Parking in front of driveways

supercoolsupercool Posts: 1,160
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Quick question, is it illegal to park in front of somebody's driveway, when they have a car parked on it, even though they don't have a dipped curb and the road markings clearly indicate that it is a legal parking space?
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  • Guru TartGuru Tart Posts: 5,008
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    Yes. Obstruction of traffic.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 8,415
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    Guru Tart wrote: »
    Yes. Obstruction of traffic.

    prove it please , there are single white lines with bars on the end of them across driveways outside of our kids school , as far as i can find out , they are courtesy lines , nothing more , nothing less :)
  • EspressoEspresso Posts: 18,047
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    A person can park there legally. While it's pretty bad manners, it's not a criminal offence.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 8,543
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    Anyone who does park in front of drives is a bit selfish...would you like someone to do it to you?
  • supercoolsupercool Posts: 1,160
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    Espresso wrote: »
    A person can park there legally. While it's pretty bad manners, it's not a criminal offence.

    Thats what I thought. I did it earlier as I was just dropping off a friend and popping in for a cup of tea. As I was leaving the guy came out of his house, asked me where I live - I explained and he just said, rather rudely "Don't park there". Fine I said, tried to shut my window - he wouldn't let me shut it and kept on going on and on so I just drove off.

    I was a bit shaken by his aggressiveness so when I got round the corner I pulled up to calm down. Next thing I know this idiot is bombing round the corner in his 4x4, pulls up next to me, winds down his window and starts threatening me and give me all kinds of abuse. I just wound up my window and made out that I was calling the police. Then he went on, turned around and came back and blocked me in for a few minutes. When he finally got the message that I was taking no notice, I had to go back to my mum's and go in to calm down. My mate, who stays with my parents was straight round there backing me up and the guy was going "you were illegally parked blah blah blah". What a ****.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 8,415
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    Alex91 wrote: »
    Anyone who does park in front of drives is a bit selfish...would you like someone to do it to you?



    damn right it would piss me off !!!!!!!!!! , but not illegal , i had an argument a while ago about parking over someones drive outside of the school a while ago , the wife had gone in to get the kids , i stayed with the car across someones drive , the person wanted to get out of their drive , the problem was the way she approached it , she came f'ing and blinding at me , all she had to do was to ask me to move and i would have ( that was the reason i stayed with the car ) , because she wouldnt / couldnt i told her to do one and made her wait 20 minutes , politeness would have saved her the wait :rolleyes:
  • SparkleBabeSparkleBabe Posts: 17,065
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    It might not be illegal, but it is extremley rude. If you wereonly dropping off then fine, but to go in and have a cup of tea and obstruct this man's drive well thats just lazy and inconsiderate. What if he had to go to work? Or he needed to go somewhere urgently?

    So to be quite blunt he was well within his rights to be annoyed with you. I would have been too, and I would have given you a gobful. Although I do think following you in his car is a bit over the top.

    Maybe in future you will have more consideration for other people.
  • maxsimaxsi Posts: 2,412
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    The Highway Code (para 217) covers this situation.
    “DO NOT park your vehicle…where it would inconvenience or obstruct other road users or pedestrians. For example do not stop [among other places] in front of an entrance to a property.”


    However, this is not a “MUST/MUST NOT” obligation (that is, one that is backed up by law). If the road where the driveway is has no parking restrictions, the existence of the driveway does not preclude anybody from parking there. It certainly does not, in law, reserve the space for the occupant, though most drivers respect the right of property owners to have access to their property.

    If not, the inconvenienced property owner would have to find a constable, persuade him to locate the driver of the vehicle causing the obstruction, and persuade him to move it. His only powers would be to invoke the principle correctly outlined by Kempie. However, the officer’s answer may well be that, as he has not chosen to enforce the law elsewhere (i.e. those parked without causing an obstruction) he would be exceeding his powers to enforce it selectively.

    quoted from http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Motoring/Question203986.html
  • supercoolsupercool Posts: 1,160
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    So to be quite blunt he was well within his rights to be annoyed with you. I would have been too, and I would have given you a gobful. Although I do think following you in his car is a bit over the top.

    Maybe people would have less rows over parking if they were just a little bit more polite instead of "giving people a gobful". I was well within my right to park there and whilst I wouldn't have done so if I was staying for longer than the 20 minutes I was there, in this case I did.

