Dropped Kerb Parking - Can I Get A Fine?

gabby71

Hi

I live in a terraced street and parking can sometimes be a nightmare!
On returning home from work at 9.45 this evening there were no spaces outside my house so I parked at the end of the street outside a garage that is clearly not used as the door is covered with ivy and there are large weeds etc growing outside.
As I got out of my car, a woman shouted out of her window that her husband was due home from work and would want to park outside his garage - she quite rudely told me to move my car!
I asked if he was intending to put his car in the garage and she replied that it is a dropped kerb and she would call the police if I didn't move the car.
I just carried on into my house.
I understand the rules and reasons for not parking outside a dropped kerb, but how do I stand when it is clear that the garage is not in use?
I think she has a blooming cheek as she parks her own car regularly on the wide part of the pavement on the corner of our street and kids and people with pushchairs have to go out onto the road in order to pass it!!!

cheers

Gab.x

phill99

Let her call the Police.

As far as I understand it, you can park across someones dropped kerb if they are not in the garage/driveway. ie you can't block them in. This is classed as obstruction and you can be ticketed for it.

If you are not blocking anyone in, then you can park across a kerb.

Happy to be corrected though.

lee_w

im sure you can't park over somebodys dropped kerb but i may also be mistaken, if i came home from work and somebody was preventing me parking on my drive i'd be pretty !!!!!! off BUT i would have probably done what you done if it was a unused garage and i knew it didn't get used

abankerbutnotafatcat

My local authority advised me that people cannot park across my drive blocking me in or out and, yes it is extremely annoying when people do it- I paid extra money to have a house with a drive.

withabix

abankerbutnotafatcat wrote: »

My local authority advised me that people cannot park across my drive blocking me in or out

Unfortunately, they can block you OUT, so your local authority are wrong on that part.

They cannot legally block you drive if your car is on it (or in the garage).

gabby71

Hi all,

thanks for the replies - well I didn't have a S.W.A.T. team busting down my door overnight :rotfl:
to 'abankerbutnotafatcat' - I appreciate what you are saying and I would never block the entrance to a driveway/garage that is being used - however, as I made clear in my original post - this garage is not in use, therefore I would not be blocking anyones entry or exit from it!

Gab.x

abankerbutnotafatcat

withabix wrote: »

Unfortunately, they can block you OUT, so your local authority are wrong on that part.

They cannot legally block you drive if your car is on it (or in the garage).

My local auth said they would enforce on that basis and they, in conjunction with the police as necessary, are the enforcing body - maybe diff LAs interpret the law differently?

abankerbutnotafatcat

gabby71 wrote: »

Hi all,

thanks for the replies - well I didn't have a S.W.A.T. team busting down my door overnight :rotfl:
to 'abankerbutnotafatcat' - I appreciate what you are saying and I would never block the entrance to a driveway/garage that is being used - however, as I made clear in my original post - this garage is not in use, therefore I would not be blocking anyones entry or exit from it!

Gab.x

It was in response to replies to your thread. It's amazing how tribal/petty/aggressive some people can be isn't it? If everyone was a bit more tolerant and reasonable things would be so much easier and nicer. We often have requests to park in front of our drive for a short while and providing we're not about to use it say yes because we think 'what if it was me in that situation?'

whitesatin

We live in a permit parking zone. We are the only ones with our own parking in the road, as we are detached and the others are terraced. The dropped pavement we have cost us £1000 which is fair enough as long as we have the access we need. I would be rather miffed to come home and find someone parked across the dropped kerb (there is a white line) so that I couldn't get access to my garage or drive.

I also pay for an annual permit for my car and buy vouchers so that, should we have visitors, I can park my car on the road (sometimes on the white line, not sure if I should). Apart from when we have visitors (often with babies to carry from cars) I wouldn't dream of parking in the street, using up a space that someone else could use. It is all about respecting the needs of others. I am aware that we are fortunate to have a driveway in this built up (town) area.

theGrinch

you cant park to obstruct someone in or out even if it "doesnt look" in use. maybe she could have been nicer about it, but one call to the council and they will be happy to slap a fine on your car

John_Jizzle

i always thought the law was you couldnt park in front of a dropped kerb - even your own dropped kerb.

push chairs and people in wheelchairs use them to get on to the pavement. I always parked in front of my own though