Safe Speed Forums

I snapped at my neighbour the other day and now I’ve put my house up for sale.

This is likely to sound really petty of me but in the two and a half years I’ve been living here I have had people parking across the top of my drive and nine times out of ten it’s someone my next door neighbour knows, or he himself.

His wife is a hairdresser and works from home, so naturally there are people coming and going. The last time it happened and I knocked their door my neighbour opened it and the stupid cow who was getting her mop done rushed past me saying in a voice like it’s not a big deal “oh sorry”. My neighbour looked red-faced and mouthed the words sorry too but that’s not the f in’ point! I said to her “it’s not like there aren’t half a dozen other places in the road available which would block no-one in”, which was the truth. But that aside, even if there was nowhere else to park it still doesn’t excuse parking across anyone's drive!

It doesn’t happen regularly, maybe once a month or less, but it has increased over time as the place has become two or three car families. When it does happen it absolutely makes my blood boil in an instant. It’s the disrespect and inconsideration for me or my property which really gets up my nose and I know, if I don’t move soon, one day I will confront one of these assholes 'in their face' and get into trouble.

I can’t think of anything I can do by way of physically preventing anyone parking there as that part isn’t my property, it belongs to the Council. I did wonder if painting something across it would make a difference, but quite honestly it’s obvious to a child that you are blocking someone's drive FFS.

So bringing it up to date.. A few days ago some tosser unbeknown to me parked across it in a golf while I was at home but I caught him getting in it and went outside to eyeball him. I was half wanting for him to say something; an apology or maybe a mouthful like “what do you think you’re looking at”, but he sheepishly got in and drove off without looking back. It looked like he had come from my neighbour’s but I don’t know for sure.

The day after, my neighbour, who has a big BMW on his drive and a van left the van partly across my drive half on the pavement and half on the road. I bit my lip, not for the first time. The day after that, yesterday, I got the hat trick as yet another twat my neighbour knows parked his car fully across the front of my drive. Again, I knocked the door and he comes out with the nobhead who parked it there with apologies from both. I said the same thing, that there are other spaces so why the f k have you parked there!!!

Although my neighbour and the driver were apologetic I snapped because I’ve had this sh1t for over two years now and I’m still getting the same sh1t despite my repeated requests not to park there and ensure none of their relatives or customers do either. I may have embarrassed them both, going ‘off on one’ in front of each other and he certainly saw a different side of me. I shouted “you’re just taking the £uckin’ piss!” and walked off in a huff wound up and ready to kill something. We haven’t spoken since and this morning I saw an Estate Agent who is coming around tomorrow at 10:00 to view my house.

The shame of it is they are not a bad family and we have enjoyed a pretty good neighbourly relationship. But how many times and what have I got to do or say to get the message across FFS? I’m sorry, but as far as I am concerned they and their moronic friends/clients are taking the p1ss and have consistently and selfishly shown a complete disregard for my feelings, my space and how it affects me. I haven't been this angry for a very long time...

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

Contact your local Council.

Operating a business from home comes with conditions which include not causing a nuisance to neighbours.

Also she has to pay tax on earnings above a set amount, and along with window cleaners, hairdressers are known to try and avoid taxation, so HMCR should be aware that she is conducting a business which is impacting on the use of your access.

AIUI, it is illegal to block access to a driveway on somebody's property, so your local council should serve a warning at the very least.

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Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

If It's anything like the noise abatement routine, which I'm sure it is, It's going to be a waste of time, effort and a source of more angst and frustration.

In the real world these things never work and I have never known them to work - ever.

I can't get them to come out and see it for themselves as and when it happens so I guess I've got to occupy my life with picture-taking and a calendar with times and car reg etc. etc. ad nuaseum and all to no avail a year later. Been there, done it, got the T-Shirt. Ended up doing it my way

I'm at an age and outlook where I fervently believe life is too short to be unhappy and wait for some pathetic blue collar worker get off his arse and I haven't got the time or inclination for their bull shite.

You know I'm not having a go at you you Ernest and I'm grateful for your interest and help thanks mate, It's just that I know from my and other peoples experiences it's a fig leaf and totally ineffective process.

She may well be running a legitimate business, I don't know, but trying that angle will certainly end in a tit-for-tat p1ss1ng contest. I'll do it my way I think and if he gives me further grief I have the option of selling to anyone I like and of course when I'm gone I will know where they live but they won't have the same 'upper hand'

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

Don't complain to the council, contact your local COUNCILLOR.

