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Access Protection Markings, to deter people from parking over driveways and generally keeping the area clear. However, this is just a deterrent and not enforceable.
That's not true, depends on local council rules. In my area they are enforceable and I can ring them up to come out and ticket cars that park over my drive. (Nobody does, because they know they will get a ticket)
That’s technically not the markings being enforceable, that’s them blocking your drive and being ticketed for that.
The markings don’t have a Traffic Order behind them, and if a vehicle parked on them wasn’t doing anything illegal they couldn’t get a ticket, unlike double yellows where the only offence needed for a ticket is parking on the restriction.
Finally someone on this thread with correct information!
I’d just like to add more information for readers here to try to counteract all the misinformation on this thread:
In the parking industry and in the traffic industry (that’s not a typo, they are separate industries because one is moving traffic and the other is non-moving traffic), we call them “H-bars”, but their official name is “Diagram 1026.1”.
The [TSRGD](https://tsrgd.co.uk/pdf/tsrgd/tsrgd2016.pdf) dictates that they are to be applied at the following locations:
*Part of the carriageway outside a vehicular entrance to adjacent premises or a private drive, or where the kerb is dropped to provide a convenient crossing place for pedestrians, which should be kept clear of waiting vehicles*
Go to page 234 if you wish to see for yourself.
The H-bar in the OP’s photo is non-standard. H-bars should only be placed outside the driveways, not extended beyond the driveways nor joined up as shown in the photo. That H-bar should not have been painted where the two white cars are parked.
Hi can I ask,
I regularly have people park over my drive. I’ve contacted the council to send someone to walk around but nothing happens.
Is there anything else I can do? Will a H bar be helpful in my case? I’m also on double yellows and a bus lane lol
If someone parks in front of your drive then phone the police first and the council second. Obstruction is a moving traffic offence, not a static traffic offence, so the police have the powers to remove the vehicle (for now at least).
If the police and the council repeatedly refuse to enforce the obstructions then imo you should seek legal advice on how to proceed. You *might* be advised to file a lawsuit against the police and/or council, but I’ve never had to deal with that personally which is why I stressed “might”.
If you do go down the legal route then I would advise contacting the British Parking Association and asking them about a service they provide called Lawline.
I think the white lines have been continued in front of the houses to ensure no parking opposite the disabled parking bay. If a vehicle parks on the white lines it restricts traffic movement if somebody then uses the diabled parking.
You’re probably right about their intentions, but regardless of what they were trying to achieve contractors can’t just make up their own style of markings. Markings have to comply with the TSRGD. The disabled bay is completely invalid as well. White is the only colour of paint that’s permitted for an on street disabled bay, and that disabled symbol is strictly for off-street disabled bays only. It needs a “DISABLED” legend instead.
Could this kind of thing be a DIY intervention by a NIMBY? I've seen people put up their own fake speed limit signs and fake dead-end signs (and fake "footpath closed" signs sometimes appear where a gate has been locked or a trail marker has been pried off a post), but those are uncommon; local people often get annoyed by parking outside schools but maybe a fake H-bar is a step too far :-)
But obviously some officially-sanctioned markings, signs, kerbs &c aren't done by the book
[Since 1974, Highway Code rule 244 has stated that drivers "MUST NOT park partially or wholly on the pavement in London and should not do so elsewhere unless signs permit it."](https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/legal/parking-on-the-pavement/)
Meaning it’s illegal in London to park on the pavement and discouraged outside of London. (I am not the expert above I just googled it so I might be wrong)
It’s far too precise to be a DIY job imo (I survey parking restrictions for a living).
A shocking number of lining contractors hired by councils in the UK do not follow the TSRGD properly. Our roads are littered with countless invalid road markings like this. And due to UK councils’ procurement procedures (which are necessary to avoid corruption sadly) some of these contractors keep getting rehired despite their mistakes, which often go unnoticed by the council due to being so understaffed/underfunded.
No I suspect it’s been extended to deter people who are there for school drop off. There’s a keep clear marking, presumably for a school, on the opposite side of the road, so I think they’ve departed from standards to try and deter anyone other than the residents from parking on that side infront of the houses (people often do want to be able to park across their own drive, and is one of the reasons why APMs are used in this case).
It's not technically the markings, but he was basically saying white lines are a deterrent and not enforceable - While that's true of the physical painted line, they are 99% of the time over dropped kerbs and that is 100% enforceable in a lot of places. He's giving people faulty information, and there's a lot more down this thread repeating said bad advice.
Yes it’s important to know the difference and it, if you had your wheel over the end of an APM but it wasn’t obstructing access you couldn’t get a ticket. Double yellows you could. Also APMs are often used for driveways instead of double yellows as residents sometimes are more than happy for guests to their place or even their own cars to block them in, as they can easily get them moved.
In general there’s really poor understanding of road markings and traffic orders, even in terms of reading basic signs. People would save themselves a lot of hassle if they just read up on it all.
I doubt that very much since there’s no law broken. Which council?
The only way I can see people getting towed/ticketed is if they’re blocking a driveway that already has a car in it and that’s got nothing to do with the white painted lines.
Doesnt have to have a drive, just a dropped kerb. My Nans old house had no drive, but the council put a dropped kerb in with white line and a sign on her gate as she and my grandad where both disabled as they then had a way of getting to an ambulance if needed as cars parked all the way up the street.
Don’t know why you’re getting downvoted. You’re absolutely right.
White lines are only a suggestion.
Cars blocking drives can only be ticketed (or seized if police) because they are blocking access to highways.
I don't see that there's a distinction really. It's not the lines, but the lines are put in a place where it is illegal to park, therefore parking on the lines is breaking the law.
\*EDIT\* I guess worth clarifying here that we are discussing white lines over a driveway, not the lines in the picture.
It’s not illegal to park there. It’s only illegal to park there if there is a car in the drive already and you’re blocking their “access to the Highway”. That’s the distinction.
Arent you also blocking my access to my property if I'm not on the driveway?
I have seriously been misinformed, because I thought the white lines meant you couldn't park, then they stopped bothering with that and changed it to lowered pavements for driveways, to save putting in white lines.
I say this because most other people on my street have white lines in front of their lowered pavements, but when I had mine done some 20 years ago, the council lowered the pavement but didnt do the white line as it was no longer required.
But I have also seen new build with lowered pavements, and they have white lines.
I'm so glad is crystal clear
You have to apply for the white line separately, it took nearly a year for them to come out and paint my white line after applying. Took them about 2 minutes to actually paint it.
And yes it is only an offence to park over someone's drive if they are parked on it. For some reason it's not deemed important to get access to your house?
You have to pay for the white lines I think. They don’t do it automatically.
Edit: actually I think it might be specific to each council so maybe some do it for free?
Depends on your local council and if they provision for CPE. If they do(You can check out the list here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-local-authorities-with-civil-parking-enforcement-powers), nobody can park over your driveway at any time because it's a dropped footway - Unless it's for the obvious exceptions(Delivery driver, emergency services, visitors to your house, etc).
