Is it ILLEGAL to drive on a pavement?

ellas9602

I returned home from my holidays last week to find a note from the police saying they had visited and could I contact them. :eek:
When I did it appears that a complaint has been made about my driving (on the pavement) by a neighbour. We live on a very busy road (50mph) and I have a very narrow drive. I know its illegal to reverse onto the road (not that I'd want to attempt it anyway) so I always back out, do a little turn on the pavement (which is about three cars wide) and head out frontways. There are grass verges but these are protected by rocks around the edge and don't get touched.
I know the correct thing to do is reverse into the drive but it really is so narrow I'd be a bit scared (yes Im girl if you haven't already guessed) .

This quite upset me because a) I consider myself to be a good neigbour and b) I thought going directly to the police is a bit over the top. c) I really can't see the harm d) I believe Im doing the safest thing possible :mad:

Is it illegal to drive on pavement? the police just said please stop doing it to keep the peace

Does anyone agree with my neighbour?

robnye

is the peice of land that you turn around on in front of there house?

if it is couldnt you do it in front of your house?

surely if you explained this to the police, they would have accepted it as a valid reason...?

ellas9602

it is in front of my next door neighbours house (who doesn't seem to mind). Complainers live next door but two. It is difficult to do it in front of my own house because there is a lamppost in the way!

Im glad you think its valid because I've just searched th internet on the subjet and all I can find is articles about people who drive on the pavement being rude, arrogant and lazy (of which im neither).

I told the police I'd stop (I was a little taken aback) but feel like ringing them back and been a bit sterner

robnye

if you started to try reversing into your driveway at the busiest time of the day and take as long as possible.... the police might come along and then you can state the reason why........!

How about contactin your MP...... see what they say

JasonElse

Don't you think MP's have better things to do than talk about driving on pavements?!

rizla01

personally, I'd continue as you were.

The Police aren't able to deal with these minor infringements and if they do then you can explain to them the difficulties that you face and that in your judgement, it is safer to proceed as you have done rather than backing out on a main road or reversing into your own driveway when the traffic is busy.

I lived on a main road and had my car written off but someone not noticing me stopping - in broad daylight - before backing into my drive.

Riz

Bossyboots

Having witnessed a very near miss between a car doing just that maneouvre and a three year old girl, I am inclined to side with your neighbour.

However, if you have never caused anyone else inconvenience or danger then I can't see the problem. Its not as if you are doing what some idiots do in our street and are actually driving along the footpath for a considerable distance.

Have you upset your neighbours. It is probably a bit indelicate to ask them why they reported it but it does seem petty if it is not affecting them. I can't even think of how you could broach this with them.

One thing I would say though, your car is the same width when you reverse it as it is going forward so with practice you should find it easy to reverse in. (Although its easy for me to say that, my driving instructor always said my reverse driving was better than when I went forward). That said, on a busy fast road I really think you are doing the safest thing provided you are always alert to pedestrians.

How does everyone else get out of their drives? Can you get any tips from them? If you carry on doing it this way and they complain again (and I think that is inevitable), you might not get off so lightly next time.

ellas9602

I have a male neighbour one side who backs directly onto the road and a female the other side whose front garden is so big she turns around in it.

I don't believe I have done anything to ever upset them, I've never even spoken to them (maybe thats it! )

I am going to continue driving the way I have been. I have two children and would not want to jepordise their safety. I am always mindful of pedestrians and have never ever encountered a problem with one. I obviously travel very slow and the pavements are so wide.

Thanks for all the advice

MarkyMarkD

I would side with those who suggest you should get used to reverse parking - it's better, it's more legal and it's a skill you ought to gain anyway. It's almost ALWAYS easier and safer to reverse into a space or a driveway, than to reverse out.

When you park in a supermarket carpark, you can SEE before you drive in that the space is clear - so reverse in. When you drive out, it's easy to see whether it's safe. If you do the opposite, you are forced to reverse out into the flow of traffic and there's a far greater chance of having an accident.

When you reverse to park, you have mirrors on both sides and in the middle of your case - so it's impossible to hit anything if you use them properly. Make sure they are adjusted so you can just see each side of the car and then you WON'T hit the wall or fence or whatever. Practice makes perfect!

michaels

Firstly - if you reverse into the space at the supermarket how do you put the shopping into the boot.

When you reverse out between these tight walls is there not a dnager that you might hit/be hit by someone running/rollerblading/walking down the pavement or is your view not restricted?

I do not really have a good answer, I know it can be nearly impossible to reverse into a drive off a busy road, the other unthinking drivers will often come up right behind when you are stopped to do the manouvre and then you need to get a gap in the traffic in both directions as the front will swing out as you reverse in. Given that you have to reverse between these walls I don;t think even a parking sensor or rear view reversing camera would help a lot.

MarkyMarkD

The more sensible supermarket car parks have walkways between the two rows of cars, so you can load from either side. I know that many don't as well.