He/she should do the investigating, and then prompt the council.

Is it election time in your neck of the woods...?

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Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

IIRC, it is illegal in many/most (depending on your council) places to park across a dropped kerb without permission of the person that you are potentially blocking. Check with your local authority, because often the council will tow the offender away (and fine them etc.) with just a phone call.

Save the "are you running a business from home" approach for if this fails.

mb

If you are blocking someone in their drive then you can take action via police but be prepared to wait (of course there are other ways of moving a vehicle )
It is not an offence if you are blocking an entry point (private/council home)

I moved from my previous home almost a year ago because of the same problem, pig ignorant neighbor and his other half was just as bad.

Currently theres a court case pending over a right of way which was lost by me at the first hearing, that went to appeal and won the sucker has costs of 10k to pay now.
And now i've just heard the same guy has appealed (outside the deadline of 3 weeks i might add) to the law courts in london claiming the FIRST judge was correct in his decision
This is what i had to put up with.
http://i432.photobucket.com/albums/qq47 ... 010050.jpg

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nigel_bytes

Big Tone, Have a look at this forum regards rights of way etc,
http://www.gardenlaw.co.uk/phpBB2/index.php

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nigel_bytes

My experience of local authority is they are a bunch of useless morons who rarely do something which isn’t in their interest, or to do with lowering speed limits these days. I just don't have the time to go down that route with phone calls and writing letters and waiting and blah blah blah... Sorry but that's just my experience and how I feel. Like I say, I've tried the noise abatement fiasco with a neighbour from hell the once, back in 1988. It still remains the biggest most ineffective bull sh1t I have gone through to this day. I ended up selling it at a loss of £3000 but it was worth it to be away from the place and him and seek my revenge later, again and again and again as it happens

I know ta


Or making it more stationary eh?

I’m sorry you went through the same sh1t Nigel; you will know just how much it stinks.

The fact is, in my case, it isn’t just one person it’s a whole bunch of them. So I would be taking on anything up to, I don't know, a dozen or more individuals at different times. This is why I’m beating up on my neighbour. It is people he and his wife associate with and it's up to them to police it. It is not up to me to individually approach each and every one when they do it or have to keep going around knocking on their door; which doesn’t even have a f n door bell BTW. On one occasion she couldn’t hear me knocking so I just left it and had to go out later after some woman moved her car. I could hear a hair dryer going so doubtless that was why she didn’t answer the door.

If a mate of mine or someone visiting me parked across someone else’s driveway I would tear them a new arsehole and ask them WTF they think they’re playing at. I’d make them a nice cuppa afterwards and say sorry for my outburst but I swear that’s what I would do because they have not respected that person’s space. As it happens, my friends and everyone I know wouldn’t do something like it in the first place. They have something my neighbour's associates clearly don't called RESPECT!

The fact is my house should sell for, I hope, around 150K or maybe 145K for a quicker sale. I bought it for 110K so I stand to make a tidy sum from it. Now my neighbour knows, if he’s got half a brain, that I will make on it and that I can be very selective who I sell it to. If I am driven to it I'll sell for 135K and I know people will rip my hand off at that price while still making a healthy profit myself

I think it's just sad because, like I have said, he and his family are actually very nice people and I saw myself growing old bones here. Not any more I don't and now he's looking at me, or rather not, like it is me who has got 'the attitude'.

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

Update: I was just sweeping outside and my neighbour opposite, also called Tony, asked me "what you doing?”. I don’t know if he meant in general or whether he hadn’t seen me with a broom before. So we got chatting..

He’s a friend and a biker, like me. A jolly good egg I would say, if you’re on the right side of him.

I told him my situation and he said he has a friend who would buy it. I don’t know who his friend is but Tony owns a boxing gym and partakes in events around the world. Picture a black guy sporting about 16 stone of muscle with a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp. (I mean that in a nice way of course ).

So then, no agent fee, a quick sale and a lesson in good manners for them next door if they think they, their familly, their friends or her customers can treat my driveway as an extension of their own.

This just gets better and better...

ADD: Just had the agent around and the bad news is she values it at only 135K. Still, at least I can save £2000 if/when Tony’s mate buys it.

