Years ago this used to be verboten, but you see it more and more now. Either the enforcement is minimal or it is only frowned upon rather than a ticket offence. Any one got any thoughts on this? I'm thinking England rather than Scotland or Wales, if the situation is different there.
"You MUST NOT park partially or wholly on the pavement in London, and should not do so elsewhere unless signs permit it. Parking on the pavement can obstruct and seriously inconvenience pedestrians, people in wheelchairs or with visual impairments and people with prams or pushchairs."
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-high...ing-238-to-252
Bit of a grey area it seems.
It's definitely a ticketable offence, it is rarely enforced.
Here is a ticketable offence
But we are not worthy and do it all the time
With the way cars have increased in width in a lot of instances there is no option, if parking is allowed on both sides of the street because everybody has at least one car if they are parked on the road then in a lot of instances Emergency vehicles wouldn’t have access.
If they do it around our way, they tend to have to look for their wingmirror or at least adjust it upon returning to the vehicle.
I seem to see this a lot as well when I take the dog out, you would think they would learn 😉Originally Posted by chrisb
I generally accidentally stove the wing mirror in as I struggle to get past on the obstructed pavement
Yes must be rather annoying for the driver on return seeing this,I too haven't quite managed to navigate a pram in the past......oops!,so sorry for the damage......I guess they'll understand how and why the damage occurred and just accept it for being so inconsiderate to pedestrians.
Sometimes I have to bash the double buggy into the obstruction 5 or 6 times to check it doesn't go through.
bit of a hot topic near where we live. Rule is 1m to allow room for a double buggy or wheel chair. Failure to do so is a fixed penalty fine.
Some streets/lanes I go to see my clients, you have no option but to park up a bit on the pavement as they are so narrow. All the other vehicles are similar who live there. No other option.
Should I assume you don't have legs......
My area is like this. If you don't get 2 wheels on the pavement the road is pretty much impassable.
I have to park in this manner and yes, we had a double buggy when the kids were younger so I can see this from both angles.
I’ve lost a wing mirror and had another smashed to smithereens by drivers struggling to negotiate our road and have also had my car keyed by someone who clearly took umbrage at my parking two wheels on the granite kerb. There really is no accounting for the c@£t’s that can’t resist doling out their own version of mean-minded justice. Some of whom appear to populate this thread.
You could assume that there is no other parking for a mile and I have a shoulder bag (10kg) and a large aluminium case (another 10kg) and two fold up foot stools. Also, another 5-6 patients to see that day.
Last edited by sestrel; 20th February 2018 at 19:48.
Quite a few people happily admitting criminal damage to vehicles parked on pavements.
While I dont condone poor parking, criminal damage is not only offence but indicative of a certain personality type.
A few characters for ‘ze list’ in this thread.
Maybe if they put spikes in the curb people wouldn't do it, might maim the odd pedestrian though.
Another thing that does my head in!
As I understand it, the "Civil Enforcement" Officers (who replaced traffic wardens) don't deal with this and there is zero chance of the Police taking action for obstructing the footpath, or whatever the offence would be if anyone cared!
What happens is people buy a house with no (safe) parking and then claim the "right" to park outside irrespective of the inconvenience and danger to pedestrians and other road users!
Rant over!
PS It also completely knackers pavements, cracking slabs causing further danger to pedestrians and cost to council tax payers
We have signs instructing you to park with 2 wheels on the pavement in the streets round me ( in NE London.) the pavements are nearly 2m wide though. The kerbs are a good 6 inches high though so it’s only the SUV drivers that follow the instructions, and it’s still a squeeze to drive down the road
Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app
Think the same is true of parking close to corners. Drivers are "advised" not to but it seems not to be an offence despite it being a profoundly stupid and often dangerous thing to do!
Missus picked her brother up from his house near Sutton. Didn’t leave the vehicle...engine running, just pulled over to the side of the road for about 1 minute and partially put her nearside wheels on a dropped kerb while he got in the car (not even the full tyre width!). A week later got a ticket for the “offence” of parking with wheels on the pavement from a mobile camera car parked on the road.
Picture clearly showed her in the drivers seat with belt on and him just putting his on. We tried appealing but had to pay.
How do you see it as wilful criminal damage?,I can't go into the road with a child in the pram safely,so the only option is to try navigate past the obstruction,if the pram touched the vehicle and caused a scratch for eg then that is unfortunate,and the drivers fault for having total disregard for anyone else trying to use the footpath as intended!.
And your already wiped from my list of buyers anyway........if that hits all the marks ��
I questioned this with my local council and police and apparently this is now a flexible policy and depends on local bye laws etc and is no longer part of a blanket UK statute- or so they tell me when they want me to go away and stop bothering them with trivia.PS, we don't even have a police station within 15miles so do what you like really.
In order to park on the pavement - you have to “drive” on the pavement.
That is most definitely- an offence.
I don’t disagree. It is people gloating that they have knowingly committed a crime that concerns me. There’s no-one in this thread gloating that they have committed parking offences, but a few who seem to think it is fine and funny to damage property.
Its not intentional damage,the intended pedestrian right of way has now become "knowingly" blocked by a motor driver and so not allowing free unobstructed access to proceed without possibly coming into contact with said obstruction,thus with the potential of BOTH sustaining damage to his/Her property.
Under these circumstances Vortgern what would you suggest?,I have three sometimes 4 Grandchildren to take to school,and these vehicles are NOT outside the school but a 1/4 mile from school,and not just 1 vehicle but a long line of them ALL on the pathway!.
We use the road hey!.
Those drivers using your words think that is "fine and funny".Those same drivers would be on the horn if trying to bypass me in "their" road!.
