Bad parking is a big bugbear with drivers in Glasgow, with many motorists making it a little harder for the rest of us just trying to go about our days.
But when that dodgy parking is literally outside your front door, it gets that little bit more personal.
Somerset Live reports that it is a legally grey area trying to force a vehicle that has parked on or across your driveway to move on.
What you should know if someone parks on your driveway
A homeowner has no special legal right to park directly outside their property. All road users are entitled to park anywhere along a public highway providing there are no parking restrictions already in place, such as resident's permits and yellow lines.
People won't be breaking the law as long as they're complying with general restrictions, and not causing obstructions to vehicles travelling. So, if your driveway is empty, this is not viewed as an offence.
What's more, a vehicle can remain parked in the same space on a road unless it is thought to be abandoned. In this situation it can be removed by police.
If you try and take the law into your own hands and lay cones on the road outside your driveway there's a chance you could be prosecuted.
The same goes for if you block someone in that has parked outside your driveway – if you're causing an obstruction on the public highway the owner of the blocked vehicle could call the police on you.
If you're infuriated enough to start vandalising a car that has blocked you in your driveway you're also very likely to be prosecuted for this.
Of course, if a vehicle has been parked on your private driveway without permission, the owner would be trespassing.
If a car is parked across your driveway, ask neighbours if they know who the owner is. You can also take a note of the registration plate and call Police Scotland on 101.
As it is a civil not a criminal offence the police would not necessarily get involved . An officer may be sent to try and determine the owner of the vehicle to get them to move.
Charlotte Dixon, solicitor at DAS Law told Mirror Online : "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.
"The Highway Code can only help if the parked car is causing an obstruction to the road but not in relation to private land.
"One option that’s available is to pursue a legal claim for nuisance on the grounds that the driver is interfering with your use and enjoyment of your property – but to do so you’d need to know the identity of the offending vehicle’s driver."
Whre highway code says you CAN'T 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 or 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.
Section 240 says that you should not stop here:
- The carriageway or the hard shoulder of a motorway except in an emergency
- A pedestrian crossing, including the area marked by the zig-zag lines
- A clearway
- Taxi bays as indicated by upright signs and markings
- An Urban Clearway within its hours of operation, except to pick up or set down passengers
- A road marked with double white lines, even when a broken white line is on your side of the road, except to pick up or set down passengers, or to load or unload goods
- A tram or cycle lane during its period of operation
- A cycle track
- Red lines, in the case of specially designated 'red routes', unless otherwise indicated by signs. Any vehicle may enter a bus lane to stop, load or unload where this is not prohibited.