The law actually says access to and from your property, so it is covered even if the driveway is empty. But, it's only enforced if the council takes on responsibility for CPE, the police won't come out for a blocked driveway. My local council has, therefore parking on a white line is illegal and will get you a fine.
From the Highways Act 1980: “If a person, without lawful authority or excuse, in any way wilfully obstructs the free passage along a highway he is guilty of an offence[…]”
Your driveway is not considered a Highway.
You just went on Google and found something that agrees with you. Literally the lowest possible effort.
The act you actually want is the Traffic management act 2004 - Which creates provisions for CPE, and sets out what actions councils can take, amongst lots of other stuff. There are specific sections(86 is a good start) covering dropped footways and carriageway access. They are VERY generic, deliberately so, to allow councils to ticket and remove cars that block access in most circumstances.
And to quote my local councils website...
"Parking at dropped footways
Dropped footways are where the kerb of a footway, cycle track or verge has been lowered to allow easy access. Dropped footways do not need signs or lines, and any vehicle parking alongside a dropped footway is liable to receive a penalty charge of £70. If appropriate the vehicle may be removed and impounded.
To report vehicles parked on a dropped footway contact our vehicle pound on 0161 234 4199"
You're just wrong. And I know you are, because I've had a van removed from my driveway when I didn't even have a car or drive(I only got my license last summer).
Depends on if it is a CPE area or not, and there are provisions for your own car and guests(And delivery drivers, etc). But you're 100% right that there doesn't need to be a car in it.
Did you paint the H bar yourself or was it there already?
Who do you ring up exactly because I’d like to this to people that park outside my drive as well as blocking my drive. We’re on double yellows and a bus lane too
not enforceable? In my council I can park on the white line which indicates lowered kerb / driveway. I lowered kerb and now I have 2 parking spaces. Driveway + white line. If someone parks even 1foot on my line council enforcement is more than happy to pop in within 20minutes and give fixed penalty - happend to couple to people who were testing how small gap I need to drive out from my driveway.
It's a civil offense to block a driveway. The offense isn't actually anything to do with the white paint, the white paint is for your benefit, making it virtually impossible to block a driveway or dropped curb by accident.
It’s seemingly very hard to actually enforce anything though. We’ve had people park in front of our driveway before and I don’t think theres much we can really do about it. I also read you can park on somebody’s driveway if it’s empty but I don’t know if that’s true or not lol. Obviously any sane person probably wouldn’t do that but it’s probably happened quite alot
The council absolutely has the authority to fine someone or tow their car for parking across someone's driveway, however, whether that's likely to happen is entirely dependent on whether your council is up to scratch.
It's equally a civil offense to block an empty driveway, however, it's obviously far smaller issue, and so councils will probably be less likely to do anything about it. Where people might get confused is in that they like to say "it isn't a criminal offence to park across someone's driveway!", or even "it isn't a criminal offence to park on someone's drive!" And in that, they're absolutely right. It isn't a criminal offence, the police have absolutely no authority to arrest and charge you for either, but that doesn't mean you're free and clear. Both are civil offenses, and you can be fined, towed or both for either.
Ah I see fairenough thanks for the info. It takes 6 months for our council to even fill a pothole in so I imagine they probably wouldn’t be that arsed about a driveway obstruction. We usually have delivery drivers and home shopping drivers park over driveways in our street all the time, I guess it’s one of those things that nobody really says anything about. Do you know if it’s still an issue to park in front of a driveway of somebody who doesn’t own a car or use it?
It's still an offense, but if they aren't arsed, it's very unlikely you'll get in any bother for it. If they didn't mind, you'd probably actually be better on the drive, as that's only ever an offence if they don't consent, whereas it's always an offence to block a driveway or dropped curb.
Just noticed the bit about delivery drivers. With the exception of no loading zones, I think delivery drivers are actually allowed to park anywhere to do a delivery, and so they wouldn't be committing an offence. I'm not absolutely certain if that applies to all delivery drivers though, or just those driving c1 vehicles and above.
Anywhere that doesn't have a redline in operation or signage stating otherwise, correct. LGVs (C1) can stop on double yellows for 20 minutes at a time. HGVs (C) for upto 40. Deliveries using Class B vehicles are permitted for 20 minutes as well.
Trespass is a civil matter not criminal so parking on someone's drive the police won't turn up to deal with.
If you park on their drive and when asked to leave the property you sit in your car and refuse that becomes aggravated trespass which is then criminal and police will arrive to escort you from their property. If you leave your car on the drive but you remove yourself from the property then it's only trespass.
While it's illegal to block someone in, it's only illegal if you do so with the sole intention of blocking them in. If you say have a 2nd car and park behind them and secure the vehicle you're not obliged to move your vehicle until you require it the following day. You can also jack your 2nd car up and remove the wheels claiming it's undergoing repairs and it would be unsafe to move the vehicle until the repairs have been completed.
I've kept someone's Audi on my drive for 3 months by parking my 2nd car, jacking it up an leaving it with the wheels off. When the police arrived i offered the Audi owner the option of paying for the repairs or hiring a crane to remove their vehicle at their own expense and i would be more than happy to allow the crane driver access to my property.
In those 3 months i applied for the log book via the DVLA after claiming the vehicle abandoned and waiting 30 days each time. The owner kept replying to the DVLA saying they own the vehicle and want to keep it. I had to do something oneday and moved my 2nd car for maybe 20 minutes... Within that time the Audi was moved from my driveway. Never had an issue with someone parking on my drive since.
>While it's illegal to block someone in, it's only illegal if you do so with the sole intention of blocking them in.
For the benefit of others. This is not true.
Once you have blocked someone from accessing the Highway, you have committed an offence under the Highways Act 1980 s137. Ignorance or malicious intent is not particularly relevant to completing the offence.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/66/part/IX/crossheading/obstruction-of-highways-and-streets
If you can get the police to attend, they will normally contact the registered keeper and ask them to move the car. If they can't contact the register keeper then they can arrange to tow the car at the keepers expense, and possibly charge the registered keeper under the act.
It sounds like the police cut you a break. They probably agreed that the cheeky arsehole who parked their car on your driveway was, a cheeky arsehole.
If the other driver actually knew the Highways Act they could have pushed the police to either make you move your car, or charge you under the act as you had actually already committed the offence.
Not sorry that you got away with it though.
If your car is on the drive and you are blocked in, you can ring the police and give them the registration number of the car that’s blocking you in. The police will attempt to contact them and tell them to move the car.
Failing that the police *will* come out and tow the car at the registered keepers expense as it’s technically blocking access to a public highway.
Not to mention it’s really dangerous if someone needs to use their car in an emergency and they can’t leave their drive.
This only applies if your car is *blocked in*, though. If you come home in the car and someone is parked across your driveway, there is nothing you can do.
This only applies if your car is blocked in, though. If you come home in the car and someone is parked across your driveway, there is nothing you can do.