Get down off your high horse about your "concern".
Last edited by P9CLY; 20th February 2018 at 21:54.
Depends on the council. In our area, in some streets it’s the norm to park half on the pavement if the pavements are wide enough.
Guilty as charged, clamped and an €80 fine.
Ironically I parked part on the path to bring my father in to his apartment. He was in a wheelchair so I should have had more awareness.
Same where I work, if you don’t park on the pavement then the dust cart can’t get through
Clearly not an offence as been doing it for 6 years now, or if it is common sense has prevailed
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
As someone who works with people with disabilities, whose wife works for Guide Dogs and who has a little person who requires the use of a pram at times I am in a pretty perfect position to say that parking on the pavement is at best a hindrance and at worst down right dangerous.
Please Don't Do It!
Last edited by Ashtennisguru; 21st February 2018 at 08:42.
Can't be said any clearer than here....alas we will all have to live with it forever.
It is getting worse around our town.
Certain roads have vehicles on both sides of the street with vehicles parked on the footpath on both sides.
Not great for people in wheelchairs as they then have to travel on the road as they cannot get past cars blocking the footpath.
I do often wonder, if a wheelchair did cause accidental damage to a vehicle parked on the footpath what the legal situation would be
You don’t have the right to park on the pavement, even though you think you do, and just because you have not been brought to task over it - does not mean it is “Clearly not an offence”
If you and everyone on that road/street have been parking there for 6 years, then the parking enforcement office and wardens are obviously very well aware. If they haven’t “ brought to task” absolutely everyone who does it to date, what does that say......
this really boils my pi$$ - a big pet peeve.
We live on a school road and when I walk to pick up my son we often have to walk back along the busy road because 2, 3 or more selfish whatnots have completely blocked the pavement home.
Most of the justification for this dangerous and inconsiderate behavior boils down to laziness, 'I had to park on the pavement or I'll block traffic' is the excuse when really it's 'I had to park on the pavement because I couldn't be bothered to find a more appropriate parking space and walk a bit'.
When it gets too bad I park my big 4x4 in the most awkward place possible, that doesn't completely block traffic but does restrict the flow, it may not change anything but it makes me feel better, rather than inflict damage on their cars, which would put me legally in the wrong too rather than just (possibly) morally so. Petty I know but I'm only human.
This problem is going to get worse.
First of all, cars are getting wider. I once drove a Jaguar MK2 and they were considered a big car back in those days. The Honda Civic that I drive today is much wider and takes up more space. I once used to park my Jaguar MK11, the wifes MGB and a Ariel Square 4 motorcycle side by side in my garage with enough room to walk between them. I would really struggle to park two Honda Civics side by side as not only are they wider but the doors, being longer, need more room to open.
Also new housing estates have narrower roads and the latest regulations now only give planning permission for 1.5 cars per house. Drives are heck of a lot smaller than they used to be, so people have no option but to park on the road. Parking space is now at a premium and rightly or wrongly people will park over pavements so as not to block the road. These new houses will last for 100 years at least so the problem is going to be around for a long time.
Frankly I just don't know the answer to this one because the cars have to be parked somewhere and they are going to encroach on space be it road or pavement.
Last edited by Mick P; 21st February 2018 at 10:51.
I should add that the motivation for the original question was because a parent had failed to stop in the car park at the front of the school at 9am, with two coaches expected, and children milling around in a usually car-free zone. She shouldn't have been there and she knew that. She failed to stop when requested to, and shot off at a dangerous speed across the car park the wrong way towards the exit (where the coaches were coming in). She managed to negotiate her way out of the In entrance, and abandoned the car next to a junction in the road with two wheels on the pavement.
Let's face it, we can all see that this is pretty irresponsible and unacceptable behaviour in a school car park and I'm just looking at the options for dealing with this.
IME there is nothing you can do. I've direct messaged the school, taken photos of offenders, spoken to my local parish Councillor (thanks for nothing cllr Graham Coombes) and none are prepared to do anything - not even an e-mail to parents asking them to stop. You are lucky if you even get a response. The law is woefully wishy washy and London-centric on this issue and as MickP points out planning regulations are totally inadequate for modern life.Hopefully over the coming years technology will bring self driving cars which allow a whole new ownership and parking paradigm. That's a way off for now though.
Really annoys me as our son is in a powered wheelchair, ppl parking on the curb can stop him from getting past safely on the pavement.
I think I should add that, whilst we park on the pavement we do not impede the footpath, the pavement is tree lined and the cars park between the trees, not past the trees
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This seems strange as there are many roads in London where the pavement is white lined and signed expressly to let cars park with the 2 nearside wheels on the pavement , as illustrated here https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.58...7i13312!8i6656
Same in our town, seems to be getting worse. We had some really nice slabs outside our town hall but cars, lorries and busses have started to ride onto them and they are smashed to pieces now.
Council don’t care, may change their mind when someone trips over them and puts in a claim!
Our road is like that. Don't see how the lines make it legal though as there are no signs and never seen (Highway Code or elsewhere) a legal meaning for such lines.
If you can’t park your car by the side of the road without having to put two wheels on the pavement, then it’s not a suitable place to park a car, surely?
There are plenty of signs indicating the controlled parking hours and others showing this sort of parking is permitted, around our way, anyways.
No, No, No ——- In today’s ‘entitlement’ era ..............
I have a car, I need to park next to my house/workplace - To hell with everyone else..... I’m “entitled”
We’ve signs for resident parking times but no mention of the pavement parking.
Same round here. There is a road near to me, and if you were a mother with a single buggy you have to go into the road, surely that cannot be right. I would vote for tickets to the inconsiderate barstewards
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