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

I've just had a thought but I don't know if it's illegal.

Could I put two huge boulders, something from a garden centre type of thing, at each side of my driveway entrance on the edge of the pavement but not restricting the way for pedestrians or wheelchair users who use the pavement?

It wouldn't be a permanent structure dug into the ground but unless someone gets a crane they wouldn't be able to move them. I could use red concrete paint on them too, to make it a feature of sorts.


I think sometimes in life you have to go ape to make your point. For some people it's the only language they understand so that they take you seriously. He knocked on my door last night and I gave him both barrels again; the full matinee this time. (Notice how he parks far away from my drive now on the left for some reason ).

His last words were "I'm gutted" and didn’t want to see me leave which makes me feel guilty but it's his doing and he is the one out of order, not me. If he doesn't want a repeat performance then DON'T PARK ACROSS MY F n' driveway and police the ones visiting you and your wife!!!

I think what also happened was familiarity bred contempt, my fault for being easy-going, and he took me for a see C U Next Tuesday just like the moronic manager at work I’m currently trying to get kicked out. (Just remembered the last time I was this angry).

I don't know what to do about the sale now I don’t believe for one second that it won’t happen again and I told him so. You just know there’s going to be mission creep, his mission being once the dust has settled he or his cronies will creep over on my driveway again.



See how Tony's van opposite is parked? Not blocking the neighbour's driveway. He never, ever, blocks her in; showing respect for his neighbour.

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

It would be a terrible shame if one of the cars that blocked you in had a puncture or 4

Maybe after I've gone


I still can't make my mind up. Out today with Maria and me mate Dean who have put doubts in my mind. Maria suggested putting boulders down, if It's legal, and kiss and make up. Dean said if that's the only problem and It's infrequent I could be going from the frying pan to the fire.

Don't you just hate it when people make fair points.

My main thought though is do I really want to be going through this or any other crap in years to come at a time in life when I'm trying to find solice. The answer to that is an emphatic no!!!

I can either jump now or sit on my hands in the hope that things will get better. Having talked with a few people about this now one thing has emerged. This is a common problem people have had and moved from.

Makes me wonder what the hec is in someone's head that makes people park like they own the country.

I also find myself taken aback that Maria instantly came up with an interesting engineering solution I feel I should have got first.

Mars and Venus...

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

Hire a skip

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nigel_bytes

Hec Nige! Have you hired one recently?

Would be cheaper to pay the fine for criminal damage after I have taken a lump hammer to the offender's vehicle. Some would doubtless take the p1ss loading it with their crap too.

Murder is the answer. Followed by an inquisition at tax payers expense into why I became disfunctional and yet more corrective measures to 'prevent it' happening again and reassure the public that the caring government and ALL laws are intelligently made and enforced to protect you from evil but which many are about as effective as a speed camera is at monitoring and controlling road safety...

Example..

Dog fouling the pavement, up to £1000 fine. My road is an ocean of dog shite and exactly who against it, or where, is that law ever enforced? Don't give me one-offs now; or two-offs.. Law for law sake to look like some nobhead is doing something.

I could do major topic drift here, so I'll button it...

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

I occasionally have that problem, though I'vetrained my neighbour fairly well now.

My advice - if you were sticking round - would be the PH route: buy a ultra-cheap runabout and park it across your drive as a 'mobile gate'.

My work van lives across my driveway in the same fashion.

Even better: park it across neighbours drive

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

And doesn’t it just make you see red Jonathan. I like you suggestion, and yours DCB

I mean imagine how you feel when it happens once then multiply that by three, on three consecutive days. On the third one my blood went from absolute zero to the boiling point of lead. I’m actually surprised I only did a nine; ten being beating the crap out of the offender and offending car.

Anyway, I’ve phoned Birmingham City Council this morning. Seems the woman I was talking to has never heard of, and doesn’t know about, putting boulders there. She said they can paint a H-Line though, (haven’t heard the term before but I know what one is now), but it will cost me. It wouldn’t if I was a blue badge holder and she couldn’t tell me how much.

Oh, I forgot to say... I couldn’t find which branch to speak to but after telling them my problem they put me through to The Highways Dept which isn’t on their website. I took a shot that it’s ‘Housing’ but that's not the one you need.

