AIBU (and childish) to block their drive if they block mine?

[daisy5678]

I live on a modern housing estate where the rules in the deeds say you can't park on the road if it will obstruct the road(but people do, because there are no lines or signs).

The couple over the road have a garage, driveway and 2 cars. I imagine their garage is full of crap like mine, so they don't use it. Wife parks on the drive; husband parks outside the house, on the road, opposite my drive. He doesn't even slightly park on the pavement, so there is very little room.

When I go to work,I have a choice of reversing into his car or scratching my (quite new) car on the hedge in the effort not to, in order to get out. I can't reverse in in the evenings because his car is there and there is no room.

I have asked him. And asked him. And asked him. Really, really politely. I've said he can park outside my house (the bit next to the drive). I've suggested that he parks outside his drive (further down, not blocking anyone's drive). He won't move. I totally accept that he doesn't have to, but why would you not if it's easy????

My son, who is autistic, is getting more and more stressed about it. He hates the fact that I keep having to take ages to get out in the morning and panics about being late. I shouldn't need to!

So today, after a huge crying fit from my son, I saw red. I have now parked on his side of the road, outside his house, not blocking his drive but making it very very difficult for them to get out easily. I'm hoping that this will make my point: if they won't be nice, nor will I. I am just so mortified by my childishness, but at the same time, being adult hasn't worked and legally there's nothing I can do.

AIBU?

If it is in your lasehold that you should not park on the road, then that is a good route to pursue.
Write to the leaseholder - emphasising the issue of emergency services.

Re the insurance thing, could you ring up your insurance people to find out what happens if somebody has parked and blocked you out of your drive and as a result you have had to park on the road?

I'm sure that everybody occasionally gets a problem where they can't park in their normal place for all sorts of reasons - can't get into the drive, drive being resurfaced and thus can't be driven on for a couple of days, something delivered onto the drive that will take a day or two to shift etc etc. So maybe if you tell them that it is a very rare thing (so far happened once or twice in xx years) they would reassure you that you are OK or say you need to pay up £yy to be covered and then you would know.

Oops. Meant to add, could you speak to the fire service and see if they would write to him to say that he was obstructing access and that he's a nasty selfish man not to do it again?

It might be worth ringing the council to see if they have any suggestions? When a friend of mine was involved in a dispute with neighbours she said they were very helpful.

update? has he / she managed to get their car out the garage?

I would be knocking on his door every time you need to get in or out of your drive. You should not have to scratch your car to get in, knock and tell him to move or you might end up hitting his car. He will soon get fed up of moving.

I agree with Eccentrica. Knock on the door EVERY time he is in the way. Refuse to inconvenience yourself. If you keep doing this, especially if early on a Sunday morning or late on a Sunday night, he is bound to become more considerate. He probably has no idea what a PITA it is for you.

cross-posted Dragon !

I was too busy pretending it was my idea

pippylongstockings: my neighbour is exactly the same. I find it quite sad and also pretty hilarious. I find it all the more ridiculous because I used to live in an inner city area where you were lucky if you managed to park within 10 minutes walk of your flat, whereas there are always free spaces on our (very short) street.

When I first moved in, I parked my car in the middle of (what he considers to be) 'my' space and 'his' space so that I could keep a big enough space outside the house for the removal van when it arrived. He came straight round (the first time I'd ever met him) to inform me about the 'parking rules' in the street. He did accept my 'explanation', but I was really annoyed at having to give him one. It's a public road; I can park wherever I like! So what if he had to walk a whole 10m from his car to his gate.

Is the road a private one or public ? (ie. parking is controlled by the council)
If its private I'd talk to the residents association and the management company because quite a few private estates in our neck of the woods use the threat of clamping to deter parking on the road. If its public in the worst case scenario you could call the police as obstruction is a criminal offence that should make him behave!. I suspect he's being a pain because he does'nt like being told he's in the wrong .

Agree with the posters saying to knock on his door every time you need to move your car, the other good option is the note posted when he is out, explining your situation and the fact it makes your son very anxious.
We have a similar problem with a neighbour who blocks our drive and it is very stressful.
Hope you can resolve this without it becoming a real issue...

ooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh it worked! For the last 4 days (we were away before that), he has parked outside his house, blocking nobody!

Thanks for all the advice!

fab news

hopefully going to school etc will be less stressful for your son now

He's thrilled - it's the first thing he reports on every single morning - rushes in, opens the curtain in my room and says "he's in the right place! Yay! yay!"

aww thats lovely

such a small thing to be able to park/reverse easily from your drive and tbh one you EXPECT but gives great pleasure