Aibu whose in the wrong double parking

[AutisticMumOf2]

Just got a new car, bigger than my old car. I struggled to reverse off my drive in my old car as my neighbours park directly opposite my driveway (no dropped curb but it's obvious they are in the way.)
Decided last night while getting used to said car to park on the road outside my drive, all good neighbours weren't home and I assumed they would have common sense to not double park and just park along slightly.
No... they double parked directly opposite mine. Cars were still getting through okay.

Just had a very angry woman screaming at me saying I am blocking the road. I told her I parked there first and that it was the neighbours who have double parked and to knock on their door to move which she just screamed at me.

Am I wrong for parking outside my house when their car wasn't there? They also have a drive but don't use it!

So you don’t have a legal drive but drive over the pavement.

Sometimes you park on the pavement.

Your car is too big for you to drive, park and manoeuvre.

Yet your neighbour is in the wrong for parking outside their house.

OK,I get it now.

You are wrong to keep banging on about double parking, because that is not what is happening. And you are also wrong to say they are parking illegally when they are not. Nor will they be parking illegally if they park opposite your disabled spot when you get it. You might think they're parking in an inconsiderate manner but that doesn't make it illegal. It would be illegal if your road had double yellow lines on their side but you haven't mentioned them.

Who was the woman who shouted at you?

I never once said it was illegal? Do people not read posts on here or something,

Sorry, what I said was misleading - you were talking about your disabled bay, when/if you get it. You said if the neighbours parked opposite then, they would be "illegally obstructing the road". They wouldn't be. It would be absolutely no different to the situation now. Cars would be able to get through. Illegally obstructing the road would only be the case if they parked at their kerb then parked another car side by side with that car and next to your parking bay if your car was in it, thus blocking the width of the road. But that's never going to happen.

Of course people on here don’t bother to read posts! That gets in the way of giving the thread starters a good kick in.

Yes it’s been bloody bliss being able to get off my driveway again without a hundred point manoeuvre. The people opposite do sometimes have guests and the whole thing starts again but at least that’s just occasional.

If you can reverse OFF your drive you should definitely be able to reverse ONTO it. As pp said, you shouldn't reverse ONTO the road according to the Highway Code. You need to practice reversing more.

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Guests can park elsewhere. Visitors don't have a divine right to parking outside their hosts house.

If you haven’t got the kerb dropped you shouldn’t be driving onto a drive anyway as it’s not an official drive itms

however they sound inconsiderate with their parking

You don’t have a drive!!!!! There is no ‘drive’ to park across from as you don’t have a drive

I know it's not what you asked. But if you find it hard to reverse out into limited space, that's just one more reason why you shouldn't BE reversing out into traffic. Reverse in, drive out.

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There is an etiquette that no one parks directly in a double position if avoidable, so park a few metres forward or behind opposite side.

Sadly the same etiquette for not parking half way up a pavement has long gone and it's awful having to walk on the actual road because so many cars alllow 2 inches of room both sides so pram and wheelchair navigation is impossible 😢

It basically comes down to the issue that originally when older houses and roads were built there weren't so many cars. Even new builds don't cater for this, well some do and include a drive for 2 cars but with families with teenagers who have them this spills over to the street.

If you are using a driveway without a dropped kerb you are breaking the law!

While you can legally pave your front garden, driving a vehicle over a standard raised pavement without an official dropped kerb breaks the Highways Act 1980. Doing so risks council fines, enforcement notices to dig up the crossover, and liability for public footpath damage.

Offense: Crossing the public footway without a certified vehicle crossover is illegal.
Council powers: Local authorities can issue prohibition notices or fine motorists who drive across standard kerbs.

Risks and Complications

• Pavement damage: Standard footpaths are unreinforced and crack under car weight, leaving you accountable for utility and repair costs.
• No parking protection: Councils generally cannot penalize others for blocking an exit if the driveway lacks an official dropped kerb.

Parking on pavements is also not helpful, people with mobility scooters and double buggies will struggle.

It’s going to get banned soon, which will ensure that pavements are for people not cars!

Without a dropped kerb, you do not have a driveway… you have a paved garden!

Well that's just plain wrong. Learn to drive properly so you can reverse on to your drive and don't inconvenience pedestrians with sight issues or young kids/buggies etc

If it has no dropped kerb you can't legally drive on or off the drive anyway. It is illegal to drive across the pavement if there's no dropped kerb. It was always also illegal to reverse off your drive, dropped kerb or not. Park properly on the road. Get permission for a dropped kerb, get it done and tell your neighbour to park on their drive/park without obstructing you. Having said that, if there's room to reverse off your drive but you can't reverse onto it, it sounds like you need to improve your driving skills.

They do have the right to park there if it’s on a public road with no parking restrictions and there’s a space though!

What I don’t understand is why the op is getting all the stick when she’s parked legally on the road (albeit slightly on the pavement but that seems to be the done thing there so better than being the only car sticking out into the road and apparently enough space for people to still get past). It seems to me that the neighbour opposite is in the wrong as they are parking across a dropped kerb which is illegal so if that’s the case then the OP could report them and they would be forced to stop parking there

Both kerb and curb are correct.

They are both words but they don't mean the same thing.

Might be slight variations but they are just the same thing in different countries. Also, the OP didn't post for a spelling lesson 😊