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Original poster

Dropped kerbs

37 replies

Laffinalltheway · 27/03/2019 15:03

Anyone know the rules about parking over dropped kerbs, or is it a Local Authority thing?
Does the owner of the dropped kerb have the right to park across it, with or without a car being parked on the drive itself. Someone told me you are not allowed to park across a dropped kerb if there is a car already parked on the drive. The reasoning behind this is supposedly because if the car parked across the dropped car failed to start then the car on the drive couldn't be moved in case of fire or other emergencies. Bit of a worse case scenario but there's health and safety for you.
Just seems a bit unfair that if the dropped kerb owner can legally park across their own kerb they essentially have an extra parking space when it is actually part of the public highway.
Just to be clear, there are no yellow lines, residential bays or other parking restrictions involved.

OP posts:
Fettfrett · 27/03/2019 17:10

You aren't allowed to park across a driveway if you're blocking someone from exiting the drive. There is technically no law against parking across a driveway if the drive is empty but you'd have to be a complete dick to do it.

I don't see how it's unfair for driveway owners to park across their own dropped kerb? Surely if they didn't they'd be parking elsewhere on the street and taking up another space, which would be worse than parking across their own dropped kerb?

Fettfrett · 27/03/2019 17:11

I should add that you'd be a dick to park across someone else's dropped kerb, not your own.

needsleepzzz · 27/03/2019 17:13

I thought you weren't allowed to park across a drive with or without a car on it? Following as about to have a drive put in in the coming months!

nerfertiti · 27/03/2019 17:22

This reply has been deleted

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Idratherhaveacupoftea · 27/03/2019 17:31

It actually isn't against the law to park over someone's drive even if their car is on the drive. I've just read this in our local newspaper. The Highway Code says you shouldn't, but it's not illegal.

Original poster
Laffinalltheway · 28/03/2019 07:46

So there doesn't appear to be anything concrete...
For the record, I would never park across anyone's drive.

Fettfrett: "I don't see how it's unfair for driveway owners to park across their own dropped kerb? Surely if they didn't they'd be parking elsewhere on the street and taking up another space, which would be worse than parking across their own dropped kerb?"

And what if there were no other spaces, surely having a 'reserved' space across your own dropped kerb is a tad unfair.

OP posts:
Original poster
Laffinalltheway · 28/03/2019 07:48

And what if there were no other spaces, surely having a 'reserved' space across your own dropped kerb is a tad unfair.

On the public highway...

OP posts:
HexagonalBattenburg · 28/03/2019 08:10

Our neighbour seems to have dropped his just as a way of dibsing a bit of the street to park on. You can't actually physically fit a car on what he claims is his paved "drive" unless you drive across other people's gardens to get it on there... so basically he does have the kerb dropped just to claim the bit of road outside his house as his parking space and woe betide any delivery driver or anything who puts a wheel alongside his kerb for a split second because he'll be out there to snarl at you "dropped kerb, can't park there luv"

neddle · 28/03/2019 08:16

And what if there were no other spaces, surely having a 'reserved' space across your own dropped kerb is a tad unfair.

That’s one of the reasons I paid over £1k to have my kerb dropped.

We park our car on the drive and our van on the road. Spaces are hard to find in the evenings, so if there’s nowhere else, we can park across the dropped kerb.

Biancadelrioisback · 28/03/2019 08:17

I always park across my dropped kerb. Didn't realise that my car wouldn't fit on my driveway. My view is I'm not taking away a space from other people as they couldn't park there anyway if my car was on the drive. I could be a dick and park further up and take a space that someone else could use while my drive and dropped kerb remain un-parked on

Littlebelina · 28/03/2019 08:23

Same as Bianca. In our case the car fits but we can't get kids in and out of car seats. Also we get issue with folks parking over part of the drop curve which means we struggle to get the car off ( as drive is at an angle). So we park both cars over the drop kerb to stop this. We do park one car on the drive if we aren't going to use it for a while and are looking into ways to get the drive extended so we can get on and off more easily but it's not a quick job

WBWIFE · 28/03/2019 08:28

You are allowed to park across your OWN dropped kerb blocking your own cars in.

Your not supposed to park across anyone else's drives blocking in their cara on the drive, dropped kerb or not.

Don't know why it's unfair to have a 'reserved space' as you call it, when I paid 1k to have the kerb dropped in the first place!

nometal · 28/03/2019 08:28

"It actually isn't against the law to park over someone's drive even if their car is on the drive. I've just read this in our local newspaper. The Highway Code says you shouldn't, but it's not illegal."