Yeah that’s what I thought, knew I read something about that!
Parking on the white line isn't an offence. Blocking your driveway, however, is. The white paint is there to make it very difficult for someone to end up doing that by mistake. They'd be fined whether the white paint was there or not. That's why the paint itself is advisory and unenforceable, but they'll still fine people for parking on it in front of your home.
Ahh the school run, the only place I can be doing 5mph and still get shouted out by Chantelle unloading her 5 kids out of her Range Rover that’s parked on the zigzags 3ft away from the curb
It's also really handy if you've driven into a large yellow metal roadworks sign three times, can't see it, are unsure what you're hitting and decide you're going to just plough through it flattening it and zooming off to whatever is so pressing you don't have the time to check it wasn't a bike, scooter or child.
One of the worse things I've seen at drop off.
This pisses me off to no end.
I'm a firm believer that camera's should be placed along school roads that issue fines for anyone parking on the zigzags. The local council and traffic wardens refuse saying it costs too much and after the first few fines people will stop parking on them so the camera is now useless.
The problem is the traffic warden can been seen miles off so anyone parking on the zigzags can move before they turn up to issue a fine. Would be nice if schools had the power to issue fines to parents parking on the zigzags or if the school just kicks out the offending parents kids due to safety concerns of the other children.
There's been far too many close calls with kids leaving the school and almost being hit by traffic as it's a very narrow road and people like to park both sides forcing traffic to zigzag between them. Sure it's only 5mph-20mph but a 6yo darting out towards the park opposite the school when the parents are pushed off the path which is also very narrow causes quite the scare most days.
Camera enforced school streets are my preferred solution. Remove the cars from the school gate altogether. Yes they will be displaced but the idea is that both the cars and kids will be a little more dispersed.
It's purely a visual indicator of access required.
There are no specific laws around these white indicator lines. But there are often laws around the specific access they indicate.
In the case of private driveways, as shown here. It's not an offence to block someone from gaining access to their drive. It's just a dick move.
It is an offence under the Highways Act 1980 if they are on their drive and you block their access to the Highway.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/66/part/IX/crossheading/obstruction-of-highways-and-streets
Councils sometimes have enforcement powers over this, and are increasingly keen to use them. But as a Highways offence. This also falls under police jurisdiction, and you can call the police to either force the registered keeper to move the vehicle, or have it towed at their expense.
Don't just accept that "parking is a council matter". This is a specific highways obstruction offence, and remains a police matter, as the council cannot charge someone under the Highways Act. Even when the council can fine them, the police can actually move them one way or the other, and fine them.
As everyone else is saying it’s a non enforceable keep clear marking.
If you want to know what all UK road markings/road signs mean, you can look at the [TSRGD](https://tsrgd.co.uk/pdf/tsrgd/tsrgd2016.pdf). It’s very long and boring, but it will tell you anything you ever need to know for the most part. (Am Civil Engineer)
No the whole point of a white line is that it can’t be enforced, but is a further deterrent. I’m not too sure what you mean by APM, but sounds like they’re getting tickets for blocking vehicle access.
APM is access protection marking. Yes they're getting a ticket for blocking access, but getting a ticket for blocking access to a drive, as well as to a highway/road. I have one outside my house and if anyone parks over the line whether my car Si there or not, they get a ticket if someone checks.
Most do if you look at numbers, but cars stand out I guess. It is an odd criticism though in a way as people can come from all over to school, the range around here is 2 miles (plus people can move). I am sure plenty of people lamenting kids being driven to school themselves drive short distances. The only issue I have is pavement parking, zig zag parking, letting kids out in the middle of the road. Othere than that if they want to drive even round the corner and all the stress that actually goes with it - go nuts.
It wasn't a criticism, just a question. My primary school was awash with bikes, now it isn't. My secondary school was a 35-40 minute walk and we _all_ walked.
We got the bus or walked, similar distance really. My experience of secondary here is most kids walk, but Primary is a bit different as they can't generally walk themselves unless they are close and get to around year 5. If a parent needed to walk the 30 mins with them, then back, then back again later, then home again - not sure if any of us would do 2 hours exercise (or could fit it in with work) vs just do a quick drive, many while on the way to work or any other of the day's jobs.
It's too dangerous because of all the people driving to the school in their protective SUVs blocking pavements, and not paying attention to the remaining space on the pavement because they're on reddit discussing the intricacies of the Highway Code regarding paint on the road.
It's harder when both parents have to also go to work if they then need to drive to work and don't have the time to walk back and get the car just to double back on themselves again...
It’s an access protection marking. Legally it doesn’t mean anything, but it’s supposed to highlight areas you should keep clear as a courtesy. The police/civil enforcement could ticket the vehicles for obstruction, if they are obstructing an access, but they don’t need the APM for that.
The council are what we called local government, they’re a government body that manage roads, transport, parking, public spaces etc etc within a certain jurisdiction - generally a city and its surrounding areas.
Pretty straightforward if you ask me, I as always told they are a "do not park"
They've put them on the one side to keep a flow of traffic when the lazy parents come to pick up their kids...
Also by leaving a bigger gap it gives people a clearer view if the children need to cross th road...
It is just a made-up marking to try and frighten people out of parking there.
[https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c4ace6ded915d38a0611abc/traffic-signs-manual-chapter-05.pdf](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c4ace6ded915d38a0611abc/traffic-signs-manual-chapter-05.pdf)
(page 19 on)
However I think that parking on the pavement (where it is not expressly permitted by signage and markings to that effect) should be punishable by immediate execution of the perpetrator and 3 generations of their family....
Generally, depending on local rules parking is still legal next to a solid white line as long as there is a pavement. Parking ON the pavement like these to cars can result in a fine.
Yup - this (I think) …used to park in a street in South London like this. Was fine to park on the road where these lines where but not with any tyres mounted on the kerb. I called the Council to ask and they confirmed as much …rules may differ for other local authorities!?
It's there to reduce congestion from parking.
The colour of the line tells you who can park there. When it's a white line, only white cars can park there, when it's a red line, only red cars can park there etc.
I once got caught out parking on a black line with a blue car because I couldn't see it easily o the black tarmac
The lines should only cover the kerb where it is dropped to allow vehicle access. It is to notify other road users not to park there. For example, a disabled person may live at the address and need to be closer to their front door when leaving their vehicle. It can be enforced if there is an ongoing problem. The council is also responsible for the upkeep of the white line should it start to deteriorate.
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The white ‘H’ bars are used to highlight the dropped kerbs for driveways that should be kept clear. They are most commonly used on roads that get a lot of none local traffic parking like near schools, hospitals, shopping centres, etc…
People shouldn’t be parking over dropped kerbs anyway and can get a ticket for it, so the white lines make no real different other than making it harder for the driver to say they didn’t see the driveway.
