Using a driveway to turn around, bad?
Using a driveway to turn around, bad?
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Discussion

willmagrath

Original Poster:

1,397 posts

177 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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I once had to turn around on someone's drive. There was a bin lorry blocking one direction and it was a narrow street which meant I had to put 2 wheels on someone's drive to turn around.

The homeowner came out and was incredibly angry, screaming at me through the window and saying 'he'll f****** do me in'.

It amazed me that someone could get so angry at something so trivial. I wouldn't care if someone did this on my drive, as long as no damage is caused and they don't park on it.

Am I wrong?

Previous

1,655 posts

185 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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No.

Sweeping round someone's in and out driveway would be unreasonable.

Making a three point turn and using a couple of feet of open drive for three seconds, shouldn't be an issue - especially if its obvious that the road is blocked / narrow.

kambites

71,643 posts

252 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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Whilst I have no problem with people using my drive to turn around, I can see in some circumstances why people might. Obviously if you're a careful competent driver it doesn't do any harm, but I know someone who had their gate-post knocked down by someone using their drive to turn around and they are now, understandably really, not particularly enthusiastic about people doing it!

Pica-Pica

16,688 posts

115 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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The worst I have ever done, and it’s not unusual, is to partly reverse into someone’s driveway, to turn around. Hopefully, that way minimises the disruption to everyone in the vicinity. I have never had anyone scream at me. And yes, going through a sweep-in, sweep-out driveway would be going a bit too far.

spitfire-ian

4,251 posts

259 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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If the road was blocked and the driveway was the only option then that's ok in my book. However the unmarked delivery van delivering next door who used my drive to turn around and drove over a flower bed not so much!

anonymous-user

85 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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I once went down a rural narrow lane in a 18Ton lorry, to be faced with a 7.5T limit sign for a bridge ahead.

Had no option but to turn around in someone's driveway. He was a WFH with business signage outside his house with a mobile phone number advertised.

He wasn't home, but I rang him to ask permission. Luckily he said that's fine, just don't hit the house!

LordGrover

34,186 posts

243 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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I pass this driveway twice a day: click.
I wonder how many times someone has used his driveway to turn, in order for them to feel the need to add a sign?


PurpleTurtle

8,876 posts

175 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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The problem is that you are not the only person doing it.

I used to live in a residential cul-de-sac which was diagonally opposite a 'no right turn' junction.

People would turn left at that junction, then pull into my road, use my driveway to turn around, then exit the road so they could turn left, effectively making the right turn they wanted to do, albeit in a convoluted manner.

If this happened on the odd occasion I wouldn't have minded, but it became 10-15 times a day, so I would regularly be out there telling people to f*** off my property.

On the last occasion I had to do it the bloke was drinking a can of Stella at the wheel. Make of that what you will as to the mentality of some of these people.


joropug

3,073 posts

220 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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I drove supermarket delivery vans during lockdown and was very conscious of using driveways even if customers said it was fine. The weight of the truck, drains , pulling gravel into the road etc. if you stop on a drain you could cause it to cave a bit.

We had our driveway done with new tarmac and went away for a week a few months later. It was a very hot week and where the driveway was still relatively new it was susceptible to damage. The golden rule with new tarmac is not to dry steer as power steering almost digs a hole in it.

I came home to this, I was absolutely fuming as I live on a close with a large turning circle, so whoever it was was just being lazy.




It looks like someone did a three point turn aggressively, dry steering. It doesn’t show it well in the photo but it loosened the tarmac so they had to come back out and put some extra bits down and reform it.

So yeah overall it’s someone else’s property , the most I would ever use is a bumpers worth if there’s no other option and I’d be very careful of the surface given my own grievance.


mac96

6,611 posts

174 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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LordGrover said:
I pass this driveway twice a day: click.
I wonder how many times someone has used his driveway to turn, in order for them to feel the need to add a sign?
Looks a silly place to be reverse into to turn around with the brow of the hill obstructing vision- perhaps there has been an accident/near miss caused by someone turning around there and your man is trying to prevent a recurrence?


