AITA for going off on someone after they refused to move their car blocking my driveway?

A Reddit user recounts an incident involving a driver obstructing their driveway. The driver was asked repeatedly to move but would not. After several minutes of waiting and courteous requests, the situation worsened when the driver became rude and started insulting them.

The user, upset with what was happening, shouted a retort and menaced the other person with a call to law enforcement, which led to the driver’s departure. The user is currently feeling remorseful for their outburst and questioning whether their response was inappropriate.

‘ AITA for going off on someone after they refused to move their car blocking my driveway?’

I saw someone parked in their vehicle, obstructing access to my driveway. Given that they were inside with the engine running, I waited for a bit. After roughly five minutes, my package arrived. When I went to retrieve it, the individual noticed me but remained engrossed in their phone.

I was convinced they were about to leave at that moment. But they remained. After a few more minutes, I went outside and asked them to move their vehicle because it was obstructing my driveway. They immediately responded defensively, asking if I needed to leave and claiming they weren’t bothering me. I replied that I didn’t need to go anywhere, but there was ample street parking and it was against the law to block a driveway.

She returned and began shouting, “I’m not bothering you, you know what,” while also cursing at me. At this point, I became angry because she had escalated the situation despite being in the wrong, and I had initially been polite. Frankly, I wasn’t in the mood for nonsense that day, so I retaliated strongly, yelling back, calling her the same name, and threatening to call the police.

I pretended to call the police (actually called my fiancé) and gave her the finger, which finally made her leave. I think I’m mostly just feeling bad about how I lost my temper. Am I the asshole?

Here’s what Redditors had to say:

roquelaire62 −  I would also take a pic of car and tag for future reference. Previous neighbor had similar situation but they came back and vandalized a car & garage door. But on security camera! Haha

National_Pension_110 −  NTA. But now you’d better watch your back. Hopefully you have a ring camera or something because these kinds of people can Harbour a vendetta.

StAlvis −  NTA. Immediately they come back with an attitude “do you need to GO somewhere?. But FFS, say “yes.”

HarveySnake −  NTA. Blocking someone’s driveway is both illegal and beyond rude. The driver was 10000% in the wrong.

jmbbl −  Some people just don’t like being called on their s**t, even if you do it politely and even if they’re clearly in the wrong. NTA

KrofftSurvivor −  NTA –  Someone is deliberately blocking your driveway, even though plenty of other on street parking is available, and then they get mad when they are asked to move? Never mind whether I’m going somewhere or not – what, are they casing the place??? Because I can’t think of a single good reason for someone to park deliberately blocking a driveway when there is other legal parking easily available.. Absolutely not.

If their intentions were harmless and they weren’t trying to cause trouble, a polite request to move would have resulted in an apology and immediate relocation of the vehicle. The actual response, however, reveals the person’s true, negative intentions.

Aggressive_Finish798 −  If you truly did not need to go anywhere I would have asked if they planned to park there. Basically, I would have said, “If you’re just here for a few minutes, it’s okay, but if you leave your car here, I will have it towed.” They got their warning and f’d around and found out. Sometimes people are lost or in the middle of a heated discussion and just need to pull over. Parking is a different story though.

soozyque8888 −  I am chuckling a little. It just sounds like you both were having a bad day. Just remember: I cannot control people, places or things. I can only control my actions/reactions.

MauiValleyGirl −  NTA – this is how we found out who was casing the neighborhood. Saying something makes them know that people are watching for unusual people on the neighborhood.

Mission_Mastodon_150 −  I had this also. I came home from being away and a utility vehicle was parked directly on my driveway across the front of the entrance. There was NO way I could have driven into my drive. The driver was in the seat. The rest of the entire street was EMPTY.

I honked my horn and gestured for him to move on. He seemed irritated and then drove into the street. I shouted from my car that obstructing someone’s driveway was both stupid and against the law. He responded with a sarcastic remark, essentially telling me to “F**k off.”

His misfortune was being in a vehicle that was very obviously marked with his company’s information. I promptly contacted his job and let them know what occurred. I’m not sure of the final outcome, but I trust his supervisor reprimanded him for his behavior.

Was the user on Reddit within their rights to get angry and protect their belongings, or did they go too far given the high-pressure circumstances? How would you respond to a comparable situation where someone ignores your limits? Tell us what you think in the comments!