Neighbour has driveway & parks large van in pavement/road

gsimpson211

Hi, i live on a busy road in a mid terraced house. My next door neighbour is at the end of the terrace & has a long 2 car drive.  His family have 2 cars & his transit style long wheel base van. He always parks his van on the side of the road with 2 wheels on the pavement & his family park their cars on their driveway. 

I wonder if there is a bye law saving that if a drive is available for a large commercial 
vehicle then it should be used,  rather than causing an obstruction on the side of the road.  Drivers drive too fast on our road & it’s sometimes very difficult to even get in my car as I can’t see the approaching traffic, I just have to stick my head out & hope fur the best! 

I know he needs a van for his business & I’m not objecting to that, I just think it would be safer & more considerate to park it on his drive & one of the family cars on the road. It can also be very difficult for pedestrians, especially those with prams. 

Any help/ advice would be much appreciated. 

Thanks 

mcpitman

If it's legal to park there, then it's legal to park there.

The van doesn't cause people to drive fast.

There may be an issue with 2 wheels on the path, but other than that, I don't think there's much you can do.

AdrianC

gsimpson211 said:

I wonder if there is a bye law saving that if a drive is available for a large commercial vehicle then it should be used

Bylaws are local, so without knowing where in the country you are... But it's almost certain the answer is "Nope".

Drivers drive too fast on our road

There should be a law against it!

it’s sometimes very difficult to even get in my car as I can’t see the approaching traffic, I just have to stick my head out & hope fur the best!

Would it be any different if it was an estate car with dark rear glass, say?

I presume this van is 3.5t max, so there's no legal difference between parking that and parking a car. Which probably shouldn't have two wheels on the kerb, either.

user1977

I doubt there's a legal problem from what you've said (technically parking on the pavement means you're "driving on the pavement" when you're moving, but good luck trying to get the cops to catch anyone in the process).

Best to lobby the council (or whoever the roads authority is) if you want them to do something about parking restrictions or speed limits.

macman

Is this within Greater London? If so, parking with 2 wheels (or any wheels) on the pavement) is prohibited, unless signage states otherwise.
If not, it's legal unless the parking is such that it can be considered to be causing an obstruction. 
There is certainly no law that you must park on your drive if you have one, or that you must use a garage, if you have one.

sevenhills

gsimpson211 said:

He always parks his van on the side of the road with 2 wheels on the pavement & his family park their cars on their driveway. 

Drivers drive too fast on our road.

Parked cars/vans at the side of the road will slow down the traffic.

daveyjp

sevenhills said:

gsimpson211 said:

He always parks his van on the side of the road with 2 wheels on the pavement & his family park their cars on their driveway. 

Drivers drive too fast on our road.

Parked cars/vans at the side of the road will slow down the traffic.

Nice theory.

However living on a 20 limit street with cars and vans parked along both sides I know this not to be the case.

Ant555

gsimpson211 said:

It can also be very difficult for pedestrians, especially those with prams. 

Thanks 

25 years ago, a policeman friend of mine told me that if someone couldn't walk past with a pram (and were therefore forced to go on the road) then this was the benchmark by which he and other officers would take action.  I do suspect, however, that it counts for nothing today.

Do you park on your driveway and its the fact that you have to poke out into the traffic that causes the problem?  Is there any option for you to also park on the road or would you fear for your wing mirrors.

As already suggested, the van sounds like it may be parking pretty much legally and if the only obstruction is when emerging from your own private drive then its almost certain that you wouldn't get many people in authority interested.
As its your next door neighbour, would you be OK with them knowing it was you that dobbed them n though?

Grey_Critic

***25 years ago, a policeman friend of mine told me that if someone couldn't walk past with a pram (and were therefore forced to go on the road) then this was the benchmark by which he and other officers would take action.  I do suspect, however, that it counts for nothing today.***

But that was in the days when policemen actually walked a beat - unfortunately those days have long gone.

gsimpson211

AdrianC said:

gsimpson211 said:

I wonder if there is a bye law saving that if a drive is available for a large commercial vehicle then it should be used

Bylaws are local, so without knowing where in the country you are... But it's almost certain the answer is "Nope".

Drivers drive too fast on our road

There should be a law against it! 

it’s sometimes very difficult to even get in my car as I can’t see the approaching traffic, I just have to stick my head out & hope fur the best!

Would it be any different if it was an estate car with dark rear glass, say?

I presume this van is 3.5t max, so there's no legal difference between parking that and parking a car. Which probably shouldn't have two wheels on the kerb, either.

Thanks for your responses - it would be very different if a car was parked there because I could see any approaching traffic over the top of it & I know that people do drive too fast but this can make it very dangerous at busy times when there’s lots of traffic on both sides of the road. The van is parked very close to my car & i literally cannot see if there is any traffic approaching. 

Anyway, it doesn’t sound like I can do anything about it. Thanks again for all your responses. 

teachfast

When my children were small enough to be in prams I was often amazed at how small a space you can actually jam your pram through between a car and a wall if you push hard enough.