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Parking across a dropped kerb


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What is the actual law on parking across a dropped curb ie the entrance to a drive . The local scout group hut is just up the road from my property and parents often park across my drive which is not a problem as they are just dropping off/picking up children. The other evening I was returning home and someone was parked across the dropped curb, obviously there for a long wait, I asked him to move so I could get onto my drive but he seemed sure it was quite legal to park there if there was no one parked in the property. He moved without any hassle and was polite enough but what is the actual law.

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Pretty sure it is an 'obstruction' to your right of access from the public highway and yes a Police officer can can move them off or issue a ticket. If the person is in the vehicle it is reasonable that they should move off - whether you are getting onto or off the drive.

 

However, if the vehicle across the drive is related to the property it cannot be an obstruction.

 

If there are parking controls (residents/time controlled) in the area it will depend on how the associated Traffic Regulation Order interprets it.

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My mom has a similar situation only on a bigger scale, she live 8 doors up from a big secondary school, twice a day it can be a pain as a lot of people don't want to move once they have a spot, not a prob if they are prepared to move.

 

On the other hand when i moved house i was reverse parking onto a space on the roadside opposite my house when the owner of the opposite house sped up and blocked me claiming it was his space, i reminded him in no uncertain terms that it was a public highway and he could %$*& off! I would have moved if he had asked politly. 6 months later he had his garden turned into a driveway but with no dropped kerb, i have 2 vehicles so i winded him up regular for a while, no dropped kerb = no parking space

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My mom has a similar situation only on a bigger scale, she live 8 doors up from a big secondary school, twice a day it can be a pain as a lot of people don't want to move once they have a spot, not a prob if they are prepared to move.

 

On the other hand when i moved house i was reverse parking onto a space on the roadside opposite my house when the owner of the opposite house sped up and blocked me claiming it was his space, i reminded him in no uncertain terms that it was a public highway and he could %$*& off! I would have moved if he had asked politly. 6 months later he had his garden turned into a driveway but with no dropped kerb, i have 2 vehicles so i winded him up regular for a while, no dropped kerb = no parking space

No dropped curb is an indication that he hasn't applied to the local authority for permission to drive over the curb. I had my front done and had to have a dropped curb installed, either by council of private contractor. Chose contractor but it still had to be inspected by council.Have 2 letters, one giving permission for work to go ahead and once to confirm work was inspected and passed. AND mine didn't even have a footpath to cross just a curb on the other side of my fence but still bad to have a dropped curb installed

Edited by Davyo
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The law covering it is The Traffic management act 2004 code 27

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/18/section/86

 

London is classed as Special Enforcement Area so a car can receive a fixed penalty blocking a dropped curb regardless.

 

For the rest of the country councils can ticket vehicles that blocked dropped kerbs but only in areas that have asked for and been granted Special Enforcement Area status. Ring up your council and ask.

 

Seeing as the dropped kerb is part of the highway and the parked car is causing an obstruction to the highway the police can technically remove it regardless of you going in or out of the premises. They tend to fob you off if you are not blocked in but the car is still obstructing the highway to other road users which is against the law.

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No dropped curb is an indication that he hasn't applied to the local authority for permission to drive over the curb.

 

 

Not entirely true.

 

The curb to my drive is so low installing a dropped curb would make no difference what so ever.

 

I mentioned this to the council officer present & he agreed, & gave me permission in writing to drive over the pavement.

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A mate of mine had a similar problem, a rather hot headed lad who works on a farm down the road came home to find his neighbour parked over his entrance. He had a bit of row with his neighbour then calmly walked off, half an hour later he turned up with a Matbro loadall intent on removing the vehicle and dropping it over the neighbours fence. Before the forks slid underneath the vehicle the neighbour moved it and the problem didn't happen again. We all have to accept that the law protects some of the most ignorant people, and these people will use it to aggravate the best of us in this world.The difficult thing is not to crack and just turn the other cheek.

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We've had several people block our driveway and we have had to call the police to trace the owners, when a police officer has come out they have always issued a ticket.

 

Some owners have had calls at 4am to move there cars as I start work early, they dont like it and moan but they get told in no uncertain manner that they are blocking my drive and making me late for work.

Yet others still do it theres two great big signs asking politely not to block driveway in use 24hrs a day yet they still do. Sry starting to rant.

 

So around here the police will issue fixed penalty for dropped kirb.

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A friend who lived near a primary school used to regularly come home and find someones elses car on his drive. He used to take great pleasure in blocking it in and leaving them shouting outside his front door for an hour. The problem never went away though because the following day someone else just saw it as a free space so did the same. Signs have zero effect.

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If someone has a driveway but no dropped kerb you can park in front of the drive if there is no car on the drive but can't if there is a car on the drive. If the kerb is dropped you can park in front of someone's drive at any time.

Your answer is back to front. If someone's drive doesn't have a dropped kerb you can park in front of it regardless of whether their is a vehicle on the drive or not. If there is a dropped kerb you can't park in front of it at any time.

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Its an offence classed as obstruction to park alongside any dropped kerb.

 

Its also an offence to install any dropped kerb on a class A B or C road without Planning Permission or Highway Authority approval

 

Complaints are rarely upheld however unless its happens frequently

 

Also bear in mind that if the dropped kerb is on an adopted highway its also an offence for the resident to park there to prevent someone else from doing so, The highway is not in that residents ownership !.

 

If it happens frequently you need to make a written complaint to the local authority who may monitor the situation and issue if considered necessary, penalty charge notices.

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The dropped kerb belongs to the council, even if its for access to your property and you paid for it to be installed it still belongs to them and so do the access rights. Different councils have different views but in the London Borough I live in nobody can park across one. Not even if it leads to your own house or drive. The say "it might impede access to emergency vehicles" but the truth is "we collect more fines that way"

 

The other thing is you don't have a right to park anywhere.

Edited by Vince Green
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