    He could have been polite but he wasn't so f**k him. We've had all kinds of problems with this **** in the past and I wasn't going to hang around to hear him moan, hence I drove off. I don't like confrontation - its just not necessary - so Im happy I did the right thing. That was the end of the matter as far as I'm concerned until he decided drive after me to give me more abuse and threaten me. Afterwards he had the cheek to say that he didn't want more grief, so why drive after me then?

    If he is so concerned about people parking there, then he can get his drive dipped like everybody else. Otherwise its fair game.
  • supercoolsupercool Posts: 1,160
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    maxsi wrote: »
    The Highway Code (para 217) covers this situation.
    “DO NOT park your vehicle…where it would inconvenience or obstruct other road users or pedestrians. For example do not stop [among other places] in front of an entrance to a property.”


    However, this is not a “MUST/MUST NOT” obligation (that is, one that is backed up by law). If the road where the driveway is has no parking restrictions, the existence of the driveway does not preclude anybody from parking there. It certainly does not, in law, reserve the space for the occupant, though most drivers respect the right of property owners to have access to their property.

    If not, the inconvenienced property owner would have to find a constable, persuade him to locate the driver of the vehicle causing the obstruction, and persuade him to move it. His only powers would be to invoke the principle correctly outlined by Kempie. However, the officer’s answer may well be that, as he has not chosen to enforce the law elsewhere (i.e. those parked without causing an obstruction) he would be exceeding his powers to enforce it selectively.

    quoted from http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Motoring/Question203986.html

    Thanks, I was aware of that part of the highway code but like you say it isn't a MUST NOT.
  • SparkleBabeSparkleBabe Posts: 17,065
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    supercool wrote: »
    Maybe people would have less rows over parking if they were just a little bit more polite instead of "giving people a gobful". I was well within my right to park there and whilst I wouldn't have done so if I was staying for longer than the 20 minutes I was there, in this case I did.

    No you were not well within your rights. Its plain rude and inconsiderate to block someone's driveway, especially when there is a car on it.

    Why did you not park it somewhere else where it would not be causing an obstruction?
  • supercoolsupercool Posts: 1,160
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    No you were not well within your rights. Its plain rude and inconsiderate to block someone's driveway, especially when there is a car on it.

    Why did you not park it somewhere else where it would not be causing an obstruction?

    It was the only available space at the time. And yes, I was well within my rights, regardless of whether or not you think it "rude". You have no automatic right to the space in front of your drive unless you have it dipped. Frankly, to get so wound up over what is nothing more than a minor convenience is pathetic. Yes I would be slightly annoyed if somebody did it to me, but not the extent where I would be rude or aggressive towards somebody. I would simply politely ask them if they could move it while I get my car out and after that if they want to park right back in the same place again then fair enough, I'll have to park elsewhere when I come back.

    Fortunately its not an issue for me as I live on a private road and everyone has a drive with a dip or allocated parking.
  • That BlokeThat Bloke Posts: 6,352
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    If it doesn't have a dropped kerb then the only person who is doing anything wrong is the person who parks on the drive as they are driving on the pavement when they shouldn't be.

    From what you have said the guy sounds like an arse and I'd be tempted to report him for driving on the pavement :).
  • HollyCHollyC Posts: 5,850
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    damn right it would piss me off !!!!!!!!!! , but not illegal , i had an argument a while ago about parking over someones drive outside of the school a while ago , the wife had gone in to get the kids , i stayed with the car across someones drive , the person wanted to get out of their drive , the problem was the way she approached it , she came f'ing and blinding at me , all she had to do was to ask me to move and i would have ( that was the reason i stayed with the car ) , because she wouldnt / couldnt i told her to do one and made her wait 20 minutes , politeness would have saved her the wait :rolleyes:

    Perhaps the person had reached the end of their tether! You don't know how many other people had parked, blocking their drive (and probably leaving their car empty) before you parked there. I used to have a similar problem when I lived in a block of flats, with people visiting other flats and parking in my space (allocated to my flat and marked as parking for my flat only!). Eventually, I just had enough - I parked blocking off the space, so that the person parked there had to come and find me to get out. Because I was so p*ssed off with everyone else who had parked there previously, I made them wait half an hour before letting them out. Not too bad, as they made me wait an entire evening before letting me park my car properly! :mad:
  • oulandyoulandy Posts: 18,242
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    supercool wrote: »
    Thats what I thought. I did it earlier as I was just dropping off a friend and popping in for a cup of tea. As I was leaving the guy came out of his house, asked me where I live - I explained and he just said, rather rudely "Don't park there". Fine I said, tried to shut my window - he wouldn't let me shut it and kept on going on and on so I just drove off.

    I was a bit shaken by his aggressiveness so when I got round the corner I pulled up to calm down. Next thing I know this idiot is bombing round the corner in his 4x4, pulls up next to me, winds down his window and starts threatening me and give me all kinds of abuse. I just wound up my window and made out that I was calling the police. Then he went on, turned around and came back and blocked me in for a few minutes. When he finally got the message that I was taking no notice, I had to go back to my mum's and go in to calm down. My mate, who stays with my parents was straight round there backing me up and the guy was going "you were illegally parked blah blah blah". What a ****.

    What you did is what is sometimes called taking a liberty. It is bound to enrage the owner of the drive. I would regard it as aggressive in itself. That's why you got an aggressive reaction.
  • Guru TartGuru Tart Posts: 5,008
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    I've always told people who park in front of my drive that it's illegal and they agree...

    That's what I have always believed.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,207
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    Whether its illegal, legal or just not right to do... that man should never have reacted the way he did. There is no excuse for that. He was the one really in the wrong, not the poor OP who merely parked in the wrong place.

    Bit of perspective here I think? Threatening and aggressive versus an simple mistake?

    He was bang out of order and could have caused an accident chasing after you. Don't feel bad at all, he sounds like a right idiot.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 8,415
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    HollyC wrote: »
    Perhaps the person had reached the end of their tether!


    agreed , but ............ , i was sat in the car , how hard would it have beem to ask poitely to move so they could get out :rolleyes:
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 218
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    If there had been a dropped kerb it would have been classed as a driveway therefore OP would have been in the wrong, but if no dropped kerb it is not technically classed as a driveway - had a similar problem once!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 8,415
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    Guru Tart wrote: »
    I've always told people who park in front of my drive that it's illegal and they agree...

    That's what I have always believed.


    two wrongs cant make a right ;)
  • supercoolsupercool Posts: 1,160
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    Guru Tart wrote: »
    I've always told people who park in front of my drive that it's illegal and they agree...

    That's what I have always believed.

    Well perhaps you need to revise what you believe. Unless of course you can find the appropriate law and provide a citation to such law in which case fair enough.
  • supercoolsupercool Posts: 1,160
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    HollyC wrote: »
    I used to have a similar problem when I lived in a block of flats, with people visiting other flats and parking in my space (allocated to my flat and marked as parking for my flat only!).

    If you have a private space allocated especially to your flats then that is a different situation entirely.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 8,415
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    supercool wrote: »
    If you have a private space allocated especially to your flats then that is a different situation entirely.

    then with the proper signage you would be well entitled to have them clamped :)
  • oulandyoulandy Posts: 18,242
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    damn right it would piss me off !!!!!!!!!! , but not illegal , i had an argument a while ago about parking over someones drive outside of the school a while ago , the wife had gone in to get the kids , i stayed with the car across someones drive , the person wanted to get out of their drive , the problem was the way she approached it , she came f'ing and blinding at me , all she had to do was to ask me to move and i would have ( that was the reason i stayed with the car ) , because she wouldnt / couldnt i told her to do one and made her wait 20 minutes , politeness would have saved her the wait :rolleyes:

    I never understand people who make point about politeness and then do something which is both extremely impolite and aggressive.

    If you were polite, you would have apologised and moved off immediately.

    I remember once years ago coming out and finding someone who had done something like parking across the drive and it has always stuck with me that the young man concerned said to me "I'm sorry if I have caused you any trouble". That was a truly courteous person. Why can't more people be that amiable when they do something that is likely to wind up someone?
  • supercoolsupercool Posts: 1,160
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    damn right it would piss me off !!!!!!!!!! , but not illegal , i had an argument a while ago about parking over someones drive outside of the school a while ago , the wife had gone in to get the kids , i stayed with the car across someones drive , the person wanted to get out of their drive , the problem was the way she approached it , she came f'ing and blinding at me , all she had to do was to ask me to move and i would have ( that was the reason i stayed with the car ) , because she wouldnt / couldnt i told her to do one and made her wait 20 minutes , politeness would have saved her the wait :rolleyes:

    Exactly. There is simply no need to be rude or aggressive and all you will likely do is put somebody's back up. I'll happily accept being in the wrong but if you are going to be rude and aggressive towards me then you aren't going to get anything out of me.
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