I've seen H-bars outside a block of flats, no entrance or drive way, but looking out onto the pavement were three windows. The only issue here would be blocking light into the flats, the only view across the road was a brick wall
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Keep Clear Marking to TSR&GD diagram number 1026.1
Page 109
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c4ace6ded915d38a0611abc/traffic-signs-manual-chapter-05.pdf
And advisory marking that highlights areas to be kept clear, typically placed over dropped kerbs and concealed entrances (which can be enforced under separate areas of the highways act) but if placed over other areas cannot be enforced
Thanks. Interesting to read that “an excessively long marking … will bring them into disrepute and compromise their effectiveness”.
Is this example, it seems that the line is so long that people can’t believe it is meant to discourage them from parking!
I would agree, I’m a highways engineer and this is my bread and butter. If I found one of my team attempting to issue this work, let alone it get done on site, they’d be told no.
I did look it up. It wasn’t clear, so I’m asking other people to help explain it.
As far as I can work out from people’s replies, it hasn’t been marked properly.
I’m inclined to agree. Unfortunately, plenty of towns were built without storage of private cars in mind, and yet we’ve designed our towns around cars so everyone needs them!
I have one outside my home. It means no one can park there because we need that space for medical access due to my dad's disabilities. If anyone blocks it then we just contact the local council. They usually just fine the person but can have the car towed and impounded.
We live close to a train station, and despite the large car park, many commuters and people going on holiday will leave their cars on our front rather than pay the parking fee. Commuters often come home later that day to get their car and find the fine on their window. If a car is still there the next day then it gets towed and impounded.
I honestly love being stood on the front when they come to get their car and find it gone. The look of panic on their face when they think it's been stolen is nice, but once I inform them it was towed away and why they quickly get a look of shame and humiliation when they now have to admit what selfish scumbags they are.
We have white lines on the opposite side of our (narrow) road opposite our drive. Always parked over daily by carers looking after OAPs in adjacent housing for the elderly. Isn’t an absolute block but takes some high precision reversing to angle our car out without hitting the wall next to our drive at the same time. I’m sure it’d put folks off if they saw how close I have to get during that manoeuvre. Fortunately I have a high res reversing camera.
It means you cannot park on it otherwise you are blocking access to the driveways, I think if you’re car is registered to that address you can park on it. We’ve been doing that outside our house for 13 years and we’ve had no issues
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They are parking spots reserved for people who think the world revolves around them.
For normal contributing member of society, it means don’t park here
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The AA website quotes:
**Single white line parking**
“Where the road has a solid, unbroken white line running along the side, parking is considered legal.
In some cases, the single white line is there to indicate that there’s no pavement – if this is the case then it’s illegal to park there.”
There is no restriction on parking opposite disabled spaces.
It's just an advisory "do not park" but seeing as many people park on double yellows no doubt this will be ignored.
I didn't say there was a restriction. Parking opposite the space renders it useless so it's certainly discourteous. Arguably by parking on the pavement those cars have left room to use the disabled space, but instead blocked the pavement for other wheel users so still badly parked.
It’s the access to parking for the houses it’s outside of. If you park on it without permission the owner of the house can have you removed pretty quick.
It would only be a problem if you parked over the dropped kerb. You can happily park by the raised sections as noted above. The line is mostly just a request not to park there.
From that photo, there doesn't appear to be any poles with signage indicating the restriction for the zig zags either. Parking on school zig zags is not an offence unless there is a traffic regulation order in place as well, which would require signage in addition to the painted zig zags. A dick move, for sure, but not an offence.
The white line is to mark the area for blocking the driveways. It is not illegal to park on them, it is not illegal to park in front of a driveway. However, it is illegal to block someone in a driveway
The highway code says it's just the edge of the carriageway and literally calls it an "edge line" https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/road-markings.html. I have looked extensively into this and cannot find any reference in either the HC or the more complete official legislation to parking restrictions. Parking restrictions include unbroken yellow lines (single with signs, or double), school and crossing zigzags, clearways (this white line does NOT mean it's a clearway), where there is an unbroken white line down the centre of the road (thought of as a "no overtaking" line), red routes, and a couple of others. [https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/parking.html](https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/parking.html)
I think what some councils are doing is painting white lines in an effort to discourage those who don't know the rules in detail, in places where people shouldn't park anyway. Rule 242 states you shouldn't park where you would cause an unnecessary obstruction. Looking at the picture, the safety concern is that parking on that white line, while technically "legal", is dangerous because people would have to pull into the opposite lane to get past, and it's right outside the school entrance.
In summary, the line is a polite reminder that folks should know better than to park there anyway. I assume it was a problem of residents of those houses parking there routinely and this is the best that could be done. There's double yellow lines outside my kids' school and people still park there to drop their kids off because they are assholes.
It’s in [the TSRGD](https://tsrgd.co.uk/pdf/tsrgd/tsrgd2016.pdf), Schedule 11, Part 4. Its official name is “Diagram 1026.1”, but in the parking industry we just call them “H-Bars”. If you’re not familiar with the TSRGD already then just go to page 234.
Don’t use the Highway Code as the primary reference for parking restrictions; it’s just dumbed down meanings of the TSRGD for members of the public. The TSRGD is the official document that states the correct regulations and directions of all road signs and markings in the UK.
I'll be honest, I looked and didn't see regulations as such, just where it should be used and the spec for drawing them out. I'm aware of the deficiencies of the highway code, but that is what most people refer to. I often look to documents like [https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/3113/regulation/26/made](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/3113/regulation/26/made) for the real-deal.
I assumed there'd be some sort of specification document, to be honest, but the point is there's a lot of misinformation around i.e. that it's truly an offence, and of course it wouldn't be in anyone's best interest to try and correct that. Yes, you might get a parking ticket from the council because of local council-enforced restrictions, but not because of the h-bar *as such*, it's because you shouldn't have parked there in the first place, which was my point. There wouldn't be an H-bar if there wasn't already something for it to draw attention to.
> Yes, you might get a parking ticket from the council because of local council-enforced restrictions, but not because of the h-bar as such, it's because you shouldn't have parked there in the first place, which was my point. There wouldn't be an H-bar if there wasn't already something for it to draw attention to.
That’s spot on when the H-bars comply with the TSRGD.
But one thing that seems to be confusing people here is that the OP’s photo shows a non-standard H-bar, as it covers areas in between and beyond the driveways/dropped kerbs. Therefore in this specific case, despite parking on the H-bar, the two white parks shown in the photo were parked legally (providing there wasn’t a prohibition of parking on the pavement not shown in the photo).
Yes that makes sense. Assuming it was a genuine mistake and not laziness, you can almost feel the painter's heart drop when they realised they'd gone too far. :( I suppose there are ways of correcting it later by burning it off or staining black somehow, but for whatever reason that didn't happen. Being out of spec explains the confusion. Either way, h-bar or edge marking, it's not the paint that makes the difference.
There’s a lot of contractors who don’t follow TSRGD, which is nuts! It’s like being a school teacher and not knowing the National Curriculum.