So it looks like people will still be able to park there, which I am not happy about, but at least it will be more obvious to the people with the IQ of a dung beetle whom haven’t the faintest idea what a driveway looks like the poor things. I wonder if someone has to get them dressed in the morning or if they have ‘L’ and ‘R’ on their shoes.

Oh, I also forgot to mention something which floored me. Listen to this for the most ridiculous argument you have ever heard. I think it beats anything we have ever argued about here with a troll regarding speed enforcement. I chopped my conifers/giant redwoods down a while back and had 46 green bags to dispose of for the green collection. Long story short, I was told if I distribute them up and down my road they will collect them all. So then, as I was delivering my speech to him over the parking grief I’m getting he finally came out with this, “I let you put your bags on my driveway”

I replied to him, my hackles more erect than a porn star's nob, “BUT YOU TOLD ME I COULD PUT THEM THERE. YOU GAVE ME PERMISSION AND... (wait for it) THEY WEREN’T BLOCKING YOUR CAR FROM GETTING IN OR OUT FFS”

You just can’t make this stuff up. Honestly, the things people will say when they have completely lost an argument. We need an exacerbation smilie.

Please don’t get me wrong, I really am a nice kind gentle person. I may be coming across as a nut but ask yourself how you would react if you got blocked in three times in a row when there are loads of other spaces which wouldn’t block anyone in, the nearest being about 12 feet behind where he parked just to the right of my drive in the picture. Excuse me but if that is not taking the p1$$ I don’t know what is. The driver at the time said “oh I didn’t realise it was there”. My neighbour, the next day, said something bad had happened and he only just parked it there for a moment.

Oh he did, did he? Well if he was in such a tizzy, which certainty wasn't the look on his face at the time, why didn’t he park across your drive? He’d be even closer to your door them wouldn’t he? I'm definitely leaning towards selling...

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

My house used to be the first without a drive after a run of six with drives, so it was the first available space for a lot of properties to overspill to. When I got home (later than most) either the man-woman-thing from over the road or my hippy-builder-next-door-neighbour was parked outside mine.

I used to get a bit annoyed about this so I got my kerb dropped and a drive done. Best £650 I've ever spent. Now my hippy-builder-next-door-neighbour is the first without a drive after a run of seven with drives, so he gets home and invariably someone's parked outside his.

I symapthise when he has a good whinge to me about it, even though he's utterly oblivious to the fact that he's the prime reason I had my drive done.

The only problem now is when one of my other idiot neighbours decides not to start the row of cars at the end of my drive but about 3/4 of a car length down, then hippy neighbour chances it and squeezes on the end and I can't fit on without encroaching on the other neighbour's drive.

Which makes you look like the bad guy no doubt.

Well I’ve contacted the Council now and here’s the deal..

It is illegal to put an obstruction there even though it would not be in anyone’s way or impede pedestrians, wheelchair users, cyclists or wildebeest. He used the most beautiful words known to mankind we all love to hear, health and safety. The fact that a gigantic telegraph pole is there and umpteen lampposts makes no difference; if a blind man walks up there and his stick breaks these obstructions just hop out of the way.

They have to do them in batches because specialists are contracted to do the work which uses “hazardous materials”. The Council used to do them in-house by the DLO, (forgot what that one stood for), but Amey took it over in July of last year, something about a ‘PFI’ or Private Financial Initiative.

A six metre H-Line typically costs around £140. Amey charge £700 for the day so the only way they can keep prices down is by doing them in batches. In his words, if they came out just to do one-offs it would cost people more like £800 which people would just not pay.

So it can take three months to get enough work to justify calling them. Brilliant! This country sucks! In America I could get a rubber chicken to do it at the drop of a hat and cook dinner for me afterwards but ohhh noooo, not here. I could also deter a recurrence by emptying the contents of a high powered rifle in their heads. Trying to get something done in this country is always full of rip-off, red tape, time wasting, aggravation...

Superlatives escape me. And people wonder why normal, decent, law-abiding people snap.

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

Tone

Why don't you paint the H line yourself? You can get the paint in a spray can for a few pounds from a builders merchant. Use some 4 x 1 planks to define the area you want to spray and do it on a dry day.

Where my drive meets the road is rather ill-defined (because it meets at a very acute angle) and it sometimes got used as a layby. Even though it didn't inconvenience me much it did annoy me. So I painted a dashed line to define it and no one uses it any more.

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown