Is this classed as a obstruction of a highway?

[cooljules 10]

X house, has drive, but no car, never uses drive in years, rarley a visitor in a car

 

Y house has car, couldnt get outside house, someone elses vehicle parked..so Y parks outside X as never use drive, have no car etc etc

 

X house fones police.....police come to Y and says cant park outside X house so shift it.

 

Now i know you cant block a drive if a car is parked in the drive......

 

whats the actual law for this please, sheff plod differs from what i was told 2 years ago and cant find any info ta

[TheBlueDragon 10]

If there is a driveway you can't park blocking it, even if there is no car parked on it

[cooljules 10]

If there is a driveway you can't park blocking it, even if there is no car parked on it

 

exactly what law?

I know that 2 years ago, a large camper van blocked 2 driveways, and neither person owned cars, used drives etc. and the police said as no car is actually blocked in, and the vehicle was road legal, it wasnt a obstruction.

[TheBlueDragon 10]

I don't know what the exact law says, but when your on your lessons you are taught not to park blocking any driveway as it causes obstruction

[ange1312 10]

What if the owner of the property is out and will want to park their car on their property when they return? As a car owner and home owner I expect to be able to park my car on my drive when i come home, you may not be obstructing a car if you park there but you are obstructing the drive.

[lilypiglet 10]

Highway Code Section 243 'DO NOT PARK IN FRONT OF AN ENTRANCE TO A PROPERTY'

 

So yes, you ARE causing an obstruction...sorry!!!

[jennie2102 10]

You can't park in front of a dropped kerb.

[pcspb1 10]

Highway Code Section 243 'DO NOT PARK IN FRONT OF AN ENTRANCE TO A PROPERTY'

 

So yes, you ARE causing an obstruction...sorry!!!

 

It is not 'Illegal' to park in front of a driveway where there is no vehicle on that driveway.

 

When faced with this situation, many homeowners try to fight fire with fire and come out brandishing a copy of the Highway Code which in paragraph 243 requests that motorists "DO NOT PARK in front of an entrance to a property".

 

However, if they take things further and report the offender to the police - it often comes as a big surprise to find out that it isn't actually illegal for a motorist to park in front of a private driveway, despite what you think the Highway Code is saying. The important thing to pay attention to is the language used in the rulings. If 'Do not' is used, then this is advisory and should be followed - but there is no legal comeback if a motorist chooses to ignore it. However, if the rule states 'Must not' then this is a legal requirement and the driver must therefore obey it or if caught or reported, face legal action.

 

So, ultimately, this is down to a question of courtesy and respect between you and your neighbours. If you do suffer from a repeat offender who insists on blocking your driveway then do be careful. As you are not backed up by law, the best thing you can do is to approach them calmly and try to sort out the situation amicably. If they aren't interested, or continue to ignore you and park in front of your property, blocking your access, then unfortunately the only thing you can do to ensure that you have full access to your drive is to park somewhere else - perhaps, if you're a fan of irony and you can get there first, even in front of your own driveway. If you do this often enough they'll probably get bored and give up.

 

It does seem incredibly unfair that someone can do this when you have forked out for a home with somewhere safe to park your car off the road - and if you are blocked ONTO your drive, then you might find a kind police officer who will make enquiries for you, contact the owner and ask them to move their vehicle. However the police are not bound to act as according to the Highway Code every driver has a right to park anywhere on a public highway except those places which are expressly forbidden.

 

I hope this clears this up for you.

[cooljules 10]

i had to park my car outside my next door neighbours, as a car was parked outside mine (this is yesterday) im Y by the way lol. X has never had a car, neither can drive, or have visitors that use the driveway....

 

Then earlier i got a knock on the door, a PCSO said i was blocking their drive (if they had actually looked, the car was back on my front, my car was parked outside next doors house for a few hours).

 

i told the pcso to get lost cos of her attitude so foned the police to make a complaint, then spoke to a inspector leake, who said i couldnt block any drive even if they didnt use it in 10 years etc etc

 

I have had nothing but trouble with this neighbour, shes had many warnings and action for causing harrasment to me.

[lilypiglet 10]

It is not 'Illegal' to park in front of a driveway where there is no vehicle on that driveway.

 

When faced with this situation, many homeowners try to fight fire with fire and come out brandishing a copy of the Highway Code which in paragraph 243 requests that motorists "DO NOT PARK in front of an entrance to a property".

 

However, if they take things further and report the offender to the police - it often comes as a big surprise to find out that it isn't actually illegal for a motorist to park in front of a private driveway, despite what you think the Highway Code is saying. The important thing to pay attention to is the language used in the rulings. If 'Do not' is used, then this is advisory and should be followed - but there is no legal comeback if a motorist chooses to ignore it. However, if the rule states 'Must not' then this is a legal requirement and the driver must therefore obey it or if caught or reported, face legal action.

 

So, ultimately, this is down to a question of courtesy and respect between you and your neighbours. If you do suffer from a repeat offender who insists on blocking your driveway then do be careful. As you are not backed up by law, the best thing you can do is to approach them calmly and try to sort out the situation amicably. If they aren't interested, or continue to ignore you and park in front of your property, blocking your access, then unfortunately the only thing you can do to ensure that you have full access to your drive is to park somewhere else - perhaps, if you're a fan of irony and you can get there first, even in front of your own driveway. If you do this often enough they'll probably get bored and give up.

 

It does seem incredibly unfair that someone can do this when you have forked out for a home with somewhere safe to park your car off the road - and if you are blocked ONTO your drive, then you might find a kind police officer who will make enquiries for you, contact the owner and ask them to move their vehicle. However the police are not bound to act as according to the Highway Code every driver has a right to park anywhere on a public highway except those places which are expressly forbidden.

 

I hope this clears this up for you.

 

I agree it's unfair!! But I didn't say it was ILLEGAL I simply stated they were causing an obstruction.

 

I've been in this situation when I lived with my parents who owned a drive, I worked on call for NGH and had to be at the hospital within 20 minutes for an emergency call, the 2 am call came and a Mini had blocked the driveway and i couldn't get my car out, so good ol' Bro n Pa managed to manhandle the Mini by bouncing it's bonnet a number of times and managed to manoeuvre it away from the drive enough for me to get my car out....tough luck for the Mini driver when they found their car halfway in the road, but they should've been a bit more courteous when parking!!! :hihi:

[lolli_pop 10]

X house, has drive, but no car, never uses drive in years, rarley a visitor in a car

 

Y house has car, couldnt get outside house, someone elses vehicle parked..so Y parks outside X as never use drive, have no car etc etc

 

X house fones police.....police come to Y and says cant park outside X house so shift it.

 

Now i know you cant block a drive if a car is parked in the drive......

 

whats the actual law for this please, sheff plod differs from what i was told 2 years ago and cant find any info ta

 

Apparently it's also obstruction if you park opposite someone's drive for 5 minutes while you load something into your car .. if they happen to be a former police officer. Not that I hold a grudge

 

People can get very precious about parking and common sense seems to go out of the window.

[aardvark6535 74]

I believe the law has clauses in it which vary depending on what part of the country you live in and what the council ruling is. In London you can't park even if there isn't a car in the driveway. I sure the ruling for Sheffield is that you can park if the drive is empty but not if there is a car parked in it.

 

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Motoring/Question309343.html

 

Nothing to say which is right, but I fancy the last two quotes on here.