marcmann

Hi,

Not sure if anybody can help but here goes:

Basically I lift share with 2 people at work. 1 of the blokes lives 'centrally' to me and the other bloke so we drop our cars outside his house 1 in 3 weeks when it isn't our turn to drive. The cars are there all day and then we pick them up around 6:00pm. The road in question is in a village and has no yellow lines or any signs regarding parking. We don't obstruct any drive ways or the road at any time.

The women that lives next door to our mate confronted me this morning saying that I had no right to leave me car there during the day. I said that I pay my road tax, there are no parking restrictions and that when you buy a house you don't get a piece of road with it so she can't say who can and can't park outside her house - so I'm quite within my rights to park there.

She tells me that another neighbour of her is getting pi$$ed off at me leaving my car there during the day and that he was thinking of vandalising my car. I basically told her that if my car was touched it'd be her that I'll be coming to first

So, does anybody know where I stand? As long as there are no parking restrictions and as long as I'm not obstructing her driveway, surely I'm free to park there?

Thanks

Marc

CEL

iTrader: (1)

Yep, im sure you are correct. She has no right to tell you where to park, daft bint

Where i used to live, most of the houses on one side of the road had driveways and the other side didnt, because of a steep bank up from the road level.. anyway, the people who didnt have drives used to park on my side of the road (i had a driveway) and on theirs. Sometimes parking very very close to the entrance to my drive making it very difficult to actually get my car on the drive. I never said anything to anyone because i didnt want to cause any problems with the neighbours and i knew i didnt have a leg to stand on if i wanted to get the authorities involved.

Provided you arent making it difficult for them to access their driveways they can do or say nothing.
I also heard one of the neighbours ranting on about not being able to park his car outside his house. Whilst i can appreciate it might be annoying, he doesnt own the damn road and is not in any position to be telling people they cant park there.

Enough babbling from me i think....

marcmann

Thats exactly what i told her this morning (except i didn't say that i appreciate it must be annoying and I did swear.......a lot).

Marc

Tiggs

"and I did swear.......a lot"

nice way to speak to lady

marcmann

So would you if you heard how she was speaking to me......


Marc

Dxx

Don't worry mate. Your right. Road, paths etc are all "owned" by the council - ie. they are public highways. So long as your not on her driveway, or opposite it (making getting out difficult) she hasn't got a leg to stand on. In fact, you are quite within your rights to park right outside her house, just so long as not on drive. That would really **** her off!!
If she winges any more, i would be sorely tempted to tell her to call the police to sort it out. Bet her getting a fine for wasting police time would put a smile on your face.
Dxx

marcmann

lol - now not even i'm that spiteful..........yet


Marc

T.C

Every time you park your vehicle on a road other than in a designated parking area, the offence of obstruction is committed. Although there are no parking restrictions, and it may appear that you are not obstructing the carriageway, the fact that you are parked on the road is sufficient to commit the offence.

Now normally a bit of common sense is used and it would be ignored, but if this woman made a complaint and the Police were called in, technically they would be obliged to report you and they could have your car towed away. If you then continued to park and the complaint continued, it may then be considered that you were committing willfull obstruction which is arrestable.

It is a very difficult one, but technically speaking, you are I am afraid commiting the offence just by parking on the road.

marcmann

I'm sorry but that makes no sense. She parks outside her house (also on the road that I'm parking on). She has a driveway but chooses to park on the road so surely she'd also be committing the same offence. And come to think of it surely everybody along that street would. You don't get a 'designated' piece of road when you buy a house so how can ANYBODY legally park on the road in front of their house?


Marc

Dunk

iTrader: (1)

TC,

I'd be grateful for a bit of accident advice, can I mail you ?

D

T.C

I'm sorry, I am only telling it as it is. This is one of those situations where common sense should be applied, but if she does complain, then basically anyone parked on the road should get a ticket or possibly their vehicle removed including the woman who complains if her vehicle is on the carriageway as well.

Is it an adopted road? Just because the public may have access does not mean that it is maintained at public expense, and if it is unadopted then a different set of rules may apply, i,e you may only be entitled to park within the boundaries of your friends house (within the width of his house) and not outside a neighbours house and so on.

Andy486

Also need to check centre white lines - if these are solid then you can't park, otherwise knock yourself out.

imlach

Maybe you should also put yourself in her mindset - if it was YOUR house and someone was doing this to you, would YOU be happy? ie, would it pee you off when a street that had previously not been parked on, suddenly had a car on it 5 days a week parked ALL day outside your house?

I know that legally you may be correct in what you are doing, but is there any form of compromise you could make to the situation to appease the locals? Is there a nearby road/carpark where this problem would not arise? If so, be nice and park there.......

Without trying to be a tree-hugger, it would make everyone happy.

Just cos you can, doesn't make it right.

marcmann

I've just phoned Traffic Management at the Highways department and explained the situation and he tells that legally I AM allowed to park there. As long as I'm not obstructing her driveway then there is nothing she or the police can do about it. He said that he also gets annoyed that people move into a house and assume that they own the piece of road in front of it. That just isn't the case.

