Parking / legal question

[DaveE]

Our street is permit zone and parking is always at a premium (it's rare to be able to park near the house, and quite common to not be on the same street at all).

A family a couple of doors down has three cars that they park on the street and I have a quick question about their parking behaviour.

When one of them goes out (taking a car), another will immediately move one of the remaining two cars so that it ends up blocking/taking up two spaces - thus "reserving" the vacated space for later use.

This is somewhat selfish and anti-social IMO and from some initial reading, it may not be legal?

From what I've seen, it's illegal to block a space like this with (say) a traffic cone and I wondered if they same applied if someone deliberately moved a car to do likewise.

They do this all the time and the other day (after a long drive back from Wales) it all came to head when there were no spaces, except for the one they'd blocked. Doors were knocked and voices raised.

I wondered if any of you guys had any knowledge/experience of this kind of thing?

[Jimmy Choo]

A girl a few doors down from where I lived when I had the e46 used to do this with her shitty Fiesta that she left out of gear and with the handbrake only gently put on. I just used to push her car up and down the road. Have you considered this option?

Alternatively, just buy an old nail of a car and park it outside their house permanently.

[Rich B]

Alternatively, just buy an old nail of a car and park it outside their house permanently.

Onviously this is just typical internetting, but have you thought that through? they’d then be forced to take ANOTHER space, probably the next nearest one pushing you one further away.

Sadly there’s no reasoning with this sort of twat, they’ll just carry on doing it because they are antisocial.

[Jimmy Choo]

Alternatively, just buy an old nail of a car and park it outside their house permanently.

Onviously this is just typical internetting, but have you thought that through? they’d then be forced to take ANOTHER space, probably the next nearest one pushing you one further away.

Sadly there’s no reasoning with this sort of twat, they’ll just carry on doing it because they are antisocial.

Then buy another old nail of a car and park it where they now park. Soon your street will be full of old crappy cars, everyone will move out and you'll have the street to yourself and your collection of shitty old cars.

And onviously I didn't think this through. This is the internet. Take a shit on their doorstep.

[integrale_evo]

Assuming it's just roadside parking and spaces aren't actually marked then I doubt there's a thing you can do, as far as I know there's no law about the maximum gap you can leave to the next car along...

[Rich B]

That’s more like it Jimmy!

We need a street view shot for full assamessment.

[integrale_evo]

I have started using jimmys method, however I've accidentally parked them all in our drive instead of on the road outside

[DaveE]

That’s more like it Jimmy!

We need a street view shot for full assamessment.

(hopefully a link to Google Photos will work)

This is an example of what they do (they previously had two car parked in this gap, one went off somewhere, so they moved the second, thus blocking both spaces):

[JLv3.0]

Leaving aside the fact that it's annoying, how would this be enforced legally? Someone with legal jurisdiction would have to actually stake out the area while they did it, and then arrest them for........parking in a parking area?

[dinny_g]

A few trolley Jacks will shift that car forward...

[Rich B]

It’s just part of being too poor to own a driveway.

[NotoriousREV]

It’s just part of being too poor to own a driveway.

One of the few times we needed Newey...

[GG.]

Annoying. I would just put a "Don't park like a cunt" message under their wipers.

There are two guys that live opposite us that I believe are both in the building trade and/or plumbers and at they have an old 944 (which they put under a cover and doesn't turn a wheel for months) plus two dog cock red pickups which each take up one and a half spaces - so four spaces for the two of them. They then sometimes choose to up the level of annoyance by leaving one of the pickups wherever it is they work and park a small 2.5 tonne flatbed truck in its place... which takes up two spaces (i.e. blocking out 4.5 spaces).

Dicks basically but legally there isn't a lot you can do.

[Rich B]

It’s just part of being too poor to own a driveway.

One of the few times we needed Newey...

TBF it’s a very nice looking road!

[JLv3.0]

Annoying. I would just put a "Don't park like a cunt" message under their wipers.

There are two guys that live opposite us that I believe are both in the building trade and/or plumbers and at they have an old 944 (which they put under a cover and doesn't turn a wheel for months) plus two dog cock red pickups which each take up one and a half spaces - so four spaces for the two of them. They then sometimes choose to up the level of annoyance by leaving one of the pickups wherever it is they work and park a small 2.5 tonne flatbed truck in its place... which takes up two spaces (i.e. blocking out 4.5 spaces).

Dicks basically but legally there isn't a lot you can do.

So is that what you do with these guys then?

Put the "Don't park like a cunt" under the wipers of their various vehicles?

Like fuck you do

[GG.]

I have thought about leaving one on the truck to be honest

Anyway, from the initial post which suggested confrontations had already ensued - I think we're past the point of leaving nice or nasty notes.

[JLv3.0]

Oh you be careful with those big strong scary thoughts that you don't action there

[Brannen]

Happens all the time where I live as well. You'll see people leave their houses as you drive off, just to move maybe one space up. I don't really get it. Most of the people don't go out, so not sure why they need their car immediately outside there house when they could walk 5 extra steps to get to their car on the rare occasion they do actually leave.

There's a retired couple just over the road, and the lady has a disabled space. The guy will often park his car in the space and use the smaller car to go out in, as easier to park. It's funny when he's received a parking fine for being in the disabled space.

[Carlos]

Why don't you get a Smart car and park perpendicular to the kerb ?

A bit passive aggressive but totally above board

[mik]

It’s just part of being too poor to own a driveway.

One of the few times we needed Newey...

TBF it’s a very nice looking road!

Sexy tarmac?