You might not give a second thought to where you park your car, but beware, some spots are strictly no-go zones. Parking in front of someone’s driveway is a surefire way to get on the wrong side of the homeowner, and there are other places where leaving your motor could cause quite the stir in the neighborhood. But have you ever wondered why you should never park in front of a fire hydrant?
The eye-opening reason was shared on X, formerly Twitter, sparking a debate among users. The revelation came from the Today Years Old account, which has an impressive 1 million followers, and the post quickly racked up 257,200 views. The tweet exclaimed: “I was today years old when I found out that this is the reason why you don’t park in front of fire hydrants.”
A jaw-dropping video accompanied the text, showing firefighters smashing through a car window to reach the fire hydrant beside it. Can you imagine returning to your vehicle to discover the windows shattered? Quite a shock, indeed! Since going viral, the footage has ignited a flurry of reactions, with some calling the measure too drastic. One user commented: “Bloke on a massive ego trip. Would have been easier and more efficient to just go around it. The car wasn’t directly in front of it at all.” Another chimed in: “That was completely unnecessary.”
While some people understood the reasoning, with one person stating: “Yup. Don’t do it.” Someone else added: “Got what they deserved. I only wish they were it down to to make sure the hose went through smoothly.” A third person humorously commented: “It’s not the reason, it’s the consequence.”
Under strict UK laws, obstructing a fire hydrant is illegal, but the offence is only committed when the water supply is needed for firefighters. In an emergency situation, a firefighter has the authority to move the car, even if it means breaking a window and releasing the handbrake. So, there’s a very good reason why you should avoid parking in front of a fire hydrant.