Highway Code Loophole Means People Can Legally Block Your Driveway

If you’re lucky enough to have a driveway outside your house, then maybe you’ve been unlucky enough to return home to find someone blocking it with their car, or even blocking you in.

There was also a viral video circulating recently that showed a young couple moving into their new home to discover that someone else claimed to have an ‘arrangement’ with the previous homeowners to park on their driveway.

She expected that agreement to continue on further with the new incumbents, whilst they strenuously disagreed.

Unfortunately, according to the Highway Code, the people moving in couldn’t even have called the police to get her to move, so long as she was parked legally.

It’s worth pointing out at this stage that the Highway Code has things that you ‘MUST NOT’ do and things that you ‘DO NOT’ do.

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There is a difference between those two things, for sure.

Some things are legally binding, and others aren’t, basically.

Now, Rule 243 covering parking states that you shouldn’t ‘stop in front of an entrance to a property’.

However, it’s only against the law if you’re blocking or obstructing the road.

A solicitor called Charlotte Dixon told Mirror Online: "The Highway Code can only help if the parked car is causing an obstruction to the road but not in relation to private land."

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That means that someone could block your driveway or even park on it and the authorities can’t do a thing about it because it’s private property.

Bad news if you’ve got someone doing just that.

If the car has an up-to-date MOT, is insured and taxed, there’s basically nothing you can do other than to appeal to the parker’s better nature.

If the cops think it has been abandoned, you can get the police involved, but – if not – you’re on your own.

Dixon added: "The first step with any anti-social parking problem is to contact your local authority or the police; however there is little the law can do to support home owners – even if a car blocks your driveway."

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The Metropolitan Police advise: "If someone has blocked your driveway so you can't drive in, we appreciate this can be very frustrating.

"If you can find the owner of the vehicle, we'd first recommend asking them politely to move it. If you can't find them, try leaving a note on their windscreen. After all, they may not realise they have caused a problem."

Beyond that, they can’t help on private property.

In it’s entirety, Rule 243 reads:

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

·      opposite or within 10 metres (32 feet) of a junction, except in an authorised parking space

·      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

·      in front of an entrance to a property

·      on a bend

·      where you would obstruct cyclists’ use of cycle facilities

except when forced to do so by stationary traffic.

LADbible has contacted the Department for Transport for a comment.