[Closed] Parking Rant - almost resulted in me kicking a car

ace picture

4/10. Good anger content though.

It's illegal to park on the pavement?

Technically yeah, I've always wondered about that. I think that's why there's no markings, which would make life a lot easier. But there's a definite boundary between the pavement and the parking area, the trick is to getting one wheel *just* on the kerb and one just inside the pavement boundary.

let their tyres down

Thought that, but then they can't move out of my damn way!

Print a copy of this out and leave it on their windows as well...

[url= http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/environment/people-who-know-how-to-f%2acking-park-on-brink-of-extinction-20070912397/ ]Daily Mash Parking[/url]

😉

So - your rant is that they're parking legally and you'd prefer they didn't?

They're not parking any more or less legally than anyone else - that's not the issue. They're parking like dicks.

you must live three doors down from my mum - last time i parked opposite her house some one left a note saying "w@anker" under the wipers - as i stood in the road guy comes out and says "i didn't leave it but its illegal to park on the pavement"

- true says i but that is why i left room for people to walk past

man in my face "but you parked like a ****er and its illegal"

- me "that's your van parked on the pavement and no one can walk past it"

man more in my face - "but if you park like that people drive into my car"

- me "what last night"

t0sser "no all the time - now are you going to move it?"

so i did and blocked in his car and told him at least no one can drive into it now

so it is a terraced row of houses with no off street parking and many homes have 2 cars? - parking is a problem, some people may have a different "angle" is that really a big deal?

It only takes thought when looking at drawings on paper to see how cars fit best and what angle to park at, unfortunately not everyone has the same perception and it causes conflict. Hardly worth getting wound up about - find another space.

I live next to a chinese with its own car park. For some reason the customers cant be arsed parking in the car park and just park outside my house meaning I have to park a few hundred yards away. Generally I dont mind, though I do curse a bit when I have a full car to unload. What really does cheese me off is the owners of the chinese who choose to do the same thing despite having an empty car park - that really is just inconsiderate. I found that just folding their wing mirrors in made them rethink.

none of those cars on either side of the drawing are near 45 degrees, go back and do it again with a scale ruler and protractor!

coffeeking, why don't you park in the car park

Buy a Smart car.

rs - its certainly something I've thought of, but I'm not 100% sure they'll not lock it with my car in there! I did consider going and asking them if I could park there seeing as they preferred parking where I normally do but I am trying to avoid eating junk and the smell is just TOO good to walk away from!

I would just use the carpark, pop in and explain why-sure they wouldnt lock you in

It's illegal to park on the pavement?

It's legal as long as you're not causing an obstruction

An Astra! The nerve of some people.

BoardinBob - Member

It's illegal to park on the pavement?

It's legal as long as you're not causing an obstruction

Ah - makes sense. I guess you just have to take into account wheelchairs / prams etc.

Nope, trust me, it's illegal to part on the pavement. Technically, it's illegal to park on the highway unless it's in a designated, legally defined bay.

Parking on the pavement can cause inconvenience to pedestrians. It can create hazards for visually impaired, disabled and elderly people or those with prams or pushchairs. It may also cause damage to the kerb, the pavement, or the services underneath. Repairing such damage can be costly and local authorities may face claims for compensation for injuries received resulting from damaged or defective pavements.

In some areas pavement parking is prohibited by a local Act of Parliament, and it may be prohibited elsewhere in particular streets or parts of streets by traffic regulation orders. But enforcement may be a problem unless the local authority is able to take on the responsibility through the arrangements being developed under the Road Traffic Act 1991. The various physical measures described in this leaflet are however largely self-enforcing.

Wait till you have a drive and then the cocks next door continually park across it. The first chap who lived there, his mates did it all the time, we were friendly with him so I would be pleasant about it at first but they just kept doing it and doing, to wind me up I'm sure. I asked a policeman friend and he said if there's no car in the drive then it's not illegal but if there is a car in the drive then it is illegal. So one day I came home to find the buggers parked right across my drive, the music blaring out of the house and they weren't answering the door. So I parked right up behind the car and moved my wifes car right up in front of it and then ignored the door for ten minutes. I went out when the wife told me they were trying to ush one of our cars out of the way.

"Annoying isn't it?", i questioned. They kicked off a bit but they never parked over our drive again.

Of course, the next guy to move in has equally ignorant and stupid friends and I occasionally have a problem with them, few arguments in the street so far. Not a problem nowadays though because he's lost his license through drink driving so they aprk in front of his drive.