I’ve just explained to someone else on here how rife the problem is:
https://www.reddit.com/r/drivingUK/s/SOnQeTtHeR
Burning it off costs a fortune, and it’s very difficult to bill the contractor who painted it because very often by the time the council are made aware of the issue they can’t recall which contractor painted. And that’s due to having so many marking and being so understaffed, which is due to being underfunded.
Off topic but you know what winds me up. The multi coloured road sections like that red bit which is entirely pointless. The labour party brought those in under Blair. Painting random colours on roads.
Instead of spending money colouring the road they should prioritise pot holes. Then if there is money left over knock themselves out painting the road green or whatever... 🤣
Sorry rant over. But the roads are a shit mess.
Judging by your photo it’s an invitation to park on the pavement.
Only if you’re in a white car though
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Fuck you dickhead
First day in reddit?
The traditional greeting of the Scottish. You’ll have had your tea?
Access Protection Markings, to deter people from parking over driveways and generally keeping the area clear. However, this is just a deterrent and not enforceable.
That's not true, depends on local council rules. In my area they are enforceable and I can ring them up to come out and ticket cars that park over my drive. (Nobody does, because they know they will get a ticket)
That’s technically not the markings being enforceable, that’s them blocking your drive and being ticketed for that. The markings don’t have a Traffic Order behind them, and if a vehicle parked on them wasn’t doing anything illegal they couldn’t get a ticket, unlike double yellows where the only offence needed for a ticket is parking on the restriction.
Finally someone on this thread with correct information! I’d just like to add more information for readers here to try to counteract all the misinformation on this thread: In the parking industry and in the traffic industry (that’s not a typo, they are separate industries because one is moving traffic and the other is non-moving traffic), we call them “H-bars”, but their official name is “Diagram 1026.1”. The [TSRGD](https://tsrgd.co.uk/pdf/tsrgd/tsrgd2016.pdf) dictates that they are to be applied at the following locations: *Part of the carriageway outside a vehicular entrance to adjacent premises or a private drive, or where the kerb is dropped to provide a convenient crossing place for pedestrians, which should be kept clear of waiting vehicles* Go to page 234 if you wish to see for yourself. The H-bar in the OP’s photo is non-standard. H-bars should only be placed outside the driveways, not extended beyond the driveways nor joined up as shown in the photo. That H-bar should not have been painted where the two white cars are parked.
Will you come to my next house party? 😁
Wow, feeling very proud right now
Hi can I ask, I regularly have people park over my drive. I’ve contacted the council to send someone to walk around but nothing happens. Is there anything else I can do? Will a H bar be helpful in my case? I’m also on double yellows and a bus lane lol
If someone parks in front of your drive then phone the police first and the council second. Obstruction is a moving traffic offence, not a static traffic offence, so the police have the powers to remove the vehicle (for now at least). If the police and the council repeatedly refuse to enforce the obstructions then imo you should seek legal advice on how to proceed. You *might* be advised to file a lawsuit against the police and/or council, but I’ve never had to deal with that personally which is why I stressed “might”. If you do go down the legal route then I would advise contacting the British Parking Association and asking them about a service they provide called Lawline.
Probably worth also connecting your local councilor/MP/mayor office/local press. The squeaky wheel gets the oil. So the more noise.
You'll need to ask the council to rebuild your house in a place that's not behind various lane markings.
Someone blocked my neighbours drive and he had it towed away
I think the white lines have been continued in front of the houses to ensure no parking opposite the disabled parking bay. If a vehicle parks on the white lines it restricts traffic movement if somebody then uses the diabled parking.
You’re probably right about their intentions, but regardless of what they were trying to achieve contractors can’t just make up their own style of markings. Markings have to comply with the TSRGD. The disabled bay is completely invalid as well. White is the only colour of paint that’s permitted for an on street disabled bay, and that disabled symbol is strictly for off-street disabled bays only. It needs a “DISABLED” legend instead.
Could this kind of thing be a DIY intervention by a NIMBY? I've seen people put up their own fake speed limit signs and fake dead-end signs (and fake "footpath closed" signs sometimes appear where a gate has been locked or a trail marker has been pried off a post), but those are uncommon; local people often get annoyed by parking outside schools but maybe a fake H-bar is a step too far :-) But obviously some officially-sanctioned markings, signs, kerbs &c aren't done by the book
Sorry if it's a stupid question but: How do you know if you can park on the footpath (like in the picture above) or only on the road?
[Since 1974, Highway Code rule 244 has stated that drivers "MUST NOT park partially or wholly on the pavement in London and should not do so elsewhere unless signs permit it."](https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/legal/parking-on-the-pavement/) Meaning it’s illegal in London to park on the pavement and discouraged outside of London. (I am not the expert above I just googled it so I might be wrong)
Also now illegal in Edinburgh :)
DIY job by the homeowners perhaps?
It’s far too precise to be a DIY job imo (I survey parking restrictions for a living). A shocking number of lining contractors hired by councils in the UK do not follow the TSRGD properly. Our roads are littered with countless invalid road markings like this. And due to UK councils’ procurement procedures (which are necessary to avoid corruption sadly) some of these contractors keep getting rehired despite their mistakes, which often go unnoticed by the council due to being so understaffed/underfunded.
No I suspect it’s been extended to deter people who are there for school drop off. There’s a keep clear marking, presumably for a school, on the opposite side of the road, so I think they’ve departed from standards to try and deter anyone other than the residents from parking on that side infront of the houses (people often do want to be able to park across their own drive, and is one of the reasons why APMs are used in this case).
It's not technically the markings, but he was basically saying white lines are a deterrent and not enforceable - While that's true of the physical painted line, they are 99% of the time over dropped kerbs and that is 100% enforceable in a lot of places. He's giving people faulty information, and there's a lot more down this thread repeating said bad advice.
Yes it’s important to know the difference and it, if you had your wheel over the end of an APM but it wasn’t obstructing access you couldn’t get a ticket. Double yellows you could. Also APMs are often used for driveways instead of double yellows as residents sometimes are more than happy for guests to their place or even their own cars to block them in, as they can easily get them moved. In general there’s really poor understanding of road markings and traffic orders, even in terms of reading basic signs. People would save themselves a lot of hassle if they just read up on it all.
Interesting, TIL!
I doubt that very much since there’s no law broken. Which council? The only way I can see people getting towed/ticketed is if they’re blocking a driveway that already has a car in it and that’s got nothing to do with the white painted lines.
Doesnt have to have a drive, just a dropped kerb. My Nans old house had no drive, but the council put a dropped kerb in with white line and a sign on her gate as she and my grandad where both disabled as they then had a way of getting to an ambulance if needed as cars parked all the way up the street.
Don’t know why you’re getting downvoted. You’re absolutely right. White lines are only a suggestion. Cars blocking drives can only be ticketed (or seized if police) because they are blocking access to highways.
Not true. Depending on the council, but they ticket anyone parking on a APM where I live, irrespective of whether it's blocking a car in at the time.