"....you may only be entitled to park within the boundaries of your friends house....." - nope, these 'boundaries' don't exist( well at least on this type of road).

So tomorrow when she gets on her high horse I shall be giving her the phone number for the Traffic Management team

Marc

T.C

Well after 10 years as a Police Traffic Management Officer, things must have changed somewhat, and I had better inform my former colleagues that they are no longer competent to do the job.

Luke

Can Anyone confirm........!!!

marcmann

lol - sorry wasn't trying to say that you were wrong - i was just passing on what the Traffic Management team had said to me. And that conflicted with what you were saying. So I wonder who do i believe now?

Marc

chiark

Legally, you're right.

However, your car is outside their house all day, and it sounds like you're not exactly endearing yourself to them.

If they decide to vandalise your car, whether its to let the tyres down, or worse, or whatever, there's little to nothing that you could do without witnesses. I daresay there's not many people that have sympathy for someone with a flash car parking for free all day... Witnesses may be hard to come by.

If it were my car, I'd find elsewhere to park just to calm the waters. You might be in the right, but ultimately if someone messes with your car, you'll find that the law might not be able to help you much as there's no evidence whatsoever.

a softly-softly approach would be advised if you ask me. yes, you're in the right, but...

Cheers,
Nick.

imlach

Exactly - if you know it is really annoying someone, is it really worth taking the legal high-horse viewpoint.

Easier all round to find another spot to park.

Show some consideration to the locals.

marcmann

What a Lupo 1.4Tdi?? - hardly flash

Yeah i hear what your all saying - i was thinking of finding somewhere else because at the end of the day it just isn't worth all the hassle. We're thinking of just parking on my mates drive instead of the street. It just got my back up when I knew that i was allowed to park there but she thought i wasn't.


Marc

scooby-new

I hate these kind of people- they are usually the first to do exactly the same thing themselves. They have too much time and not enough going on in their lives. Tell the silly cow to do whatever she pleases to the car and also inform her that you have set up a time lapse video in your mates house to record any damage that might occur. Then tell her that you will take delight in using the full force of the law to prosecute anyone responsible. Then carry on parking legally and I reckon your problems will be over.

imlach

Best to think of these things in your own situation...do you have a house with a road outside? While I know it is not "my" bit of road, it does get to me a bit sometimes when someone parks there all day. As I said, I know it's not "mine", but it is handy to be able to park outside your house....it "feels" like it is mine even although it isn't.

My neighbours are great too - helps a lot. Nothing worse than falling out with neighbours.


[Edited by imlach - 19/03/2003 11:31:23]

T.C

The offence has always been there under the highway regulations and is quite generic. any driver who causes any vehicle to park on a road shall be guilty of an offence. It is a minor offence (£30 non endorsable) and it has to be the opinion of the reporting officer that the offence has been commited. Now if the officer decided that the free flow of traffic is restricted even marginally, then the offence is complete, this may only be as much as someone having to drive around your parked vehicle, that would be sufficient, if you half park on the pavement, that would be enough, and this bit about adopted and non adopted roads is rubbish.

I live on a road where the public have free access. I own the bit of carriageway which is level with my border to the centre of the carriageway, and I am responsible for its upkeep. It has not been adopted and the local authority have no responsibility for maintanance what so ever except when coming in to do repairs at the residents request. Therefore I can require anyone parked outside my house to remove their vehicle.

It can get very complicated, but what i amsaying is that in essence the offence is there under the Highway regs and it could come back to bite you in the bum.

chiark

*grin* I thought it was a scoob

If your mate has a drive there, park on it. For the sake of 2 minutes car shuffling at the end of the day, it's worth it.

It'll be better for everyone, and make life a lot easier for your mate's relationship with his neighbours. I've never had trouble with neighbours as ours are great, but I've seen the pain in the *** that they can cause...

At least in your mind you know you're in the right, but neighbour thinks they've "won". Everyone's a winner

marcmann

Chiark,

To be honest I'm only going to move because its my mate that has to 'really' face the repocussions (!spelling) of me causing agro with his neighbours. To be fair I am parked outside of his house (not hers) so that is why it bemused me that she was getting all upset. Anyhoo....


Marc

imlach

If you're parked outside HIS house, that's "morally" ok then :-)

Hehehehe........

marcmann

TC,

Thanks for your views by the way but can you explain how she is not committing the same offence by parking outside of her house on the road?


Thanks

Marc

T.C

As I said earlier, she would be just as guilty and would be just as liable. It is not a case of one law for her and a different law for everyone else, unless as I also said the road was unadopted, then different rules start to apply.

marcmann

okey dokey - thats cleared that one up - thanks

Marc

scooby-new

park your car on your mates drive.Then report the sanctimonious cow for the traffic offence and see how she likes being told what she can and cannot do! These type of people make my blood boil!