Parking across dropped kerbs preventing wheelchair use

Sillym00

Hi all, I'm looking for some advice please in case I'm approaching this wrong. I am a self propelled wheelchair user but use a mobility scooter when going any real distance. This is my only form of transport so I rely heavily on it.

Every time I go out I find myself having to go back and forth looking for dropped kerbs because people park across them- I assume without thinking rather than with malice! There are precious few dropped kerbs around here with a number being so high I'm not sure they count.

Would it be completely inappropriate for me to put something on their windscreen i.e. a card under the wiper saying something like -Just a gentle reminder that dropped kerbs are needed by wheelchair users, please park more considerately.

Am I getting too wound up about it? Possibly, though it's actually prevented me doing things I need to do in the past when the only way to the bus stop in my chair was completely inaccessible.

What do you think? What would you do/think if you found something on your car? Am I even allowed to touch other people's car?!

agrinnall

I don't see any issue in leaving a polite note, ensuring you cause no damage, but the sort of people who would park like this will probably ignore it anyway. Have you raised the issue with your local authority / councillor?

sheramber

I don't see any problem doing that.

My son did that to a car that regularly parked with part of the car overlapping his driveway making it very difficult to get their car in or out.

They kept his drive clear after that.

Aylesbury_Duck

A polite note is exactly the way to deal with it. There are people who take a more militant approach, but that doesn't do much to promote accommodating behaviour.

Johno100

Sillym00 wrote: »

Hi all, I'm looking for some advice please in case I'm approaching this wrong. I am a self propelled wheelchair user but use a mobility scooter when going any real distance. This is my only form of transport so I rely heavily on it.

Every time I go out I find myself having to go back and forth looking for dropped kerbs because people park across them- I assume without thinking rather than with malice! There are precious few dropped kerbs around here with a number being so high I'm not sure they count.

Would it be completely inappropriate for me to put something on their windscreen i.e. a card under the wiper saying something like -Just a gentle reminder that dropped kerbs are needed by wheelchair users, please park more considerately.

Am I getting too wound up about it? Possibly, though it's actually prevented me doing things I need to do in the past when the only way to the bus stop in my chair was completely inaccessible.

What do you think? What would you do/think if you found something on your car? Am I even allowed to touch other people's car?!

I think it depends on what type of dropped kerb you are talking about. If it is the sort installed by councils, usually identified by the presence of textured paving, to allow those with limited mobility to cross the road, then a note under their windscreen wiper is in order. If however you are talking about a dropped kerb installed to allow householders to access their drive and the householder, visitors or a third party has parked across it, then I'm afraid that's just hard luck.

neilmcl

Johno100 wrote: »

I think it depends on what type of dropped kerb you are talking about. If it is the sort installed by councils, usually identified by the presence of textured paving, to allow those with limited mobility to cross the road, then a note under their windscreen wiper is in order. If however you are talking about a dropped kerb installed to allow householders to access their drive and the householder, visitors or a third party has parked across it, then I'm afraid that's just hard luck.

Parking across any dropped kerb preventing access to the public highway is classed as an obstruction.

PasturesNew

Most people don't even know/think about it - I'd imagine most wouldn't ever park there again in any case, so a card would just wind you and them up.

Best bet might be getting on good terms with the local PCSO people and letting them know for them to have a word where they see it in your area. They might not know/realise that it's a local issue for you and won't have their eyes peeled looking for people to spank. With enough of them having enough words 24/7 you might then find all your routes are free access, so you don't need to do a note.

Once they know you're about, they'll enjoy having a new little thing to focus on.

I didn't know/think about them on road corners etc until I recently got a little shopping trolley and started to notice them.

Sillym00

Thanks guys, I appreciate your replies. I avoid all confrontation wherever possible so, as silly as it might seem, even considering doing something like this is a bit scary!

I haven't looked into contacting anyone official about it yet, I can usually find some way to get around the obstacles so I allow extra time for these detours but I find myself worrying about it before I go out which is ridiculous of me!

I'm sure most will ignore it but I wonder how many might park without thinking about it and next time think twice if given a little reminder. When I drove before being disabled I would have considered myself as thoughtful and considerate of others but I'd never looked at it from a wheelchair users perspective so probably unwittingly made someone else's life harder through my ignorance.

Ideally I'd 'fine' the inconsiderate drivers a day in a wheelchair to see how fun it can be...

Sillym00

Johno100 wrote: »

I think it depends on what type of dropped kerb you are talking about. If it is the sort installed by councils, usually identified by the presence of textured paving, to allow those with limited mobility to cross the road, then a note under their windscreen wiper is in order. If however you are talking about a dropped kerb installed to allow householders to access their drive and the householder, visitors or a third party has parked across it, then I'm afraid that's just hard luck.

I didn't know this but I'm confused since most dropped kerbs are leading to drive ways. Around here there are only dropped curbs with knobbly lumps on a few main roads, not in the residential area. There are pavements with no drops at junctions which means driveway entrances are the only way to get down.

Aretnap

neilmcl wrote: »

Parking across any dropped kerb preventing access to the public highway is classed as an obstruction.

This is not correct. You are entitled to block your own driveway. The exception is created by Section 86 of the Traffic Management Act 2004.

(1)In a special enforcement area (ie most large towns and cities these days) a vehicle must not be parked on the carriageway adjacent to a footway, cycle track or verge where—
(a)the footway, cycle track or verge has been lowered to meet the level of the carriageway for the purpose of—
(i)assisting pedestrians crossing the carriageway,
(ii)assisting cyclists entering or leaving the carriageway, or
(iii)assisting vehicles entering or leaving the carriageway across the footway, cycle track or verge...

This is subject to the following exceptions...

The second exception is where the vehicle is parked outside residential premises by or with the consent (but not consent given for reward) of the occupier of the premises.

The same legislation indicates why the popularly quoted "rule" that you're allowed to park across a driveway if it's unoccupied but not if it's occupied is in fact an urban myth.

Aretnap

Sillym00 wrote: »

I didn't know this but I'm confused since most dropped kerbs are leading to drive ways. Around here there are only dropped curbs with knobbly lumps on a few main roads, not in the residential area. There are pavements with no drops at junctions which means driveway entrances are the only way to get down.

Unfortunately, for the reasons I gave above, if the dropped kerb is there to provide access to a driveway then the owner of the driveway is allowed to park across it - he's probably paid for the kerb to be lowered, and there wouldn't be a dropped kerb there at all had he not done so.

Of course it's just as likely that the person parking across it is not the occupier (why would he not park in his driveway if he has one?) and just a random person taking the proverbial. But I believe councils won't usually act on complaints about blocking private driveways unless they come from the householder - otherwise they don't know whether or not it's the householder who's parking there.

If there are dropped kerbs other than for driveways that people are parking on then you may have more luck complaining to the council - if it happens enough and you complain enough they may well send round a CEO to dish out some tickets.