Footpath photo leaves dad fuming over act of ‘selfish’ ute driver

The thoughtless act of a ute driver has left a dad fuming for a reason that most road users wouldn’t even consider.

An irate dad has taken aim at “selfish bast****” behind an infuriating parking habit that makes it near impossible for him to go out walking with his kids.

The man’s frustration was captured in a single image shared to Reddit on Wednesday that showed a footpath partially parked over by a construction company’s ute.

The tiny gap left between the front of the ute and another parked in a property’s driveway meant the dad couldn’t walk past with his “young bloke” who used a wheelchair.

“My young bloke is in a wheelchair but enjoys getting out and about for a walk. His older brother likes getting out on his bike,” his post read.

“I’m becoming more and more disappointed with selfish bast**** who don’t think of others.”

The dad, believed to be based in Tasmania, received responses from close to 1000 people, many of which agreed most drivers wouldn’t think twice before parking across a footpath.

“It is really frustrating even for someone who isn’t in a wheelchair or has a pram. It is extra frustrating when there is no reason for them to park there,” one response read.

Stream the news you want, when you want with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022 >

The driver of a construction company ute has been slammed by the dad of a man in a wheelchair. Picture: Reddit

“The driveway will be empty and street parking will be free but for some reason they still park across the footpath. Either very selfish people or very oblivious people,” someone else wrote.

“I work in disability and the frequency of people parking across paths is infuriating. Why do I have to endanger my clients and myself by having to go out onto the middle to the road just because you’re inconsiderate?” a third said.

Others recommended people inconvenienced by cars parked across footpaths make use of issue reporting app Snap Send Solve.

The service, available for people in Australia and New Zealand, allows users to take a photograph of issues like graffiti or illegal parking and report it to local councils and other authorities.

Some respondents suggested it was likely the person behind the inconsiderate park potentially didn’t realise how much their behaviour impacted the community.

“I’m a postie and these can be the bane of my day. Especially in places with really high gutters, I've got to drop down and climb the gutters again. Especially when they’re parked near their mailboxes,” one wrote.

“It’s not until someone is personally inconvenienced that they’ll have empathy. Most won’t even see the hypocrisy of complaining about situations like this they’ve caused other people in the past,” someone else said.

“It’s inconvenient enough for a pedestrian walking along the footpath holding shopping bags. But this sort of thing is extra hard for cyclists, people pushing prams and wheelchair users,” another wrote.

Originally published as Footpath photo leaves dad fuming over act of ‘selfish’ ute driver