I used the "if there's no car in, you can park across an empty drive" rule, when I returned home from work after a tiring 16 hour day. 6 hours later, I get up to go to the car to find a shirty message from the occupant of the house (rented, natch) telling me that it was inconsiderate and dangerous and that she's a doctor doncha know.

I thought about waking her up when I got home later and aksing her why, if whe watned to have a driveway, had she not paid the council the going rate for dropping the curb. F***ing medics - think they're god's gift.

Then I thought I'd sound like a tw*t, so I screwed up the piece of paper and forgot about it....

I do like the rant. People parking with consideration by not parking on the pavement get ranted about and you want them to park on the pavement.

Pavement parking is illegal in some areas but not in others but is always wrong morally. Cars do not have rights over pedestrians. Pavements are for people not cars

I asked a policeman friend and he said if there's no car in the drive then it's not illegal but if there is a car in the drive then it is illegal.

I'm not sure your policeman friend is correct in that samuri. If you park in front of an exit this is obstruction.

I can also vouch that parking on the pavement in any situation unless stated is illegal. One evening I parked my car slightly on the curb in front of my old flat in London like everyone was doing at the time as there was a diversion from the main street down our residential road while they were doing roadworks which meant that if everyone didn't park half off the road there wasn't enough room for the increased volume of traffic. Common sense you would think but then the next day I got up to find my car was not there and had been taken and impounded. No amount of sensible and in the end not so sensible arguing could change the fact that I had parked illegally and I would have pay 250 quid to get my car back! 🙁

No one's parking on the pavement, and rightly so. At a sensible angle there is a small mount of overhang (eg in front of the wheels) onto the pavement / road, but everyone else on the street manages to keep this to a minimum (I always make sure there's room for two wheelchairs side by side, or thereabouts).

See awesome diagram below.

[img] [/img]

I misunderstood about the pavement - apologies

rotorstern - In London it is illegal to park on the pavement - In other places it is not.

Oh and the point about blocking folk in/out of their driveway is correct. It is NOT an offence to prevent someone from entering their driveway. It IS an offence to prevent them exiting.

Oh and the point about blocking folk in/out of their driveway is correct. It is NOT an offence to prevent someone from entering their driveway. It IS an offence to prevent them exiting.

However, it's a bit more complicated. It [b]can[/b] be a problem* if you are blocking a drive (from entrance or exit) where the pavement has been dropped and the council have opted to include the relevant provisions of the Traffic Management Act 2004. Note, it is always a problem* if there is a white line painted on the road parallel with the entrance to the driveway.

Yes, I looked it up.

*I use "problem" here, as I've no idea if it's an "offence" or not.

8/10
good rant, and something i agree with, it REALLY makes me angry, so angry i feel a bit silly about being petty, or would if i wasnt so ANGRY.
points awarded as well for the EXCELLENT use of paint (or a graphics tablet?)
however 2 points deducted;
1 for lack of anger induced errors and grammer fails
and 1 for driving a passat, the new BWM tossers car IMO :p

other than that though! well done!!

bring that man his gold plated lead filled Bombers

Driving instructor who lives round the corner from me pulled over outside my house and let rip a right royal rant- I mean he was literally foaming with what could be described as pent up anger. For so long that it gave me enough time to (silently) think up why he was doing this- he was basically saying I cant park outside my drive next to a wide open closed off road junction as it was illegal (NO road marking at all)- anyway. When I stopped I said to him 'so this has nothing to do with you bring your pupils round here to practice reverse parking near my car then'? 😆

The Highway Code
243

DO NOT stop or park

* near a school entrance
* anywhere you would prevent access for Emergency Services
* at or near a bus or tram stop or taxi rank
* on the approach to a level crossing/tramway crossing
* [b]opposite or within 10 metres (32 feet) of a junction, except in an authorised parking space[/b]
* near the brow of a hill or hump bridge
* opposite a traffic island or (if this would cause an obstruction) another parked vehicle
* where you would force other traffic to enter a tram lane
* where the kerb has been lowered to help wheelchair users and powered mobility vehicles
* [b]in front of an entrance to a property[/b]
* on a bend
* where you would obstruct cyclists’ use of cycle facilities except when forced to do so by stationary traffic

244

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.

(edited, sorry, was from an old version)

Admittedly they arent MUST NOTs but still there for guidance

The white paint across driveways is advisory so doesn't really make a difference. However, a number of authorities are adopting powers under the TMA 2004 and will soon be issuing FPN against obstruction which can currently only be enforced by he police.

Onza - cheers for clarifying.