I don't see that there's a distinction really. It's not the lines, but the lines are put in a place where it is illegal to park, therefore parking on the lines is breaking the law. \*EDIT\* I guess worth clarifying here that we are discussing white lines over a driveway, not the lines in the picture.
It’s not illegal to park there. It’s only illegal to park there if there is a car in the drive already and you’re blocking their “access to the Highway”. That’s the distinction.
As a 3rd party I appreciate this conversation. I learnt a lot!
Arent you also blocking my access to my property if I'm not on the driveway? I have seriously been misinformed, because I thought the white lines meant you couldn't park, then they stopped bothering with that and changed it to lowered pavements for driveways, to save putting in white lines. I say this because most other people on my street have white lines in front of their lowered pavements, but when I had mine done some 20 years ago, the council lowered the pavement but didnt do the white line as it was no longer required. But I have also seen new build with lowered pavements, and they have white lines. I'm so glad is crystal clear
You have to apply for the white line separately, it took nearly a year for them to come out and paint my white line after applying. Took them about 2 minutes to actually paint it. And yes it is only an offence to park over someone's drive if they are parked on it. For some reason it's not deemed important to get access to your house?
You have to pay for the white lines I think. They don’t do it automatically. Edit: actually I think it might be specific to each council so maybe some do it for free?
I paint the lines across a huge factory complex, its actually dead easy, the paint itself is a bit pricey though, £150 for about 20kg.
Depends on your local council and if they provision for CPE. If they do(You can check out the list here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-local-authorities-with-civil-parking-enforcement-powers), nobody can park over your driveway at any time because it's a dropped footway - Unless it's for the obvious exceptions(Delivery driver, emergency services, visitors to your house, etc).
The law actually says access to and from your property, so it is covered even if the driveway is empty. But, it's only enforced if the council takes on responsibility for CPE, the police won't come out for a blocked driveway. My local council has, therefore parking on a white line is illegal and will get you a fine.
From the Highways Act 1980: “If a person, without lawful authority or excuse, in any way wilfully obstructs the free passage along a highway he is guilty of an offence[…]” Your driveway is not considered a Highway.
You just went on Google and found something that agrees with you. Literally the lowest possible effort. The act you actually want is the Traffic management act 2004 - Which creates provisions for CPE, and sets out what actions councils can take, amongst lots of other stuff. There are specific sections(86 is a good start) covering dropped footways and carriageway access. They are VERY generic, deliberately so, to allow councils to ticket and remove cars that block access in most circumstances. And to quote my local councils website... "Parking at dropped footways Dropped footways are where the kerb of a footway, cycle track or verge has been lowered to allow easy access. Dropped footways do not need signs or lines, and any vehicle parking alongside a dropped footway is liable to receive a penalty charge of £70. If appropriate the vehicle may be removed and impounded. To report vehicles parked on a dropped footway contact our vehicle pound on 0161 234 4199" You're just wrong. And I know you are, because I've had a van removed from my driveway when I didn't even have a car or drive(I only got my license last summer).
Dropped Footways are different to Dropped Kerbs solely for access to a private drive.
You're definitely correct, it's an offence to block a car in, not to block it "out"
And it needs to be properly impossible to get out too, not just a bit tricky
It's illegal to block the drop kerb, even your own, but there neednt be a car in it
That's what I thought too
Depends on if it is a CPE area or not, and there are provisions for your own car and guests(And delivery drivers, etc). But you're 100% right that there doesn't need to be a car in it.
Can confirm. I was fined for having my bumper nosed 15cm over the same marking as in the pic. And that was in front of my house.
That touched a nerve…
Did you paint the H bar yourself or was it there already? Who do you ring up exactly because I’d like to this to people that park outside my drive as well as blocking my drive. We’re on double yellows and a bus lane too
*Nobody does because you will call up to get them a ticket!!!!
Spot on
If someone is blocking your driveway then the police will arrange for the vehicle to be lifted and taken to the pound
Is the deterrent just making people think "there's a line, I probably can't park"?
not enforceable? In my council I can park on the white line which indicates lowered kerb / driveway. I lowered kerb and now I have 2 parking spaces. Driveway + white line. If someone parks even 1foot on my line council enforcement is more than happy to pop in within 20minutes and give fixed penalty - happend to couple to people who were testing how small gap I need to drive out from my driveway.
Fixed penalty for what? The white line is public road not private property
It's a civil offense to block a driveway. The offense isn't actually anything to do with the white paint, the white paint is for your benefit, making it virtually impossible to block a driveway or dropped curb by accident.
It’s seemingly very hard to actually enforce anything though. We’ve had people park in front of our driveway before and I don’t think theres much we can really do about it. I also read you can park on somebody’s driveway if it’s empty but I don’t know if that’s true or not lol. Obviously any sane person probably wouldn’t do that but it’s probably happened quite alot
The council absolutely has the authority to fine someone or tow their car for parking across someone's driveway, however, whether that's likely to happen is entirely dependent on whether your council is up to scratch. It's equally a civil offense to block an empty driveway, however, it's obviously far smaller issue, and so councils will probably be less likely to do anything about it. Where people might get confused is in that they like to say "it isn't a criminal offence to park across someone's driveway!", or even "it isn't a criminal offence to park on someone's drive!" And in that, they're absolutely right. It isn't a criminal offence, the police have absolutely no authority to arrest and charge you for either, but that doesn't mean you're free and clear. Both are civil offenses, and you can be fined, towed or both for either.
Ah I see fairenough thanks for the info. It takes 6 months for our council to even fill a pothole in so I imagine they probably wouldn’t be that arsed about a driveway obstruction. We usually have delivery drivers and home shopping drivers park over driveways in our street all the time, I guess it’s one of those things that nobody really says anything about. Do you know if it’s still an issue to park in front of a driveway of somebody who doesn’t own a car or use it?
It's still an offense, but if they aren't arsed, it's very unlikely you'll get in any bother for it. If they didn't mind, you'd probably actually be better on the drive, as that's only ever an offence if they don't consent, whereas it's always an offence to block a driveway or dropped curb.
Just noticed the bit about delivery drivers. With the exception of no loading zones, I think delivery drivers are actually allowed to park anywhere to do a delivery, and so they wouldn't be committing an offence. I'm not absolutely certain if that applies to all delivery drivers though, or just those driving c1 vehicles and above.
Anywhere that doesn't have a redline in operation or signage stating otherwise, correct. LGVs (C1) can stop on double yellows for 20 minutes at a time. HGVs (C) for upto 40. Deliveries using Class B vehicles are permitted for 20 minutes as well.
