“Ma’am I Live Here”: Woman Refuses To Back Out Of Driveway, Learns A Lesson The Hard Way
One of the worst things that any driver can do is block someone else’s driveway when they need it. You’d think that everyone has enough common sense to avoid doing that. Alas! When some folks get behind the wheel of their car, they feel entitled to do whatever they want, everyone else be damned.
Case in point, redditor u/Ppjr16 opened up on the r/pettyrevenge online group about how he came back home one day to find an entitled mom parked in his driveway. When she refused to move even just for a moment, he decided to teach her a lesson. Check out the full story and the responses it got below!
Bored Panda reached out to the author of the post via Reddit, and we’ll update the article as soon as we hear back from him.
If everyone sitting behind the wheel behaved politely, it would save everyone a lot of nerves
Image credits: halfpoint (not the actual image)
A person shared how he got back at an overly entitled mom with an attitude who blocked his driveway
Image credits: Mike Jones (not the actual image)
Image credits: Ppjr16
If possible, it’s always best to try to solve things diplomatically at first
How you react to minor and major inconveniences can tell a lot about your character. The mature thing to do is not to let any simple problems frazzle you because your peace of mind is worth more. That being said, you also don’t want to be seen as a pushover who’ll give in at the slightest sign of pressure.
To be clear, the author of the story was perfectly fair. He explained that because he lives next to a school, he has no problem with parents using his driveway to wait for their kids to finish class. Y’know, while they’re not doing any harm.
However, in this particular case, the OP wanted to park his car. He asked the mom, who was waiting for her son, to move aside just for a moment so he could get into his garage. He was prepared to let her back her vehicle into his driveway after that.
Unfortunately, the mom was less than diplomatic and refused to budge. So, u/Ppjr16 parked his car in front of hers, blocking her, and then went inside the house, until she got frustrated. Hopefully, this taught her a lesson about being more open to compromise.
Though, to be fair, entitled people rarely change their behavior unless others consistently push back when they ignore boundaries.
In cases where you have to deal with overly entitled folks, you need to show them that you mean business. That means not just communicating your boundaries to them but also enforcing them. To put it bluntly, they need to see that you mean business: their actions will have consequences.
How you handle your driveway getting blocked or your parking space getting taken will depend a lot on your particular situation, your local area, and the character of the offender.
Someone who’s even semi-reasonable will probably move their car if you ask them to. They might simply lack the self-awareness to realize that they might have inconvenienced someone else.
Image credits: ArtHouse Studio (not the actual image)
Keeping your cool is vital in these sorts of tense situations
The Metropolitan Police urges drivers to try to resolve the issue peacefully themselves if they find that someone’s in their designated parking space without their permission.
“If you can’t find the driver to speak to them, try leaving a polite note on their windscreen,” they suggest. “If you lease a property with a parking space, please contact whoever is responsible for your building, such as the freeholder, council, or managing agent.”
If that doesn’t work and someone consistently nabs your space, get in touch with the authorities. The aim here is to give the entitled drivers a chance to change their behavior before getting law enforcement involved. The police often have much more serious issues to deal with than to mediate simple parking disputes.
Meanwhile, politely ask the driver to move their vehicle if they’ve blocked your driveway. You can also try leaving a note because they might not even be aware that they’re causing you problems. You should only escalate things if diplomacy doesn’t work.
If you don’t have a designated parking space, the area right in front of your home might not be yours to claim. Spaces on public roads mean that anyone can park in them if parking is allowed. Of course, this can be very frustrating for the locals. They might have a hard time parking their vehicles because random people keep taking all the good spots.
Parklio suggests that drivers do everything they can to keep their cool and avoid getting aggressive when dealing with driveway blockers. “Losing your temper can lead to a situation that becomes dangerous for both you and the person who is causing the obstruction. If someone blocks you in, try to be patient. Blocking a driveway is a terrible situation, but getting angry won’t help you.”
They also suggest not blocking the entitled driver in, so you don’t obstruct the public street. On top of that, what you should definitely avoid doing is vandalizing the perpetrator’s car: this could land you in some seriously hot water.
Image credits: Pok Rie (not the actual image)
When was the last time someone blocked your driveway or car, dear Pandas? How do you deal with entitled drivers? Would you have done anything differently if you were in the author’s shoes? Share your experiences in the comments!
Here’s what some people had to say after they read about what happened
Inspired by the author, some internet users decided to share similar stories of their own
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We came home last year and found someone parked in our driveway. Not on the street in front of our house, actually on the driveway. We waited a short time thinking she might be lost and was checking directions. She carried on scrolling on her phone. We gave a short, polite beep. She glanced at us and carried on reading her phone. A longer beep, she looked up, rolled her eyes, and eventually pulled out of our driveway. OUR driveway on OUR property!
I don't have anywhere remotely close to that much patience. Deeply impressed you apparently do.
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I saw a post a while ago where the home owner blocked the car, then went in the house and started drinking. When the person in the driveway came to his door, he told them he couldn't move the car until the morning after he sobered up. The driver called the police, the home owner (holding a beer) told the officer that he had been drinking and was too drunk to drive. The officer agreed and told the driver they would have to find a different way home and come back in the morning to get their car. I think the home owner was able to keep them trapped another day by drinking late into the night or morning drinking, but I'm not certain if I am remembering correctly.
We came home last year and found someone parked in our driveway. Not on the street in front of our house, actually on the driveway. We waited a short time thinking she might be lost and was checking directions. She carried on scrolling on her phone. We gave a short, polite beep. She glanced at us and carried on reading her phone. A longer beep, she looked up, rolled her eyes, and eventually pulled out of our driveway. OUR driveway on OUR property!
I don't have anywhere remotely close to that much patience. Deeply impressed you apparently do.
Load More Replies... I saw a post a while ago where the home owner blocked the car, then went in the house and started drinking. When the person in the driveway came to his door, he told them he couldn't move the car until the morning after he sobered up. The driver called the police, the home owner (holding a beer) told the officer that he had been drinking and was too drunk to drive. The officer agreed and told the driver they would have to find a different way home and come back in the morning to get their car. I think the home owner was able to keep them trapped another day by drinking late into the night or morning drinking, but I'm not certain if I am remembering correctly.
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