Parking over someone's drive isn't a specific criminal offence. However, obstructing the highway is, and that is the what you could be charged with if you deny somebody else access to the public highway by blocking their car in on their drive.

It doesn't work the other way round when you return home and find access to your private drive blocked because you are already on the public highway and no offence has been committed.

I had this issue few years ago with a "dick" neighbour and it got quite heated. I asked a policeman friend for advice and he kindly came round and mediated.

nometal · 28/03/2019 08:31

Apologies, for the extra words (is the) mid-sentence in the above post. My iPad keyboard becomes virtually unusable when trying to post on Mumsnet. Fine for everything else.

HotpotLawyer · 28/03/2019 08:39

My bugbear in our road is people who lwho don’t use and don’t park across their own drives

And now everyone is up in arms and these very same people are clamouring for a CPZ . And when it is implemented all those of us without drives will have to pay and all those with drives will suddenly start to use them to avoid paying.

MadisonAvenue · 28/03/2019 08:40

Hexagonal that’s interesting re the fact that he can’t fit a car onto the paved area. We widened our drive to take another car but the council refused permission to extend the existing dropped kerb as the new part of the drive wasn’t long enough, by around 4cm, for a car to be parked at 90deg to the road without causing a 4cm obstruction of the footpath and they said that parking parallel to the footpath isn’t allowed. As it is, the existing dropped kerb can still easily be used to access the new part and the car using it parks parallel to the footpath.

Incidentally, we live on a small cul de sac where some people park with all four wheels on the footpath, blocking it fully.

Original poster
Laffinalltheway · 28/03/2019 08:56

WBWIFE - Don't know why it's unfair to have a 'reserved space' as you call it, when I paid 1k to have the kerb dropped in the first place!

  • Because you are reserving a space on the public highway. Your ownership ends kerbside, not on the public highway.
OP posts:
Original poster
Laffinalltheway · 28/03/2019 08:58

neddle - That’s one of the reasons I paid over £1k to have my kerb dropped

Not trying to start an argument here, but going by your statement above, does that mean you think you have purchased the piece of the public highway directly outside your house for £1K?

OP posts:
WBWIFE · 28/03/2019 09:26

I still do not understand your point, I don't park over my dropped kerb btw as my drive is large enough for 3 cars, but either way when my car is parked on the drive others aren't supposed to park over it anyway..

So either way makes no odds to me.

Original poster
Laffinalltheway · 28/03/2019 09:37

WBWIFE I still do not understand your point, I don't park over my dropped kerb btw as my drive is large enough for 3 cars, but either way when my car is parked on the drive others aren't supposed to park over it anyway..

What I'm trying to say, probably not very well, is that by parking over your dropped kerb, you are acting entitled to park there but no one else can even though it's the public highway, and I'm not talking about blocking you in.
The fairer way would be that there be no parking over dropped kerbs on the public highway at all, regardless of whether it's your dropped kerb or not. It's the way people think that it's a reserved space for them, their family, their visitors etc. that bugs me.

OP posts:
BlackSatinDancer · 28/03/2019 09:40

I'dratherhaveacupoftea
There isn't a specific law against it but I think obstruction to the public highway could be used.

TheBrilloPad · 28/03/2019 09:49

But your argument just seems silly OP.

What you are saying is if you can't park across someone's dropped kerb (rightly so), then no-one should be able to park across it? And that you would prefer it remain empty rather than have the home owner use it?

It just seems petty. I think it makes sense for them to park there- it doesn't block anyone in (except themselves), and saves them parking elsewhere/on other streets etc taking up other spaces. Makes perfect sense.

ChicCroissant · 28/03/2019 09:50

I would check your local Council website, some councils will take action against it (parking across a dropped kerb) and others won't - ours comes under 'wilful obstruction of driveway' and the Police can ticket if you cannot leave (or access) your drive. The rest of the parking issues are covered under civil law now, not criminal but that is one thing the Police can still issue a ticket for.

Because of parking issues locally, our roads have double yellow lines which are in force for a set number of hours per day and they run down the roads and across the dropped kerbs/drives (yes, this was necessary with the way people park unbelievably!) and two people applied to not have yellow lines across their drive so they could use it as a space.

sidesplittinglol · 28/03/2019 11:47

.

Dropped kerbs
WBWIFE · 28/03/2019 14:23

Would you rather them take up a space elsewhere on the road that is probably limited for spaces, hence the need for a drive and dropped kerb?

Interesting @sidepslittinglol