AIBU to refuse moving my son's car from a public road?

[Deactivated000]

Our house is in a corner plot at the bottom of a cul-de-sac. We have converted half of our front garden into an additional drive so we now have parking for 3 cars, which we have.

Unfortunately our working hours can cause us problems when it comes to parking our cars as it’s a long single drive so cars are parked behind one another.

My DH and I both leave for work at 3.30am and sometimes my DS doesn’t get home from work until 11pm, so to save as playing musical cars at 3.30am (and potentially waking the neighbours) my DS parks on the road opposite when our shifts do clash. However, the people who live in the house were my DS sometimes parks in front of have been asking us to move and park somewhere else saying that they have family coming over and need the space, there is space for 4 cars, they had 1 car of family visiting. The last couple of times they’ve asked us to move we have, but now I’m really annoyed about it and have us much right to park there as everyone else as it’s a public road.

For clarity, we can’t park on the road in front of our house as we are in the corner and would block neighbours drives.

This is true tbh. And I thought everyone knew the law about the diagram!

I had this problem with 1 very aggressive neighbour (who I later learned has caused a lot of other locals problems).

I moved my car further along the road and found it keyed all along the door the following morning.

I don’t need to provide a diagram. I’ve explained well enough in my OP and if I could have made it a double driveway, rather then one long one, then I would have done. Think it would have made our life a lot easier some how 🙄

Yes, 3 in a line.

Yep, asked him to move as they had another visitor coming. Conveniently this visitor still hasn’t arrived.

I have no advice, other than to maybe spread your on street parking around a bit if you want to keep the peace. But they can’t claim it as their own.

What boggles my mind is how much neighbourhood tension and fights are caused by cars and parking. We’ve created a car dependent society and this is one of the many unintended consequences. There are simply too many cars… because 3,4,5 car households have become the norm. Very few homes in the UK even have a driveway or a garage, and if they do, it’s usually just got space for one, maybe two cars. This is going to keep happening unless something drastic changes.

I think it’s helpful to realise that by not storing your own cars on your own property, you’re a part of the overall problem, and to mitigate your own impact on others as much as possible. I don’t mean this in an unkind or judgmental way at all. It’s an issue that is widespread. Just ask your son to park a little down the road on a neighbouring street occasionally if you want to keep the peace.

God this really winds me up, people seem to think they can "claim" the road around their house. It's public! Any old person from anywhere is able to park on it, your son could move his car and someone random could park there anyway.
We have similar with a man across the street insisting it's an "eye sore" to see any cars outside of his windows, he repeatedly messages if he can see any car street parking, despite the fact the road has no yellow lines and the row of cottages were built in the 1700s when garages and driveways weren't high on the list of requirements for a 2 up, 2 down. His house is brand new and has a driveway and he "wants to be able to see the historic high street, not a load of parked cars".
Whatever the reason, no, nobody can claim a chunk of road near their home. First come first served.
The only time I would disagree is if it was an elderly, disabled or otherwise vulnerable/higher need person that lived there and life would be dangerous or hard for them (e.g. if it's rows of terraced housing and they'd like the spot right next to their house for safety and ease).

Unless you’re blocking their actual drive they can quit whining

Do your neighbours 1) have a drive that they park on themselves and they’re asking you to keep a space free just for their visitors or do they 2) usually park in front of their house & your son is effectively nicking their parking space ? . If the former they ABU if it’s the latter they ANBU !
Theres social etiquette (no 2) and there’s being ridiculously entitled ( no. 1)

Play Musical Cars at 3.30 am

Better still if they are diesels

I would certainly like to see a ban on parking vehicles over a certain size - 4x4's vans, pick ups, caravans etc on the road overnight without a permit

Agree.

They are 🤣

Dont use the heater plugs either then!!

Aircon & fans on full blast

Even if they usually park in that space themselves, it isn't their parking space.

My dd is often unable to get the space right outside our house because we live near a school and a park and other people like to park there. It isn't reasonable to say that other people are "nicking dd's space" because they have as much right to park there as she does. The fact that the patch of road in question happens to be outside our house doesn't make it our parking space!

Many houses have more cars than parking spaces or have other reasons for wanting to park on the road. Public road it's first come first served. If your neighbour wants more parking he should buy a bigger property.

I am petty, I'd play musical cars at 3.30am for a few days and then just give 'em that sickly sweet smile 'but you wanted us to make sure no cars are parked outside yours... this is what that means...'

So they have family visiting before he’s got up to move it at 7am? Find that hard to believe. Some people think they own the road in front of their house. Our NDN bought a car they don’t use just to park it in front of their house.

@Swimmingteacher21 Or the neighbour's visitors could just park behind @Deactivated000's son's car to keep the peace. The visitors don't live there, OPs son does.

All very well saying "you can park where you like" but at the end of the day its probably best not to get on your high horse over this and be reasonable although I can fully see that your neighbours sound like the local busy bodies and it is tempting to tell them where to go. I think you said he had a car not a van or truck which would be annoying. So I think he should move it as soon as possible when he wakes up or perhaps you or your DH move it after you have got out the driveway. Doing that on odd occasions would show you mean well and dont want conflict. You dont want to fall out with neighbours as you both have to live there and it would just make life unpleasant.

its my personal experience that they local busybodies don't stop being awkward when others behave reasonably. They just find something else to be a pain in the arse about. Like danegeld.

Nothing in this post is ultimately relevant to the question…. “can someone park on a public road” as the answer will always be yes (subject to any restrictions).. you don’t need to justify anything

Your DS lives on the road, so he gets to park there. Their visitors don’t live there, so will have to find somewhere else to park. Just tell them this politely and then ignore.

I can't stand this kind of person: the sort who will bother you in your home and give you a wholly unnecessary task to do, which is far more of a faff to you than it would be to any (actual) visitors who just have to find a space reasonably nearby when they arrive - just because they assume that their fussy, pointless preferences are automatically far more important than your time or whatever you're doing.

It's like an adult equivalent of toddlers who throw their toys or food just because they want you to have to give them attention and exert their control - but toddlers haven't yet had chance to appreciate that other people matter as well.

100% dont move. Bonkers neighbours dont own the road