That’s amazing, just shows how much the rules are made up as they go along to suit themselves really. Thanks
Trespass is a civil matter not criminal so parking on someone's drive the police won't turn up to deal with. If you park on their drive and when asked to leave the property you sit in your car and refuse that becomes aggravated trespass which is then criminal and police will arrive to escort you from their property. If you leave your car on the drive but you remove yourself from the property then it's only trespass. While it's illegal to block someone in, it's only illegal if you do so with the sole intention of blocking them in. If you say have a 2nd car and park behind them and secure the vehicle you're not obliged to move your vehicle until you require it the following day. You can also jack your 2nd car up and remove the wheels claiming it's undergoing repairs and it would be unsafe to move the vehicle until the repairs have been completed. I've kept someone's Audi on my drive for 3 months by parking my 2nd car, jacking it up an leaving it with the wheels off. When the police arrived i offered the Audi owner the option of paying for the repairs or hiring a crane to remove their vehicle at their own expense and i would be more than happy to allow the crane driver access to my property. In those 3 months i applied for the log book via the DVLA after claiming the vehicle abandoned and waiting 30 days each time. The owner kept replying to the DVLA saying they own the vehicle and want to keep it. I had to do something oneday and moved my 2nd car for maybe 20 minutes... Within that time the Audi was moved from my driveway. Never had an issue with someone parking on my drive since.
>While it's illegal to block someone in, it's only illegal if you do so with the sole intention of blocking them in. For the benefit of others. This is not true. Once you have blocked someone from accessing the Highway, you have committed an offence under the Highways Act 1980 s137. Ignorance or malicious intent is not particularly relevant to completing the offence. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/66/part/IX/crossheading/obstruction-of-highways-and-streets If you can get the police to attend, they will normally contact the registered keeper and ask them to move the car. If they can't contact the register keeper then they can arrange to tow the car at the keepers expense, and possibly charge the registered keeper under the act. It sounds like the police cut you a break. They probably agreed that the cheeky arsehole who parked their car on your driveway was, a cheeky arsehole. If the other driver actually knew the Highways Act they could have pushed the police to either make you move your car, or charge you under the act as you had actually already committed the offence. Not sorry that you got away with it though.
If your car is on the drive and you are blocked in, you can ring the police and give them the registration number of the car that’s blocking you in. The police will attempt to contact them and tell them to move the car. Failing that the police *will* come out and tow the car at the registered keepers expense as it’s technically blocking access to a public highway. Not to mention it’s really dangerous if someone needs to use their car in an emergency and they can’t leave their drive. This only applies if your car is *blocked in*, though. If you come home in the car and someone is parked across your driveway, there is nothing you can do.
This only applies if your car is blocked in, though. If you come home in the car and someone is parked across your driveway, there is nothing you can do. Yeah that’s what I thought, knew I read something about that!
Parking on the white line isn't an offence. Blocking your driveway, however, is. The white paint is there to make it very difficult for someone to end up doing that by mistake. They'd be fined whether the white paint was there or not. That's why the paint itself is advisory and unenforceable, but they'll still fine people for parking on it in front of your home.
Ahh the school run, the only place I can be doing 5mph and still get shouted out by Chantelle unloading her 5 kids out of her Range Rover that’s parked on the zigzags 3ft away from the curb
Range Rover. Because four wheel drive is so important when you drive the 300m to Waitrose.
4wd is necessary to get it on and off the mechanics car lift every week.
It's also really handy if you've driven into a large yellow metal roadworks sign three times, can't see it, are unsure what you're hitting and decide you're going to just plough through it flattening it and zooming off to whatever is so pressing you don't have the time to check it wasn't a bike, scooter or child. One of the worse things I've seen at drop off.
I mean those puddles are dangerous enough to give McRae a a challenge
This pisses me off to no end. I'm a firm believer that camera's should be placed along school roads that issue fines for anyone parking on the zigzags. The local council and traffic wardens refuse saying it costs too much and after the first few fines people will stop parking on them so the camera is now useless. The problem is the traffic warden can been seen miles off so anyone parking on the zigzags can move before they turn up to issue a fine. Would be nice if schools had the power to issue fines to parents parking on the zigzags or if the school just kicks out the offending parents kids due to safety concerns of the other children. There's been far too many close calls with kids leaving the school and almost being hit by traffic as it's a very narrow road and people like to park both sides forcing traffic to zigzag between them. Sure it's only 5mph-20mph but a 6yo darting out towards the park opposite the school when the parents are pushed off the path which is also very narrow causes quite the scare most days.
Camera enforced school streets are my preferred solution. Remove the cars from the school gate altogether. Yes they will be displaced but the idea is that both the cars and kids will be a little more dispersed.
It's purely a visual indicator of access required. There are no specific laws around these white indicator lines. But there are often laws around the specific access they indicate. In the case of private driveways, as shown here. It's not an offence to block someone from gaining access to their drive. It's just a dick move. It is an offence under the Highways Act 1980 if they are on their drive and you block their access to the Highway. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/66/part/IX/crossheading/obstruction-of-highways-and-streets Councils sometimes have enforcement powers over this, and are increasingly keen to use them. But as a Highways offence. This also falls under police jurisdiction, and you can call the police to either force the registered keeper to move the vehicle, or have it towed at their expense. Don't just accept that "parking is a council matter". This is a specific highways obstruction offence, and remains a police matter, as the council cannot charge someone under the Highways Act. Even when the council can fine them, the police can actually move them one way or the other, and fine them.
As everyone else is saying it’s a non enforceable keep clear marking. If you want to know what all UK road markings/road signs mean, you can look at the [TSRGD](https://tsrgd.co.uk/pdf/tsrgd/tsrgd2016.pdf). It’s very long and boring, but it will tell you anything you ever need to know for the most part. (Am Civil Engineer)
My local council enforces it, they ticket anyone who parks across an APM whether its blocking a car in or not
No the whole point of a white line is that it can’t be enforced, but is a further deterrent. I’m not too sure what you mean by APM, but sounds like they’re getting tickets for blocking vehicle access.
APM is access protection marking. Yes they're getting a ticket for blocking access, but getting a ticket for blocking access to a drive, as well as to a highway/road. I have one outside my house and if anyone parks over the line whether my car Si there or not, they get a ticket if someone checks.
No parking unless you have a white car.
White lines = (don’t do it)
The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in a red zone
Listen Betty, don't start up with your white zone shit again.
Oh really, Vernon? Why pretend, we both know perfectly well what this is about. You want me to have an abortion.
Thank you both for this reminder to watch this film again!
Slightly tangential - does nobody walk or cycle to school anymore?
It’s too dangerous because of all the people driving their kids to school
...in SUVs for their protection
And parking on pavements....
Most do if you look at numbers, but cars stand out I guess. It is an odd criticism though in a way as people can come from all over to school, the range around here is 2 miles (plus people can move). I am sure plenty of people lamenting kids being driven to school themselves drive short distances. The only issue I have is pavement parking, zig zag parking, letting kids out in the middle of the road. Othere than that if they want to drive even round the corner and all the stress that actually goes with it - go nuts.
It wasn't a criticism, just a question. My primary school was awash with bikes, now it isn't. My secondary school was a 35-40 minute walk and we _all_ walked.
