The viral revenge of an angry neighbor who cannot park near his house

Finding a space to park our vehicle can become a complicated task. Especially in the cities or in the most touristic places, like near the beach in summer. On the other hand, there are people who have the luxury of being able to park their car in front of their house with ease.

The latter is the case of the protagonist of this story, who parked his car near his home every day. However, when one day he arrived at his urbanization, he realized that there was no free space in which to leave his car. Annoyed, he went in search of responsibilities and found them in a nearby chalet, where a party was being held with a large number of guests who had occupied all the parking lots in the area.

And this man’s response has gone viral on Twitter. His daughter, the user @de_infantil, has shared what was the reaction of the father who, after asking for explanations from the neighbor who was hosting the celebration, was not satisfied and decided to take an original revenge. This is how the daughter explains it on the platform:

“There is a party in an adjoining villa and the guests have taken all the parking lots in my (private) urbanization. When my father went to tell the owner of the house, since no neighbor could park within a kilometer around him, he told him in English that ‘the world belongs to everyone’. My father has put his car at his door, blocking the exit of his car, with a sign that says: ‘Here I am following his advice. Let’s share the world. You can also pay for the ford’”.

The reaction has raised numerous congratulations from the Twitter community in the comments of the publication. However, some users have responded that this practice is not legal and that municipal agents can fine the father for parking in front of a garage, even if it does not have a ford. Some comments that have opened the debate: can he park or not in front of a garage without a ford?

First of all, let’s remember that a permanent ford “is an authorization issued by the corresponding town hall to reserve a space on the public highway with the aim of allowing vehicles to enter and exit from a property” and “no car can park in the ford ”, they point out from the Royal Automobile Club of Spain (RACE). Likewise, the license “implies the reservation of a sidewalk space, which is a common good, and is used for the entry and exit of vehicles, therefore it entails some modification or lowering of the curb,” they add.

Some comments indicate that, to justify a fine for this reason, article 91 of the General Traffic Regulations (RGC) is usually cited, which stipulates the following: “The stop and parking must be carried out in such a way that the vehicle does not hinder the circulation or constitute a risk for the rest of the road users, paying special attention to the positioning of the vehicle and preventing it from moving in the absence of the driver”.

However, as expressed in the second point of the article, “Stops or parking spaces in dangerous places or that seriously impede movement are considered to be those that constitute a risk or obstacle to movement in the following cases”, among them, the section c): “When the normal use of the exit passage or access to a building is hindered by people or animals, or by vehicles in a properly marked ford.”

In this way, whenever the agents interpret that the parked vehicle hinders circulation or constitutes a risk for the rest of the road users, they can fine the driver. However, the simple fact of parking in front of a garage that does not have a ford should not be sufficient reason to receive a penalty.

In this line, as RACE sources explain to Moveo, as a general rule, “if there is no specific sign that prevents it, including a ford, you can park.” Therefore, if there is no other indication that makes it impossible to park -such as a no parking sign, a yellow line or a pedestrian crossing- nor does it hinder circulation, the father is acting correctly.

All this in terms of the legal field. Another thing is the moral or ethical issue, since performing this practice frequently and affecting neighbors can harm the coexistence of the community and those involved.