Hol

9,316 posts

231 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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Previous said:
No.

Sweeping round someone's in and out driveway would be unreasonable.

Making a three point turn and using a couple of feet of open drive for three seconds, shouldn't be an issue - especially if its obvious that the road is blocked / narrow.
I have no problem with people using the first few feet, but in my in laws old house they often got people driving right up to the front door of their house if the cul de sac they lived in was busy.

That’ was a good 20-30 feet up the driveway.



Edited by Hol on Tuesday 23 August 11:33

Zetec-S

6,941 posts

124 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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Drive past this place quite regularly, it's not the most obvious place for people to decide to turn around, but obviously enough people do to warrant the owner putting up various signs.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.8766963,-1.97655...

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.8766732,-1.97657...

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.8766714,-1.97653...

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.8767057,-1.97657...

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.8766699,-1.97657...

The issue is, the sort of person who drives over lawns/flowerbeds or demolishes walls is also the sort of person who will ignore signs anyway.

ARHarh

4,892 posts

138 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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LordGrover said:
I pass this driveway twice a day: click.
I wonder how many times someone has used his driveway to turn, in order for them to feel the need to add a sign?
I cycle past a house like this pretty often. The house is on a quiet lane with probably 1 car an hour at most. the drive way is gated and they have a sign on the garden wall saying "No turning". How sad must you be to not want people using the road outside your house for a 3 point turn.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.8120532,-3.12743...

donkmeister

13,072 posts

131 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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joropug said:
I came home to this, I was absolutely fuming as I live on a close with a large turning circle, so whoever it was was just being lazy.
Wait... Your road has a turning circle that hasn't just been claimed as parking by the houses on the turning circle?!?!

There's two cul de sacs near me where weirdos get all upset with you if you turn around in the turning circle they've filled with cars, and any time a large van or lorry makes a delivery they end up reversing out.

grudas

1,411 posts

199 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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if it became a regural thing I'd probably get annoyed too. Once in a while it's a bit of a what ever.

joropug

3,073 posts

220 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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donkmeister said:
Wait... Your road has a turning circle that hasn't just been claimed as parking by the houses on the turning circle?!?!

There's two cul de sacs near me where weirdos get all upset with you if you turn around in the turning circle they've filled with cars, and any time a large van or lorry makes a delivery they end up reversing out.
Can only have a few cars parked there and there are day restrictions keeping it clear luckily, you could turn a 7.5t at any time of the day there and even if you couldn’t it’s a bigger 3 point turn space than my driveway.

I’m less precious now but it was immaculate when new so was really gutted. Tree surgeons van dripped oil all over it the other day too which looks st now I’ve cleared it up - it’ll even out eventually but that was with my permission, would be even more annoyed if it wasn’t !

SlowcoachIII

311 posts

252 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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On the cul-de-sac point, is it okay to use the end of someone’s drive to turn around if their cars are blocking turning suitably in the cul-de-sac? I used to get this and as a result would end up shining my lights through their front windows which always made me feel bad until I reversed into the half they weren’t blocking to turn around.

PistonRings

306 posts

89 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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Zetec-S said:
Drive past this place quite regularly, it's not the most obvious place for people to decide to turn around, but obviously enough people do to warrant the owner putting up various signs.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.8767057,-1.97657...
If you spin the camera, it looks like traffic has the potential to build up there? Otherwise like you say I can't see why you'd use there to turn around.

Nickbrapp

5,277 posts

161 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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It’s hardly the end of the world but it’s definitely a English man is his castle kind of thing, the people I live next door to absoultey hate it, and park their car at a angle to avoid it.

I couldn’t care less personally, so long as they aren’t reversing into my car.

Portofino

5,386 posts

222 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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I had a takeaway driver just park up & go walking off down the road to find the delivery address once.

That was taking the pee, but a person turning not bothered,but then it happens once in a blue moon if it was regular it would grate my carrot.