Parking- why can't people do it?

adolf hamster · 15 Feb 2017 at 12:41

[rant]
why is it that so many people seem incapable of parking in their own driveways?

where i live, there are driveways to every house and with the exception of 1 person (who i know runs his own repair business and has a quite impressive stash of classic (and not so classic) motors) nobody has more than 1 or 2 cars, and all the driveways are capable of holding their motors.

so how come everybody parks in the street? clutters the place up, makes it bloody dangerous to drive down weaving to and fro around the cars and is a magnet for hiding kids playing football etc in the streets.

we have by far the most awkward drive to get into in the street, and yet everyone who visits without fail is able to get at least half their car in and out of the road.
[/rant]

Dale V · 15 Feb 2017 at 12:50

I have the same questions. Its getting beyond silly around here, they'd rather partially block the road hindering larger vehicles than use their driveway. Even if im popping back home for 2 minutes, the car goes on the drive!

Scottland · 15 Feb 2017 at 13:04

Laziness

Howard · 15 Feb 2017 at 13:05

For me it's the sheer number of bloody vans that line the roads to our estate, parked there overnight. Not just little vans, LWB Transits/Sprinters and even a Luton-style removal van. It's absolutely infuriating and makes visibility almost zero as you come round the corners and through the T-junctions. This isn't helped by the fact that people drive through far too fast and then look at me as if it's my fault I've met them and had to stop.

Park your commercial vehicles at your sodding place of work for goodness' sake. I'll take a photo sometime of just how ridiculous it is.

paradigm · 15 Feb 2017 at 13:32

I say the same thing to myself every time I drive through the estate to/from work. I just hope that if we ever need the fire brigade, they simply smash the inconsiderate ***** out of the way.

adolf hamster · 15 Feb 2017 at 13:51

Howard said:
For me it's the sheer number of bloody vans that line the roads to our estate, parked there overnight. Not just little vans, LWB Transits/Sprinters and even a Luton-style removal van. It's absolutely infuriating and makes visibility almost zero as you come round the corners and through the T-junctions. This isn't helped by the fact that people drive through far too fast and then look at me as if it's my fault I've met them and had to stop.

Park your commercial vehicles at your sodding place of work for goodness' sake. I'll take a photo sometime of just how ridiculous it is.

that's impressive, only have 2 van drivers in our neighborhood (one being the car guy) and funny enough they're among the very few who do actually use their drives.

have the same thing driving through, so many folks take the corner in front of our house at ~30mph when the inside is perpetually inhabited by cars and visibility round the corner is all of 20 feet.

i'm just amazed my cat last year has been the only casualty so far, there's plenty of kids about who do play in the street and i've no idea how some folk plan to stop in time.

ttaskmaster · 15 Feb 2017 at 13:57

I've seen a lot of threads around from people being blocked in on their own driveway by others... Something to do with that, perhaps?

Howard · 15 Feb 2017 at 14:01

adolf hamster said:
that's impressive, only have 2 van drivers in our neighborhood.

I'd love for it to be only 2. Off the top of my head, usually there's a good 5 or 6, all parked in a row with a couple parked on the other side of the road a bit further up, either partially or fully blocking the pavement.

Kuros · 15 Feb 2017 at 14:01

Depends on if the car is too large for the driveway (I've got a tiny driveway and a i30 hatchback (which itself isn't a large car). I honestly can't park it on the drive without struggling to actually get out of my car (without jumping out of the boot).

Snookums · 15 Feb 2017 at 14:07

Can't beat the people that park directly opposite your driveway tho. Those are the ones that really deserve a medal.

adolf hamster · 15 Feb 2017 at 14:09

ttaskmaster said:
I've seen a lot of threads around from people being blocked in on their own driveway by others... Something to do with that, perhaps?

not round here at least, we've had maybe 2 instances of it and both didn't take long to rectify, just people stopping off.

