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Original poster

Drives that don't actually have drop kerbs

26 replies

ThomCat · 29/11/2005 10:53

I work in serviced offices in a residential area and as such the parking situation in the morning can be nightmarish. I often think I've found a spot only to discover that although the kerb is well and truly present, the house infront of the said kerb has a driveway.

This morning I parked the car alongside the kerb, got out, and once again noticed that this house had a drive. There was no car in the 'drive' and as I was late, feeling like I was going to be sick and just couldn't bear the thought of getting back in the car and driving round and round again, I left my car where it was.

Is this wrong or do I have every right to park there as it's not a proper drive?

Opinions please.

OP posts:
Tommy · 29/11/2005 11:00

I think I am right in thinking, like you, unless it has a dropped kerb, you can park there. Any notices and signs are not actually legal

hunkermunker · 29/11/2005 11:00

I think it's OK if there's no dropped kerb, even if there's a driveway (unlike ours that has a dropped kerb but looks like a war zone...well done for navigating that on Saturday night in the dark!).

Sorry you're feeling sick - hope you're OK now. Not long till you're off work x x x

Original poster
ThomCat · 29/11/2005 11:02

I wouldn't have done it if there was a car in the drive, but as it was empty and I was wretching into a tissue I though '*'!

OP posts:
pooka · 29/11/2005 13:45

Thomcat- think that unless there is a dropped kerb it is actually an offence under the highways act to drive over the pavement (can damage the kerb and unless the pavement has been properly reinforced can also damage the paving slabs). So you would be OK to park there -notsure whether the owners would agree

deegward · 29/11/2005 13:50

Thomcat, i think from other threads that you can block someone OUT of their drive, but can't block them IN. So you will be OK. Hope you feel better soon.

deegward · 29/11/2005 13:50

Thomcat, i think from other threads that you can block someone OUT of their drive, but can't block them IN. So you will be OK. Hope you feel better soon.

skinnycow · 29/11/2005 13:51

you can park anywhere as long as there is no dropped kerb although on my road people seem to overlook dropped kerbs anyhow!

moschops · 29/11/2005 15:10

we were told by the police that even a dropped kerb doesn't mean there is a parking restriction........it's the lines on the road which dictate the type of parking allowed.

we used to have a normal kerb at the top of our drive and had to ask the council to fit a drop kerb, but we were informed if we wanted the drive kept clear we had to ask the council/highways department to put a solid white line on the road to indicate no parking.

never stopped people blocking us in though!!!!

MerlinsBeard · 29/11/2005 15:23

i wouldn't park tehre out of politeness, its one of those unsaid things isn't it? especially seeing as u said there was no where else to park...would u like it if u hgad to park miles away from ur house in thos weather!!

BUT i can't drive and seeing as u were retching and they weren't in anyway.....

Caligyulea · 29/11/2005 15:26

Even a dropped kerb doesn't mean you can't park there as long as you're not blocking someone in. Only road markings indicated permananet parking restrictions.

No-one's ever been so polite to me as to refrain from parking outside my house.

Original poster
ThomCat · 29/11/2005 15:55

Wow, I didn't realise that you could park there, legally, even if there was a dropped kerb. Morally I wouldn't/couldn't and would never have blocked anyone in, not in a million years but feel much better about where I parked now. I'll still leave pronto and get the car gone asap.

OP posts:
noddyholder · 29/11/2005 15:58

What if there is a garage at the end of the drive?

iota · 29/11/2005 16:12

I'd be really dischuffed if I came back from doing the school run and found that someone had blocked me from parking in my drive -- and were there for the whole day

Original poster
ThomCat · 29/11/2005 16:18

Nioddyholder - there's no garage at the end of this drive, it's a terraced house with a tarmaced front garden and then a grass verge and a normal kerb.
And Iota, you may well be disgruntled but it would be tough really wouldn't it! I'm totally within my rights to park there. If they had paid out and had a proper droped kerb I would never have even considered parking there, but again even if they had a dropped kerb, I could legally still park there. i wouldn't, but I could.
And tbh, if they camne home and wanted to get onto their fake drive (!) they would know it was someone who worked in the serviced offices and report my registration to reception who'd tannoy the registration number out and I'd go and move it.

OP posts:
hana · 29/11/2005 16:38

you need planning permission from your council and the legal papers etc for a front drive way, and the curb needs to be dropped. Councils are approving them less and less
I would have parked there

Original poster
ThomCat · 29/11/2005 16:45

I don't feel great about it, and if it was my house I'd be annoyed, but it isn't really a drive at all if they don't do the dropped kerb thing and they really don't have a case against anyone parking there.

Anyway, it's been interesting reading your posts about it.

I actually expected it to kick off a bit on this thread. No-one's called me all teh names under the sun for parking there at all, in fact I've had support, which is nice

OP posts:
twirlaround · 29/11/2005 16:50

Whatever the rights and wrongs I would be worried about what a pissed off owner of the driveway might do to me or my car

Original poster
ThomCat · 29/11/2005 17:00

Well he doesn't actually own a driveway, is probably at work all day like me and if there is any damage to my car i'll knock on his door and ask if he knows anything about it. But I'm really not worried about that tbh.

OP posts:
HandbagAddiction · 29/11/2005 17:03

Thomcat - we have a drive way and a garage at the top - the dropped kerb is only enough for a single car and is right in the middle, i.e. the overall width of the driveway is wider than the dropped kerbs - we just haven't bothered to ask the council to widden the dropped bit. Given that parking is quite difficult down our road, we regularly get people parking across the drive up to where the kerb drops - so essentially leaving us with a narrow gap to get the cars in and out. A pain in the a**e but completely legal from the perspective of the people parknig their cars.

We also have a woman who (because she can't be bothered to walk very far) parks her whole car up on the pavement - so everyone including the wheelchair user who leaves at the end of the road has to walk/wheel themselves into the road to get past her. She even has a garage which faces directly onto the road so completely useless - but then most of the other neighbours have knocked down their garages and create off orad space instead.....but our complaints against her are a whole other story.

Original poster
ThomCat · 29/11/2005 17:11

I can understand how bloody annoying and horrid that is for you, i really can. Like I say, I don't feel great about having parked where I did, but essentially all I have done is park in front of their terraced house. No garage to side. There will be one that I know to be accessible from the alleyway further down the road.

OP posts:
HandbagAddiction · 29/11/2005 17:14

Oh - wasn't intending to make you feel bad about it - just trying to point out that legally, these people can't do anything about it as their kerbs are not dropped - so you just continue to park wherever you like!!!

Original poster
ThomCat · 29/11/2005 17:16

I know you weren't hon', I was just sympathising with you, it really must be a massive pain for you.

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 29/11/2005 17:19

TC, have you not spotted Twiglett's thread with your name on it?

iota · 29/11/2005 17:26

how do you know that it was a man out at work all day?

How about it was a mother with a young baby and a toddler, who had just got a dozen bags of shopping from the supermarket and couldn't find anywhere to park in her own street yet alone her own driveway.

I could just imagine the commments if someone on MN started a thread about that situation - -especially bearing in mind how heated people get about P&T parking.

Not having a go BTW, just looking at it from another perspective

Blandmum · 29/11/2005 17:29

wasn't there a big whoo haaa thread about this not so long ago?????