Car causing obstruction

HappyMJ

unforeseen wrote: »

Based on the OPs post then moving it 250m leaves you open to being accused of TWOC'ing

Still a keyboard warrior.

Go the whole hog and get to towing company to lift the vehicle. Stop fartarsing around go for the kill.

I didn't know about the 250 metre requirement before posting. I would move it a few metres...not 250 metres.

dazster

Driving on the pavement is an offence everywhere, and obviously in order to park on the pavement you first need to have driven on it. But it's not something a local authority Civil Enforcement Officer can "do" you for, it would have to be the police, and they will rarely do anything about it because of the difficulty of identifying the driver.

I must say it irritates me intensely when people try to justify illegal, inconsiderate or obstructive parking by claiming that, in effect, "there is no alternative". Anyone parking on the street such that emergency vehicles (and by implication a lot of other vehicles) couldn't get through would be causing an obstruction. By mounting the pavement what the people you are describing are actually doing is committing one offence to avoid committing another offence.

If the pavement is wide enough then what needs to happen is that the council be lobbied to have part of it properly designated for parking. I know of several examples where this has been done and the council has properly signed and engineered part of the pavement for parking.

The answers lie not in trying to justify the commission of an offence but in taking steps to avoid it: park somewhere else, lawfully; sell the car; move house; whatever. Inconvenience is not a justification for breaking the law.

As for your neighbour, if there's no dropped kerb then he's SOL: assuming there are no marked/signed restrictions anyone can park there for as long as they like. He needs to apply to the council to have the kerb dropped (and pay for through the nose for it). Another case of a car owner living in an unsuitable house by the sound of it.

surveyor_101

I feel your pain I thought the average Asda customer was sub human scum but they we moved near an NHS hosptial and found out there are lower forms of human life (NHS STAFF). As my local hospital about 10 years ago subbed their parking to q-park they seem to have developed a thick skins to any resident complaints, apart from the ones who parked in a rough street and got their cars damaged and went crying to the local rag.

We are plagued by them and a number of neighbours are elderly. They just rock up and abandon their cars blocking peoples drives and if anyone asked why they choose they scratch there head with 'monkey not understand' expression on their face. Our road is private and so we got an enforcement company and we had 8 cars a day in our small close. That got rid of 5 and then 3 continued to ignore cease and desist notices. Then a junior doc park nearly touching our people carrier when there were other places and I lost it with him telling the police need to tell him not to park here before he stops. He was the most obnoxious idiot I have ever met with a university degree. Anyway not seen him since but just this week another ward assistant has appeared and even backs right up my drive to turn around despite there being a Turing area at the bottom of the close.

HO87

The offence, as set out in s.137 Highways Act 1980 is "Wilful Obstruction [of the Highway]" not "Obstruction of a Private Driveway (provided there's a dropped kerb provided)".

Tell your local authority that the vehicle has been abandoned (Well, would anyone deliberately park across someone's gate otherwise?) and see if you can persuade them to make use of their powers under s.99 Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.

As for TWOC. Were the OP to move the vehicle (so as to relieve the obstruction) would they be intending to use the vehicle for their own or another's use? Of course not.

As for tortious interference that may be another story but no judge is going to deal with such a claim provided the OP obtained plenty of evidence (photos) of the problem he is suffering and can demonstrate that he exercised due care whilst moving the vehicle and ensuring it was secure when he left it. Given that the vehicle might be traced to an employer then to further cover the matter why not contact the NHS hospital or even report the vehicle as being a possible abandoned stolen vehicle?

DTDfanBoy

Have you checked to see if the car is taxed and insured.

Manxman_in_exile

Thank you HO87.


So it's an offence even though there is no dropped kerb? Can I just clarify too that the vehicle in question is obstructing access to our neighbour's drive only; it is not otherwise obstructing vehicle passage up and down the street. It is also parked on the pavement - as are all other cars on that side of the street including, now, our neighbour's.


And it's still an offence that our neighbours are blocked out of their drive rather than blocked in?


And you advise it would be better to complain to the council rather than the police?

Manxman_in_exile

I shall check if it's taxed. The interior certainly looks abandoned.

Manxman_in_exile

HappyMJ - there's nowhere to push it to within a few metres. The whole street is nose to tail parking with residents' cars and staff cars from the hospital/hospice. The only space within a few metres is the centre of the carriageway.

EdGasket

If there is a dropped curb then the local council will often come and ticket the car and sometimes the police will take action; otherwise without a dropped curb, it is not a recognised driveway and has no status; therefore no-one will be interested in access to it apart from the owners of course. I suggest they pay the council to put a dropped-curb in.

surveyor_101

If the cars not blocked in on the driver technically the police won't touch it, as it has to be blocking you from going out not in.

Try telling your local council its abandoned.

Check it taxed and mot'd