Presume we just need to contact the relevant LA to find out if they are enforcing the TMA?

you are lucky that people in your street all generally park with consideration for others. my last house was on a main road with limited parking area opposite, probably enough for 10 cars. for the 7 or so years i lived there it constantly shocked me that the neighbours by and large could'nt or would'nt park with consideration to others. space for 2 cars, why not park right in the middle! one guy would even wait until a car moved then put his car directly outside his house regardless of whether he was stopping anyone else parking or not.

overcrowded city and suburban living, horrible. Give me a cottage in a field any day.

People who park partly on the pavement or verge really bug me. Round here, they're taking out a lot of the verges between the pavement and road and tarmacing them over; this just results in people parking with two wheel on the ex-verge and two on the pavement.

overcrowded city and suburban living, horrible. Give me a cottage in a field any day.

It's the "we need two/three cars" combined with driving being too cheap and the alternatives too difficult that causes the problem.

[i]opposite or within 10 metres (32 feet) of a junction, except in an authorised parking space[/i]

Impossible, our residential area has these 10m's overlapping as there are 3houses then another 'junction'. The only way to avoid is to park on your drive. Many people dont do this as the roads are probably twice the width of normal highways so you dont have to.

He was just sour grapes.

I moved my car from where it was parked on the street and someone rushed out of their house, got in their car, drove it forwards 6ft to where mine was, then went back inside.

wtf?

I've done that when I've had to park illegally (too close to the junction) and they were a visitor to the area. Got to rush out and move it so that the chinese takeaway visitors dont pinch the space and leave me parked too close to the junction all bloody night. Of course I should just park 300 yards away but when you're unloading 3 bikes, a TV and some clothes you generally want to be near your front door!

Of course I should just park 300 yards away but when you're unloading 3 bikes, a TV and some clothes you generally want to be near your front door!

Park illegally* to unload the car, then move it to 300yds away to leave it?

*Maybe not illegally, as unloading is different to parking.

True, you can load and unload on double yellows for example. Typically 5 minutes for a car but areas do differ. It's not 5 minutes total but you need to be seen loading or unloading every 5 minutes. Each time you're seen, they restart the clock!

You can also board and alight passangers on double yellows.

HoratioHufnagel -what I dont get is people who assume a spot is theres on a public right of way etc. Crackers. Almost as though your spoiling their god-given routine. Get a grip!

I fully get your point with the angled parking but your car then is sticking out into the highway, some twonk is going to hit one of them and you are going to be in the wrong as incorrectly parked NOT having a GO i see your problem

you can load and unload on double yellows

Unless they're 'no loading'.

You can also board and alight passangers on double yellows

Unless they're 'no stopping'.

flyingmonkeycorps, unless the council has painted lines indictating use I really do think people can chose to park how they want without a parking nazi putting a sign on their car. Imagine a guest visits and finds a sign on their car- I'd be really embarrised. If it really is an issue I would approach your local council about getting lines drawn up/planning permission. Again, no offence but as its not 'formal' I think its alittle petty to expect everyone to conform- its currently first come first park-basis IMO. Again, no offence or anger meant mate.

HoratioHufnagel -what I dont get is people who assume a spot is theres on a public right of way etc. Crackers. Almost as though your spoiling their god-given routine. Get a grip!

With you on this one. I have known someone call the police to report a car obstructing his drive. It wasn't at all, it was just a neighbours car parked in 'his' space ie the bit of road outside his house but not blocking him at all. He was like Frank Doberman, steam coming out of his ears and everything. He had convinced himself that this guy was doing it just to wind him up and told me if I didn't get it moved he'd smash it up and it would all be my fault!

Utter madness.

Miketually, if they're no loading, it's not the double yellow lines you look at but the double kerb blips, they reflect the loading restriction.

Hora - nah we didn't put the sign in the end, we thought it was a bit rude. It's not the first time this particular car has done it though, and you're right - there's not really anything we can do. I'd be tempted to have a quiet word if I saw the driver, but as has been said they're not *really* doing anything wrong - it's just galling that 99% of the drivers on the street (it's a long road, there can't be far off half a mile of the same type of parking) manage to park sensibly and considerately, but 1% think they're above that, forcing people down the road. Now I don't mind parking a few houses down, no problem with it at all, but of course then I'm taking someone else's space, and so on and so forth.

Hence the rant 🙂

you could always ask the local authority if they could line the area for echelon parking. You still wouldn't be able to do anything if anyone ignored it (unless the authority backs it up with an order) but then at least the intention would be clear. If the traffic manager says no, you could always look to an area committe to fund it.

[url= http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/ ]http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/[/url]

If you like the note at the start of this thread, then the above website will keep you amused for *hours*.

