Turning around in someone else's driveway

[simonej]

What's the general consensus on this?

I live at the end of a very short dead end road (about 20 yards or so from the public road - a small, quiet village lane). It's very clear it's a dead end, yet people still drive down it and instead of simply reversing the 20 yards back onto the public road they mainly opt to pull down my driveway and turn around.

It's a first world problem, I know, apart from the one time someone drove into my wall and the time someone bumped my wife's car, but it's something that I could never do on someone else's driveway. It's now starting to rather annoy me and I've just had a mini argument with someone who turned round in my drive; 'pity for you' being his response.

Am I being a bit of a tit getting annoyed by it? Is it acceptable to turn around in someone else's driveway or is it just another example of how people in this country don't give a st about other people's property?

[simonej]

Well, it's not as though I run outside shouting and screaming at them, it just so happened that the chap today did it right in front of me. It isn't causing any damage, generally, but as someone has already bumped my wife's car and the wall in the space of two years, I wouldn't put it past someone to try it again. Perhaps I'll chill out a little over it....

[simonej]

Esseesse said:

Put a (removable) foot high metal post in the middle of the entrance of your drive and paint it medium/dark brown, or the same colour as your drive/block paving. Then wait and see what happens.

A nice idea, but I'm not bright enough to remember to remove it every day!

GraemeP said:

so instead just get a Nerf gun, attatch one of those laser pens to it, strip down to your pants and cover yourself in cammo paint, and sit in a deckchair waiting for the next person to do it. That'll learn 'em.

Strange you should mention that, I was actually sat outside the front door cleaning my shotgun in my bare feet. I can't imagine I looked entirely sane! (This being PH, I'd been out shooting poor people, obviously.)

[simonej]

Drawweight said:

If there had never been damage then there's surely no problem with it.

However as the Op has had damage twice then the idea sets in that every car is capable of causing damage.

It's probably the anticipation more than the actual act that annoys.

Well, it's mainly this. The drive is on a downwards slope and I remember watching one woman pull into my drive, attempt to select reverse but in doing so re-selected first and then went forwards down the drive towards my car, all whilst looking backwards. Fortunately she was quick enough on the brakes to stop but it's the anticipation of knowing that a large proportion of drivers are utterly crap at actually driving.

The other side of it is just me being territorial, which it seems is something that some people agree with and some don't. If my drive was long and sweeping I wouldn't be bothered, but as it's just over one car in length and my living room is at the end of it it just really annoys me that someone basically invades my privacy and looks straight into my 'castle'. Hey ho.

Edit: Just to add, these people are pulling alongside my car, effectively down the full length of my driveway. I barely trust my wife enough to pull out of the drive without clipping my bumper, let alone strangers.

Edited by simonej on Thursday 18th September 19:58