Right first of all I'll set the scene, I've been driving up & down this single track private road (with a sign up telling you)for at least 10 years,suddenly without warning a no-entry sign has appeared at one end of the road thus limiting the direction of passage,also speed limit signs have been erected stating 5mph !!!
The questions I need answering are:-

-Can a private road suddenly have a one-way restriction placed on it ?

-Can a private road have a speed limit which can be endorsed by the police,i.e Can they book me if I exceed 5 mph ?

-Can a private road be closed to public use

For all the above bear in mind that it has been open for public use for at least 10 years,any comments will be greatly appreciated,
555

 

1 springs to mind

"Established right of way" especially as it seems to have been a "through" route.

Otherwise you'd have thought that as it was "Private" then they can probably do what the eck they want!

 

I Bottled it...........I was just about to turn into the said road going in the wrong direction when I noticed the plod coming the correct way down the track,a quick change of plan took place and I pi55ed off rather discretely.The thing what pi55es me off is that if I don't use this road it adds another 5 miles onto my trip which as fellow scooby owners will be well aware of thats aprox. 1 quid per day which equates to roughly £250 and an additional 1250 miles per year.
Come on somebody must know the legal stance on this,If the plod can't enforce the one-way/speed limit I will be a very happy chap with a permanent grin every morning, just hoping to see the fuzz coming the other way !

 

Can a private road suddenly have a one-way restriction placed on it ?

Yes the owner can do whatever they want!!

BTW is it Crown land, by any chance??

Can a private road have a speed limit which can be endorsed by the police,i.e Can they book me if I exceed 5 mph ?

No, if it is correctly private then the police have NO powers over it - if it is crown land then the MDPolice probably have powers (but cannot give you points/fines)

Can a private road be closed to public use

Yes - they can restrict access to you, singularly, or to the public generally. So, if you decide to speed with a grin, the wrong way, they will state that you are not allowed on the land, you will then be trespassing and CAN be arrested by the police!

Pete

 

555,

the question that you _should_ be asking is can you get nicked for disobeying the signs on this "private" road.

The following is taken from "Blackstone's POLICE MANUAL - ROAD TRAFFIC 2000"

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>A road is defined under s. 192(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 as:

<I>... any highway and any other road to which the public has access, and includes bridges over which a road passes...</I> <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

which can potentially mean pub or supermarket car parks as well!!

So you _could_ be in trouble (but ONLY if the signs themselves conform to the various regulations).

However, as PTMW says, if this has become an established right of way, then to enforce new rules will require appropriate "legislation". As a start, contact the relevant local council/authority and formally query the matter (so that it becomes public record).

Oh, and let us know how things go!!!

mb

 

Get a rope - drive up to sign - tie on - drive away. Problem solved for a short time anyway.
Only joking officer!!!

 

555,

oh, and regarding the new speed limit, see

 

Cheers for all your responses,the land in question is NOT crown land,it still seems a bit of a dodgy/grey area, even after reading the ABD page,I think I will contact the local council regarding this matter cos at the end of the day I just hate the thought of somebody getting one up on me !

I used the road again today with quite humerous consequences,A bloke who I have been passing every morning for years was driving in the opposite(correct)direction,as usual I put on the false smile and waved the usual friendly gesture towards him only to be confronted by a rather irate lunatic who proceeded to give physical & verbal abuse through the safety of his car window making reference to the fact that I was going the wrong way down 'his' road.
Remaining calm & composed I let him prattle on for a couple of minutes(It become obvious that he's not liked me for a while)and then just as the sweat started to form on his brow I informed him that 80% of all heart attacks occur to stressed out men of around his age and then proceeded to throw an old copy of 'Mens Health' magazine through his open window(which just happened to be on the passenger seat)before swiftly pi55ing off.
This incident definately helped Friday pass quite quickly, as dispite the number of times I've repeated the tale It still brings a devilish smile to me and a feeling of 1-0