My dads response to people moaning that there is no where for their kids to ride their motorbikes, - if you don't have a field, don't buy a cow. Same here I reckon. I can just hear it though but, but , but, but etc . tough

There is a guy I work with who thinks that if you don't have a garage or a drive, the should come around with a mobile car crusher and dispose of your "obstruction".

Before anyone asks, no, I don't work with Tandem J!

people are ars** and irresponsible! once when I lived in a cul de sac with typical awful parking someone actually blocked me in! I parked in cul de sac forward facing and they parked directly behind me, no way of getting out! I left snotty message on car about dialling 999 if they ever needed help since I was a copper I couldn't get to work due to their shi** parking and hence not to block me in again! It never happened.

Needless to say when we went house hunting to buy and they say what are your criteria, response "garage and driveway", "anything else, number of rooms, south facing garden"?

"nope garage and driveway" to store 5 bikes, 2 motorbikes, 3 snowboards and other paraphenalia!!

I can't understand why you guys who are complaining about not being able to park outside your houses, didn't you foresee the problem before you bought it. Last time I bought a house, I looked at some houses & immediately dismissed them because of the parking set up. Ok you may be cheaper for this set up, but don't complain about it, you know what you are letting yourselves in for when you bought the place.

Pavement parking is illegal in some areas but not in others but is always wrong morally.

Sorry - don't agree. Sometimes it is morally acceptable, even sensible.

At the end of our road, the road narrows to basically wide enough for 2.75 cars to fit (approx....)

The houses on one side face direct on to the pavement. If they park on the road leaving the pavement free, you can't get 2 cars down the road. But that doesn't stop people who barely cut their speed to mount the kerb on the other side as they weave past oncoming cars because they're too arrogant to wait. Kids have been hit by these cars going to and from school - thankfully thus far no serious injuries - but there by the grace of god only.

So sensibly the residents opt to partly block one pavement and leave the road free for two cars to pass each other. If the twunts mounting the kerb the other side didn't, they wouldn't need to - but they don't.

Still morally wrong to park partly on the pavement?

The other jon - IMO yes it is still wrong in the circumstances you describe. Two wrongs don't make a right. Pavements are for pedestrians not cars. The answer in that circumstance is to put barriers on the pavements to stop the cars mounting them or make the kerbs higher.

Parking cars on the pavements damages them as they are not built to take the weight leaving uneven pavements.

I don't disagree completely - actually I only gave you part of the story to make the point, but really there is no black and white here. The residents group, the PTA (there's a school on the road hence lots of pedestrian traffic at rush hour making it worse) and others have all been lobbying the council to do something, and we had an open evening just before christmas where we could talk to the planners about it and see what they could do.

There are 3 solutions.

1 leave as is and keep your fingers crossed. On a show of hands (and it was admitted on the night it's not a democratic process, but opinion of those interested enough to turn up was one factor in the decision process). That was least favourite.

2 make the road one way. But to do so would cause the loss of a well used bus route to town with the next best alternative route to come back up the road more than 2 miles longer.

3 make the road no parking. But 25 houses would lose space to park outside their houses. This was the favourite, as being the best and cheapest solution for the whole, but of course royally shafts those who live in thse houses. And caused some interesting slanging matches between 'friends' who were voting for their 'friends' to lose parking rights...... Like I said, democracy it wasn't.

Your suggestion of bollards was a no-go. Because bollards can't be mounted on the pavement edge (unstable, and cars swerve to avoid them even though they aren't actually going to hit them making them even more likely to hit oncoming cars in the ares where the road may just be wide enough), they'd have to be mounted about 9" inside the pavement edge, which makes the pavement too narrow for wheelchairs, prams, etc....

My suggestion of a time limited one way or no parking was also discarded, mainly for the same reason as the problem first occurs - because people ignore it (I was only dropping off, honest... / it's only just gone 8'o clock.....)

It's a real conundrum, so much so that the county uses it as a classic interview question for their road planners.

Sounds interesting Jon - and as you say a real conundrum I don't really see why bollards and barriers can't be done on the kerb edge - thats what is done on a couple of streets near me but then I haven't seen the street in question. I would still always give preference to people over cars. There are many streets around me where with cars parked on one side there is not enough room for two cars to pass and people just about managed.

Sounds like one for a bit of creative thinking.

if you suss it, I've got the name of the council planner, he'd be glad of the idea.

Could parking bays be put in? Is the road plus the pavements wide enough 2 pavements wide enough plus a parked car plus a car each way? even in some stretches? set out parking bays with no parking stretches for cars to pass each other?

There will be an answer of some sort - it just needs to be thought of.