Parking

We often have large vans, parked quite legally, but so close to our drive that getting out is really dangerous as you can’t see what’s coming. We always back in, but even so……. No matter how slowly we go, we’ve had a couple of near misses. If we’re together one of us can “see” the driver out. There’s nothing we can do except hope van drivers can be a bit more thoughtful. Not holding my breath though.

I agree, my deeds same the same thing!

Rosycheeks I entirely agree with you. Lots of comments here show that it is more important for people to exercise their right to park, rather than sparing a thought for people who understandably want to park outside their own homes. Come on people, think twice, please.

People dont own the road outside their homes if you pay road tax you are entitled to park there if you are not breaking any parking rules or regulations.

It is weird how people think they have some ownership of the highway outside their home. We have parking permits I am overjoyed when there is space actually outside my house yet I have a neighbour who does not have a car, or a permit, but seriously believes she can dictate who can park outside her house. She graciously told me I could park outside her house ( in same permit zone but different road) I just ended up bemusingly thanking her. I think some people have an exaggerated sense of entitlement.

Sadly there are two sides to this situation, and circumstances vary so much making situations like theses difficult for so many of us.

My cottage has no garden, driveway or allocated parking space and my sitting room windows are barely a cars width from the road in front of the house.

When the house was purchased we were assured by the previous owners and the estate agent that all the villagers understand that the area directly at the front of the property was used by the people living in the cottage.

My home is in a small village and most of the villagers have at least two cars which they park on their driveways or on the road outside their homes. However, the people across the road have at least five cars in and around their property all of the time and if I happen to be out they will park in front of my home and the car will remain there sometimes for days.

I have one vehicle and yet I find it almost impossible to park my vehicle close to my home, let alone outside because others have chosen to utilise the space.

As someone who has some mobility issues this can be very inconvenient but there is nothing that I can do about it except sell my home.

So please before parking in front of someone’s home just give a moments thought to who may possibly be affected by your actions. It isn’t always that straightforward.

There's a parking bay outside my house for residents (a permit must be visible) but for some reason, the council have also allowed parking for up to 1 hour for non residents...as we live close to a public transport interchange and a shopping area (with a large free carpark!!), for some reason people park in the local streets.
So from around 6.00 pm its easy to park but during the day or on a Saturday, impossible.
While I appreciate it's perfectly legal, I and my neighbours do find it frustrating.

You pay road tax to drive your vehicle and park it wherever is legal. You've done nothing wrong.

Occasionally, just occasionally, I'd love to park my car on the road in front of my house to unload my shopping etc. It's hardly ever possible though, so I just park as close to my road as I can. I don't stress or get annoyed and would never tell anyone I didn't want to see their car parked where mine should be. Life is far too short.

What's wrong with people? (That's rhetorical btw.)

You carry on parking wherever's legal.

@Esspee you will find out that you do not really own up to the middle of the road, if you try to extend your front garden, or build on the stretch of road from the pavement to the centre...

You have every right to park there. . They sound as if they have too much time on their hands , or live to moan. No point getting angry or trying to argue with people like that. I would have smiled sweetly, looked helpless and said that I had no choice, "oh dear , how awful it must be for you" and divert them by asking them about themselves. Insincere and fake I know! I find moaners are often unhappy and lonely. Let them have a good moan, flatter their ego a bit, say how lovely their house/garden is and they'll probably let you park there again. I used to work with very difficult people. Friendliness disarms them.

My next door neighbour has turned his front garden into an extended drive so the whole piece of ground at the front of his house accommodates two vehicles, (sometimes three ) and his long touring caravan. He has knocked down a wall and claimed the pavement and road immediately in front of it as his. Before he moved there, it was a turning area with a space to accommodate two cars if visiting people in my cul de sac. He and his wife are extremely territorial over it even though they did not apply for planning permission and do not own the road or pavement. If my children park there he would come around and knock on our door and get them to move their car, with the excuse he needed to go out. He would drive around the block on purpose, taking all of two minutes then park his car back on his drive, just to be ridiculous. People are under the impression it’s all above board in the cul de sac but I inform folk it isn’t. He purposely parks his caravan on his actual legal driveway to prevent anyone being able to park a car where he has claimed at the end of his garden. In answer to the original post- you are permitted to park anywhere on the highway provided you follow Highway Code . It is illegal to block someone’s driveway but not illegal to park in a street outside a strangers house, unless it is permit holders only.

Just say she’s free to the police next time if she’s that bothered. I expect they will put her straight!

I live next door to a junior school and what really anoys me is parents turning up in their cars to wait for their offspring an hour or more before school ends. And what really makes my blood boil are these drivers sitting in their cars with their engines permanently running poluting our street. On occasion, I and other neighbours have politely asked them to turn their engines off, sometimes, not always, resulting in verbal abuse from the drivers, (the irony of their actions totally escaping them) Don't think this will ever change.

I live next door to a junior school and what really anoys me is parents turning up in their cars to wait for their offspring an hour or more before school ends. And what really makes my blood boil are these drivers sitting in their cars with their engines permanently running poluting our street. On occasion, I and other neighbours have politely asked them to turn their engines off, sometimes, not always, resulting in verbal abuse from the drivers, (the irony of their actions totally escaping them) Don't think this will ever change.

As long as your vehicle is taxed insured MOT and you are not obstructing or parked illegally you can park there. If they “don’t want to look out to your car” tell them to look the other way then.

I have two neighbours one who bought an old car and has it park outside his own home to stop any one else parking there, its taxed has mot and insured and another who has had the whole of the front paved, it had dropped kerbs anyway. ??‍♀️

Are the large commercial vehicles HGV that is an operating weight in excess of 7.5 tonnes if so they must not be left unattended, it is for loading or unloading and could not have been carried out without being on a doorway or verge or there was an emergency.

I just laugh at them and tell them to jog on, life's to short to converse with arseholes.

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

This reminded me of incident in the past. I had some middle aged neighbours with a grown up son so there were two cars. Because my husband and I didn't own a car we never complained that one of their cars was parked outside our house. However one evening friends arrived in their car and parked it outside our house. Half an hour later the neighbours came round screaming and banging on our door because our friends had parked in "their" spot!

If you’re parking on the public highway then they have no right to complain. If they really don’t want to see other people’s cars legally parked outside their home then their only solution is to erect a large fence at their boundary.

I imagine some of these territorial whingers are the same people that leave notes on the windscreens of ambulances complaining about them being parked outside their house or in a residents only bay.

For those saying they own the pavement and road outside their house, do you pay for the upkeep and repairs? My son's unadopted access road is maintained entirely at the resident's expense, hence its poor state

Do some people really never park outside the house of someone unknown to them, or have visitors that park outside a neighbour's house?

Whilst parking outside someone’s house is irritating to some, it is legal - as long as there are no road restrictions or the car isn’t parked on a bend or obstructing the flow of traffic on a busy road - so neither the police or local authorities will get involved unless the car is parked over any part of the dropped kerb. Nor will they get involved if a stranger were to park their vehicle on a driveway.
This is a loophole in the law and considered a civil matter, not a criminal matter as the car is on private land. I know which I’d prefer!

I think the rule is that you can’t park by a dropped kerb, but otherwise it’s public road.
The other cause for dispute is parking partly on the pavement.
I can see this is not acceptable, because of buggies and wheelchairs, but new residential roads are so narrow, that it seems important to leave room for emergency vehicles. I think this is prosecuted, but onlyif someone complains.

It's a countrywide problem. There's just too many cars in each household. I live in a Controlled Parking Zone but they are all small terraced houses and each one isn't really wide enough for one car yet most of them have two and some have a commercial or company van too.