that could make.

Calling 999 if there’s an obstacle on the road that’s a danger to other road users would seem perfectly reasonable to me. Why wouldn’t it be?

Sorry, was replying to @1hatchling1fledgling question there!

So, you’d rather hundreds of vehicles were delayed, including, perhaps, emergency vehicles, rather than someone park in your precious driveway for a short period, because you’d “hate” it? What a pathetically selfish outlook.

I have a drive. If someone blocks it and I have to take my very unwell child to one of their many appointments they have at the moment, I won't be able to get out. Yes, I'll make sure your car is removed so I can get out to the appointment.

Maybe one day people who think it's okay to block people's driveways will find out the problems you can cause if you do that.

If I have a driveway big enough to fit two cars though (I don't), then not a big deal.

Well it wasn't ideal was it? But then nor was the situation the OP found herself in. And she did go to the house and explain, plus she was still in her car- it's not like she just abandoned it there for days. I wouldn't be wild about someone I didn't know pulling onto my drive especially if I was at home on my own, but another lone woman would probably be the least threatening person and I think I'd also have some empathy for the OP's situation. I'd have to be pretty desperate to stop on a stranger's drive in a broken down car and then knock on their door not knowing what kind of reception I was going to get so I'd assume that anyone who did that on my drive would be feeling much the same. I'd be wary of inviting a stranger into my house but I'd probably take a cup of tea out to them I certainly wouldn't berate them for having the audacity to break down outside my house. As long as I still had access and they weren't making excessive noise or making a mess I don't think I'd mind hugely.
I've only broken down on my own once, admittedly in very different circumstances( I was on an isolated country road with poor mobile signal ) but I felt extremely vulnerable indeed until the AA arrived. Wherever a breakdown occurs it's not a nice position to be in on your own, that is after all why recovery organisations often proritise women who are alone or with young children. The OP made a split second decision in a stressful situation. Whatever she did was probably going to upset someone. The homeowner didn't have to like it, but he could not have been a complete arse about it, especially as his wife had raised no objections. "Ok, but could you get off our drive as soon as possible" would have been fair comment.

The alternative approach is much more comfortable and easy for the driver.

Let the car slide to a stop then abandon it and call 999.

No mortifying conversation needed with the homeowner.

Never mind the hundreds of people delayed and 999 resources being deployed.

An emergency is an emergency.

There’s so many unfriendly and unhelpful people nowadays.

Suggestionswelcomed, you make a good point. No I would never fill someone’s drive because on a busy dual carriageway then where would they park? But if someone died in an ambulance or car trying to get to the hospital (which is 1.5 miles away so this is one of the main routes; turn right at the roundabout) or if I’d blocked the roundabout by breaking down on it, then it could cost people’s health - given that appointments are like gold dust. I didn’t think of that at the time.

If she knocked on my door she'd either have got something like:
"No problem." And I'd have offered some water or something.
OR
"I'm sorry, I have to take my child to the hospital for an important appointment I can't miss soon. I'll help you push your car out onto the road because I have to be able to get out."

This is what we should all strive for. One bad arsehole doesn’t spoil the whole bunch. That man is a hateful, pathetic human being.

You actually can, and there’s nothing the owner can do about it … as wrong as that is.

Ambulances will go round with sirens on if they need to. I've been in one during peak hour. People are pretty good with getting out of the way I found.

The main question is whether you blocked the man from getting into his own driveway and forced him onto the road or other. If he could get in, he was unfair. If he couldn't, I can understand why he was annoyed.

That's not true. They can make sure you are pushed back out, which I would do if you were going to stop me getting to a hospital appointment for my child because you were stopping me getting out by blocking my driveway.

This!

Oh come off it, practically everyone on this thread would go off their rockers if someone parked on their drive no matter the excuse.

I'd shove your car out of my drive myself if you parked there.

In all circumstances? I wouldn't worry about it if I didn't have to go out. If I did, then yes, I'd make sure it was pushed out. If it happened more than once, I'd put up gates.

Push it out into the dual carriageway?

Someone is Parked on Your Driveway
If a stranger's car is on your property, it is technically trespassing, but because it’s a civil offense, the police will not automatically tow or ticket the vehicle.
What you CAN do: You can try to have a polite conversation with the driver or leave a polite note. If it is a persistent issue, you can seek a court order for removal or pursue civil action for nuisance.
What you CANNOT do: Do not clamp the car or demand a release fee (this is banned under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012), and do not block the vehicle in or damage it, as this can land you in legal trouble.

You can literally park your car on anyone’s drive anywhere, for any reason (or no reason at all), and the homeowner can’t do anything. Like I say, wrong but true.

It would be pushed out to the side of the road or wherever it had to go if I had to get my child to the hospital, yes.

That's not true. Someone parked across my driveway once and I had to go out. I called the police and they told me I was allowed to get it towed. I knew where the owners were and told them they had five minutes to move it before I called the tow truck. It was gone in two.

If the vehicle you are blocking in is immobile because it’s broken down, is it actually blocked in? The presence of whatever is doing the blocking isn’t actually what’s preventing the vehicle leaving…!

I once got a completely flat tyre, down a single track lane. Not just a bit flat, full on ‘ all of a sudden no air at all’ situation. The car didn’t even have a spare tyre, just a shitty repair kit. I pulled into a tarmac area in front of a gate (literally just off the road, not down a drive or anything) so that I wasn’t blocking the road to wait for help as I had a toddler and a baby with me. The gate led to a garden but not the house, so I figured I wasn’t blocking anyone in.

About 45 minutes later, whilst trying to placate children in sub-zero temperatures with videos on my phone and random car snacks, a man arrived to ask me what I thought I was doing. I showed him my flat tyre, explained that I was waiting for the AA. He was pissed off because his CCTV had alerted him to my presence and he’d ‘driven home from half an hour away’ because he thought he was being burgled. I was very apologetic but I couldn’t help but feel that if you have CCTV that alerts you to intruders (again, was literally just pulled off the lane, not within his fence or anything) then it would be helpful if you could actually see what it was. And no, he did not offer help/warm drinks/blankets.

What the actual fuck has to be wrong with anyone to get annoyed at someone pulling onto a driveway if their car is literally broken, daring to take up a bit of tarmac for a few hours whilst it gets sorted.

Or the suggestion that OP should have parked on a sodding dual carriageway, causing no end of traffic problems and potentially wasting emergency resources for no fucking reason whatsoever.