r/CasualUK Nov 08 '19

Selfish Parking

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830 Upvotes

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69

u/Random_Brit_ Nov 08 '19

Driver is a twat.

But also couldn't Royal Mail have turned the postbox 90 degrees facing the pavement so this would never be a problem? Or if there was a reason the postbox must face this direction, yellow lines to stop people from parking there?

134

u/ieya404 Nov 08 '19

Well, the car shouldn't be parked on the pavement anyway; the Royal Mail shouldn't have to accommodate stupidity like that.

17

u/Joshyboy28 Nov 08 '19

Nothing to stop them parking on the pavement though, that car is parked perfectly legally

31

u/valdamjong Sugar Tits Nov 08 '19

Unless they're in London, where they can be fined £70 for partially or wholly parking on the pavement or kerb. I think they're considering making it nationwide, as well. The highway code advises that you do not park on the pavement anywhere, but yeah it's not illegal outside the capital.

43

u/CatDeeleysLeftNipple Give me all the Jaffa Cakes! Nov 08 '19

I don't see that being enforced in the whole of the UK.

There's far too many towns with narrow streets and not enough off street parking. So anyone not wanting to block the road parks on the pavement.

28

u/mediocrity511 Nov 08 '19

Controversial, but I'm of the opinion if you need to choose between blocking cars from passing or blocking pedestrians from passing then there simply isn't enough room to park there.

12

u/samtheboy Nov 08 '19

Problematic that the nearest parking space would be over a mile from my house then, especially as everyone else would then have to park elsewhere.

11

u/deains Nov 08 '19

Maybe, just maybe the problem is that we have too many cars.

5

u/samtheboy Nov 08 '19

True, but also living 1 hour bus journey with great big whacking hills between my house and it does make a car somewhat necessary

-2

u/Flatcapspaintandglue Nov 08 '19

Heretic. The solution is more tarmac, just fill the land with endless plains of bitumen. Parking problem solved

7

u/Pm_me_herman_li Nov 08 '19

Theres no way the bus could fit down a street near me if the people parked either side of the street weren't on the path

2

u/Yetibike Nov 08 '19

It's not controversial in my opinion. If you block pedestrians then you can be fined. So if you can't park without blocking cars or pedestrians don't park there.

3

u/mediocrity511 Nov 08 '19

It's controversial because some car owners seem to take offense if their right to take up public space with their vehicle gets questioned.

5

u/[deleted] Nov 08 '19

its not even enforced in london either. i regularly see people parked on the pavement. cops pass by, nobody cares.

2

u/LemmysCodPiece Nov 08 '19

Unless London is different to everywhere else then parking is a civil matter and dealt with by the local authority.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 08 '19

yeah sorry i should have said enforcement people they have their own cars etc and i see them regularly.

6

u/[deleted] Nov 08 '19

If it was made nationwide no one is parking in my entire estate. Tiny narrow roads, you can't park cars along side the kerb, if its not half on the pavement no one except Micra drivers are getting through and bigger trucks / ambulances / whatever are definitely not getting through.

1

u/Joshyboy28 Nov 08 '19

That only applies to the COL. I can say with some certainty that this isn't there.

1

u/rightboobenthusiast Nov 08 '19

Will be in Scotland in a year and a bit

0

u/fsv Nov 08 '19

I never understood why that law only applies in London. It'd be great to see it applied elsewhere, too.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 08 '19

it is in some parts of Bedford. I suppose it is in several places but it's up to the local council outside London.

8

u/[deleted] Nov 08 '19

It is legal to park on the pavement, but funnily enough illegal to drive on the pavement, so how did they get onto the pavement?

Alos iirc The government is looking to make it illegal to park on the pavement everywhere in the UK punishable with a £70 fine

21

u/Joshyboy28 Nov 08 '19

I've heard that too but can't see it happening. Apart from motorways and major trunk roads, British roads are designed for horse and carriage. Parking on the pavement in areas like this give more room to traffic.

14

u/asymmetricears Nov 08 '19

I've also seen some streets where the parking spaces are marked with lines that make it clear you need to be half on half off

6

u/Mukatsukuz licence = noun, license = verb Nov 08 '19

My street has lines marked for parking which leave a passage down the middle of the road for traffic. Problem is, the passage they've left is about the width of 2/3rds of a car. There's no way anyone could drive into my street if people didn't park partially on the pavements.