Howard said:
I'd love for it to be only 2. Off the top of my head, usually there's a good 5 or 6, all parked in a row with a couple parked on the other side of the road a bit further up, either partially or fully blocking the pavement.

owch, that sounds bad, its mostly hatchbacks round here, and the odd 4x4

Kuros said:
Depends on if the car is too large for the driveway (I've got a tiny driveway and a i30 hatchback (which itself isn't a large car). I honestly can't park it on the drive without struggling to actually get out of my car (without jumping out of the boot).

considering we have the most awkward driveway in our neighborhood, and we can just about squeeze a 3 series and a fabia in there, i have zero sympathy for this. plus the guys with vans dont seem to have any trouble.

SC0TTRS · 15 Feb 2017 at 14:17

We have 2 cars and a drive that could accommodate 3. We regularly park on the road outside our house so not to block each other in. If anyone has a problem with that, tough.

Berger · 15 Feb 2017 at 18:38

Usually because in the case of the vans they are too long for the drive. Or people will park opposite and then they can't get off.

The reason why there are so many parked up, you can use commuting as business miles so why wouldn't you take the vehicle home. Saves buying another car to just commute in.

Orionaut · 15 Feb 2017 at 18:44

Berger said:
Usually because in the case of the vans they are too long for the drive. Or people will park opposite and then they can't get off.

The reason why there are so many parked up, you can use commuting as business miles so why wouldn't you take the vehicle home. Saves buying another car to just commute in.

I wonder how many of the Van drivers are self employed and work out of home (IE No alternative "Place of Work" as such)

geekman · 15 Feb 2017 at 18:56

Part of the problem is that for every **** parker who genuinely blocks people in, there's a **** driver who can't reverse out of their space if there's a car anywhere near it. Where I live I often come back to my car and think I've been blocked in, but I've always managed to get out after a bit of manoeuvring.

I have a suspicion that a lot of drivers in that situation would just throw a strop and start crying about how they've been blocked in when really they just need to think about it a bit and use their mirrors. When parking is at a premium it can be tricky, and if everyone was a bit more understanding and not so quick to blame other people who need to park just as much as they do, everything would work a lot better.

LeMson · 15 Feb 2017 at 19:24

The drunk that lives next to me has trouble parking her small car on a empty double driveway, has to have about 5 goes at it after the pub lolz

Richie · 15 Feb 2017 at 20:26

SC0TTRS said:
We have 2 cars and a drive that could accommodate 3. We regularly park on the road outside our house so not to block each other in. If anyone has a problem with that, tough.

I assume the same goes if people park in front of your house i.e. tough for you?

Snookums said:
Can't beat the people that park directly opposite your driveway tho. Those are the ones that really deserve a medal.

Why? My street has houses with and without driveways. If people didn't park opposite, no one without a driveway would get parked... The only people that think this is an issue is people that cannot maneuver their car competently...

adolf hamster · 15 Feb 2017 at 20:29

SC0TTRS said:
We have 2 cars and a drive that could accommodate 3. We regularly park on the road outside our house so not to block each other in. If anyone has a problem with that, tough.

*wonders if they make bull bars for a 3 series*.....

Snookums · 15 Feb 2017 at 21:06

Richie said:
I assume the same goes if people park in front of your house i.e. tough for you?

Why? My street has houses with and without driveways. If people didn't park opposite, no one without a driveway would get parked... The only people that think this is an issue is people that cannot maneuver their car competently...

because when one of the vehicles up the drive is a van you kind of see why its in issue to dump your car directly across from the drive, they arent the most maneuverable of vehicles are they? I personally don't park on our drive as it only fits two cars and we have three in total.

Richie · 15 Feb 2017 at 21:11

Snookums said:
because when one of the vehicles up the drive is a van you kind of see why its in issue to dump your car directly across from the drive, they arent the most maneuverable of vehicles are they? I personally don't park on our drive as it only fits two cars and we have three in total.

So, in essence, everyone else has to accommodate your choice for having a large unmaneuverable van by not parking in a legally allowed spot?