Works van blocking drive - sort of. Help

[homerthegrea]

I need some help and advice, my parents live in a semi with a drive although it has no dropped path for access you need to go over the curb, the problem is the man over the road, he has a drive with dropped path where he parks his car but every night and weekend and brings home a works van and parks it half on the road half on the path most of the time (the rest of the time it is all on the road) directly opposite my parents drive, but not obscuring his is any way. My father has great difficulty getting on and off his drive and he has to come and go at difficult angles. does anybody know anything that can be done about this, i thought there was a law that said if you brought a works van home it could not be kept on a public road. We have tried talking to him but to no avail, sometimes if the van is not there my father will park on the road but because of this the van drivers wife now parks her car on the road and then 2 minutes before he returns she puts it on the drive so he can park the van (he must phone to say he'll be home in a minute) it is now at the point of being un funny and costing my dad a fortune in tires. Please any help would be great. TIA.

[Ethel]

As your parents do not have the 'council approved' dropped kerb (you have to apply for permission) the fact is that they are committing the offence of driving on the footpath every time they drive on or off their drive.

And the fact is that nobody has the right to park outside their homes (unless there is a residents parking permit scheme in place) and everyone has the right to park anywhere on the road where there is no parking restriction in force, unless they are causing an obstruction.

Your parents cannot complain that he is blocking their drive, because the reality isthey don't have one. They just have a paved front garden.

Any vehicle that has proper road fund licence can be parked on the highway, provided there is no height/weight/width limit that restricts its access.

[Electrochem]

Contrary to the first answer, you cannot just park anywhere on the highway.

Unless you park in a designated parking place, it is an offence. Ask anyone who works for public highways.

Sadly no-one seems to have regard for any other road users today; it is "dog eat dog"

A dropped kerb does not give you any more rights.

If the van is parked with any of its wheels on the kerb I would consider informing the local police.

Is it near a junction? There are limits on parking near junctions and the police will advise you on this, as they will regarding which vehicles must display lights at night when parked on the highway.

I have terrible problems where I live with idiots who park their cars about a foot off the kerb as if they have abandonded them rather than parked them. There have been occasions when emergency vehicles have not been able to get down the road or turn a corner.

Good luck with your cause. Keep us posted.