7

u/[deleted] Nov 08 '19

I think there needs to be a happy medium…park on the pavement but not in a dangerous way.

I remember this one time a lady with a buggy had to walk on the road as the pavement was blocked and nearly got hit by an oncoming car

7

u/CandleJakk Still wants a Bovril flair. Nov 08 '19

Highway code dictates otherwise - this fails 2 of the three parking criteria - safe, considerate and legal. It's neither safe nor considerate. It's blocking most of the pavement, so the disable and pushchairs likely can't get passed without venturing onto the highway. It's inconsiderate for that as well as the reason in OP's image.

Should be a fine.

1

u/WillOnlyGoUp Nov 08 '19

I’ve reported a car to the police for parking on the pavement (at an angle so it’s arse was sticking out dangerously). Police said it was fine.

3

u/thewindburner Nov 08 '19

Depends I'm not entirely sure if it is legal to park on footpath, you're blocking access for disabled and mothers with prams, there's been a bit of news coverage recently about council's clamping down on it. (depends on the area)

2

u/[deleted] Nov 08 '19

Fathers with prams too.

2

u/thewindburner Nov 08 '19 edited Nov 08 '19

Whoops, that's my personal bias showing, I live near a school and it's 95% woman with prams, so that's what I pictured when I thought of prams.

But you're right, apologies to fathers with prams! And any other pram pushers!

1

u/Joshyboy28 Nov 08 '19

It's certainly not illegal though I'm afraid. Just ignorant.

1

u/BoiledEggOnToast Nov 08 '19

It’s against the law to block a postbox from being accessed from a postman!

2

u/Joshyboy28 Nov 08 '19

No it isn't. It's a dick move but not against the law. The local council need to make enquiries with DVLA and issue a notice to the registered owner to move their vehicle. The police certainly wouldn't have any powers over this.

16

u/BoiledEggOnToast Nov 08 '19

Post Office Act 1908

67.1

If any person wilfully obstructs, or incites anyone to obstruct, an officer of the Post Office in the execution of his duty, or whilst in any post office, or within any premises belonging to any post office or used therewith, obstructs the course of business of the Post Office, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding forty shillings.

I’d argue it’s obstructing an officer of the post office in the execution of his duty. Forty Shillings please.

3

u/Joshyboy28 Nov 08 '19

Interesting read, but wasn't this whole act repealed?

3

u/ieya404 Nov 08 '19

From the Postal Services Act 2000:

84 Interfering with the mail: general.

(1)A person commits an offence if, without reasonable excuse, he—

(a)intentionally delays or opens a postal packet in the course of its transmission by post, or

(...)

(5)A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (3) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.

Assuming that you accept the argument that blocking in a postbox constitutes intentionally delaying postal packets, that could be an unlimited fine and six months in jail :)

2

u/[deleted] Nov 08 '19

Only if you can prove they done it intentionally, which I doubt.

3

u/Chartax all cats are beautiful Nov 08 '19 edited Nov 08 '24

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4

u/Millsters Nov 08 '19

40 shillings is £2

3

u/The_Scrunt Yer maw's got Coronavirus. Nov 08 '19

£2 in 1908 is around £240 in today's money.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 08 '19

As of 2017, £2 would be £228.70 so I would think you're almost spot on.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 08 '19

I don't think fines are issued accounting for inflation. There's certainly no legal precedent I can find.

If a 1985 law said £200, would they account for inflation when issuing?

1

u/The_Scrunt Yer maw's got Coronavirus. Nov 08 '19

If the law was regularly upheld, I'm sure the fine would be reviewed on a regular basis. I'm pretty sure if somebody was to be charged under this particular piece of legislation, they wouldn't actually be fined 40 shillings, but a remuneration more fitting of the offence. £240 sounds about right for obstructing a post box with your shitty parking.

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3

u/[deleted] Nov 08 '19

[deleted]

4

u/ylime161 Nov 08 '19

That’s very good to know! My neighbour often parks their car fully on the pavement (even though they have a driveway) and I can’t get my wheelchair around it most of the time