I'm sick of them .

[BockingBob]

I live in a house with a shared drive,but its three times the width of a normal drive. We ( my neighbour and me ) are sick to death of people turning around in our drive at all times of day and night ,cars, vans, taxis, even the odd lorry .There is a safe place to turn just three hundred yards further on . Gates or a chains would be impractical not to say a little dangerous as we live on a bend in the road . So could i put a piece of steel with a few short spikes like those police "stingers" on my drive. I would put up a warning sign and paint it bright yellow. Would i be doing any thing illegal? .

[Ethel]

I had the same problem and found a foldable parking post placed in the right place stopped them.

Trouble with warning signs is they can't be read in the dark, and it is unreasonable to expect somebody performing a quick manoeuvre to have time to read it in daylight.

Could such a device cause harm to a new postman on a winter morning, or children?

[BockingBob]

I see what you mean about the postman ect, but a type of parking post would be dangerous too . It would mean me stopping the car on a bad bend to move the post then to move into my drive . it's a 30mph road but as on many other roads the limit is ignored . thanks anyway Ethel.

[Ethel]

It seems to me they must be reversing in a dangerous place.

I wonder if it would be worth talking to your local traffic police. Obviously you need to be able to get on and off your drive quickly and safely .

If it were the same people constantly doing it, it would be easier to deal with but I suspect this isn't the case. At night time, park in such a way that makes it impossible for it to happen, if you can do so without obstructing your neighbour. If you are able to put spikes down without interfering with either of you, it must be possible to put some sort of post, low fence, concrete flower tub or other obstruction there.

I would be very wary of the spikes.

[Postdog]

Nice of you to worry about the postman Ethel!

[Ethel]

Not worried about the postman, it's the consequent compensation claim that bothers me

[Squitty]

Is it not possible to think positively about this? If its not a danger to you or others to let them turn then why not? Could you not see yourself as happy to provide a free turning place for people? I think you are being a little too uncharitable. You can come and turn around using my driveway any time.

[Postdog]

;(

I'm hurt now.....

[Ethel]

Squitty - have you paid out for a new driveway lately?

And being woken up in the middle of the night by car noise headlights shining through your window gets a bit wearing after a while, especially when your bedroom fills up with car fumes.

*I love my postman*

[Squitty]

Come on now Ethel new driveway? The number of times I use my drive way compared to others if it wears out or breaks it is more likely to be my fault. Anyway, the point I was making is that if you cant find a way of controlling it then change your attitude to it.

[BockingBob]

Sorry sqitty .It's got nothing to do with charity, But my drive is breaking up . I use my drive no more than four times a day ,once to go to work and back and maybe once to the shop . These vehicles are using it at least thirty times a day .The end of the drive which is closest to the road has ruts in it wider than the span of my car wheels therefor it has to be all the delivery vans,some of which are builders vans full of sand cement ect and the odd lorry that are breaking it up .

[DaisyMae]

How about fixing a temporary camera to catch the culprits and writing to them in the first instance to ask them to stop, then if they don't you could always use the photographic evidence when suing them for the cost of repairs etc.

[carmalee]

Can imagine how irksome this problem is - as a temp solution can't you install some of those post which stick up at intervals across the drive - you and your neighbours have a key and lock them intothe upright position after you've used the drive. I know it's a faff but you're getting hassled now and after a while others may get the message - although that's probably wishful thinking.

[Squitty]

oh well - back to the crossword section then

[vulcan]

if two houses share the drive,does it have to be that width ? one option is to fence off part of the drive and have an electrically operated gate in the middle.
expensive but safe.

[kira000]

If it is the large vans and lorries causing the problem, and you dont want to obstruct your own access with a gate of some kind, could you not fix something, like a post or even a large planter in a position that would allow enough clear space for you and your neighbour to get through, but makes the gap insufficiently wide for a van or lorry?

[bednobs]

if you put your dustbins just wide enugh apart so that you could get in and out, it should deter people who dont have to from manouvering there

[Ethel]

My drive was the same, BockingBob - totally breaking up at the road end from skip wagons, earth movers and other wagons using it . It's no joke

[joko]

you could try putting an orange traffic cone in the way...you can just drive over the top of these...but most other people probably wont do it...

or even a few across the drive

[terambulan]

Spiking tyres and the driver could leave the undriveable vehicle for as long is it took him to repair - very enconvenient for you if there was an emergency.

Why not put up electric gates with fobs?