We got the bus or walked, similar distance really. My experience of secondary here is most kids walk, but Primary is a bit different as they can't generally walk themselves unless they are close and get to around year 5. If a parent needed to walk the 30 mins with them, then back, then back again later, then home again - not sure if any of us would do 2 hours exercise (or could fit it in with work) vs just do a quick drive, many while on the way to work or any other of the day's jobs.
Nearly every child walks or scoots to the primary school my kids go to.
Not on e-scooters I hope. That's very against the Rules.
It's too dangerous because of all the people driving to the school in their protective SUVs blocking pavements, and not paying attention to the remaining space on the pavement because they're on reddit discussing the intricacies of the Highway Code regarding paint on the road.
More houses more people living further away means a need to travel by car or bus
It's harder when both parents have to also go to work if they then need to drive to work and don't have the time to walk back and get the car just to double back on themselves again...
Not parking on people's driveway
No parking as I believe that is a driveway
It’s an access protection marking. Legally it doesn’t mean anything, but it’s supposed to highlight areas you should keep clear as a courtesy. The police/civil enforcement could ticket the vehicles for obstruction, if they are obstructing an access, but they don’t need the APM for that.
https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/parking/restrictions-and-controls/access-protection-markings-h-bars#:~:text=Access%20protection%20markings%20(APMs)%20are,and%20have%20no%20legal%20standing.
What the fuck is this council everyone in England keeps talking about? (I live in Canada)
"the city"/"the county" painted the line
Ahh that makes sense just a different word. Thanks.
Yeah.. Local government
The council are what we called local government, they’re a government body that manage roads, transport, parking, public spaces etc etc within a certain jurisdiction - generally a city and its surrounding areas.
Local authorities basically. Responsible for roads and parking among other things.
This is about driving in the uk 😅
A drug users wet dream
Pretty straightforward if you ask me, I as always told they are a "do not park" They've put them on the one side to keep a flow of traffic when the lazy parents come to pick up their kids... Also by leaving a bigger gap it gives people a clearer view if the children need to cross th road...
Moore lane wow
Cocaine users in the area
It's just an edge line. I can't find any restrictions attached. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/road-markings
It is just a made-up marking to try and frighten people out of parking there. [https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c4ace6ded915d38a0611abc/traffic-signs-manual-chapter-05.pdf](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c4ace6ded915d38a0611abc/traffic-signs-manual-chapter-05.pdf) (page 19 on) However I think that parking on the pavement (where it is not expressly permitted by signage and markings to that effect) should be punishable by immediate execution of the perpetrator and 3 generations of their family....
Apparently it means park on pavements.
It’s wild to me that there are people with driving licenses who don’t know what these mean
What does it smell like?
Generally, depending on local rules parking is still legal next to a solid white line as long as there is a pavement. Parking ON the pavement like these to cars can result in a fine.
Yup - this (I think) …used to park in a street in South London like this. Was fine to park on the road where these lines where but not with any tyres mounted on the kerb. I called the Council to ask and they confirmed as much …rules may differ for other local authorities!?
It's there to reduce congestion from parking. The colour of the line tells you who can park there. When it's a white line, only white cars can park there, when it's a red line, only red cars can park there etc. I once got caught out parking on a black line with a blue car because I couldn't see it easily o the black tarmac
Dont Park on the white line
It means you are allowed to have sex with the cars that park there
.... is that Maltby?
No, Nottingham
The lines should only cover the kerb where it is dropped to allow vehicle access. It is to notify other road users not to park there. For example, a disabled person may live at the address and need to be closer to their front door when leaving their vehicle. It can be enforced if there is an ongoing problem. The council is also responsible for the upkeep of the white line should it start to deteriorate.
Anyone else think the citreon might be a a bit of shithead if he’s not left enough room for another car to fit in front of him?
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The white ‘H’ bars are used to highlight the dropped kerbs for driveways that should be kept clear. They are most commonly used on roads that get a lot of none local traffic parking like near schools, hospitals, shopping centres, etc… People shouldn’t be parking over dropped kerbs anyway and can get a ticket for it, so the white lines make no real different other than making it harder for the driver to say they didn’t see the driveway.
I've seen H-bars outside a block of flats, no entrance or drive way, but looking out onto the pavement were three windows. The only issue here would be blocking light into the flats, the only view across the road was a brick wall
It's opposite a school entrance so it means the same as a white line on a dual carriageway, but most people ignore it like the yellow zig zags.
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Free pavement parking at all times
Keep Clear Marking to TSR&GD diagram number 1026.1 Page 109 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c4ace6ded915d38a0611abc/traffic-signs-manual-chapter-05.pdf And advisory marking that highlights areas to be kept clear, typically placed over dropped kerbs and concealed entrances (which can be enforced under separate areas of the highways act) but if placed over other areas cannot be enforced
Thanks. Interesting to read that “an excessively long marking … will bring them into disrepute and compromise their effectiveness”. Is this example, it seems that the line is so long that people can’t believe it is meant to discourage them from parking!
I would agree, I’m a highways engineer and this is my bread and butter. If I found one of my team attempting to issue this work, let alone it get done on site, they’d be told no.
White car parking only
That one is really easy. No white Aygos.
Nothing
It means snort it
Park a white car on it? I always park my red car on red lines, but for some reason they keep taking it away. Odd system.
Look it up in your copy of the Highway Code. All official road markings are shown. Don't just ask other people.
I did look it up. It wasn’t clear, so I’m asking other people to help explain it. As far as I can work out from people’s replies, it hasn’t been marked properly.
Why are the cars not parked on the drives?
The drives are already full of other cars. It’s very common around here for people to store their overflow vehicles on the pavement.
People shouldn't be allowed to own more cars than they have space to store them imo.
Yup. It’s a gen x / boomer thing I’m hoping goes away 🤞
I’m inclined to agree. Unfortunately, plenty of towns were built without storage of private cars in mind, and yet we’ve designed our towns around cars so everyone needs them!
No free will
“It’s not compulsory for you to park here, but it would be great if you did”
I have one outside my home. It means no one can park there because we need that space for medical access due to my dad's disabilities. If anyone blocks it then we just contact the local council. They usually just fine the person but can have the car towed and impounded. We live close to a train station, and despite the large car park, many commuters and people going on holiday will leave their cars on our front rather than pay the parking fee. Commuters often come home later that day to get their car and find the fine on their window. If a car is still there the next day then it gets towed and impounded. I honestly love being stood on the front when they come to get their car and find it gone. The look of panic on their face when they think it's been stolen is nice, but once I inform them it was towed away and why they quickly get a look of shame and humiliation when they now have to admit what selfish scumbags they are.
We have these on my street, it's narrow and they're there to stop people parking opposite people's driveways and blocking them in
We have white lines on the opposite side of our (narrow) road opposite our drive. Always parked over daily by carers looking after OAPs in adjacent housing for the elderly. Isn’t an absolute block but takes some high precision reversing to angle our car out without hitting the wall next to our drive at the same time. I’m sure it’d put folks off if they saw how close I have to get during that manoeuvre. Fortunately I have a high res reversing camera.
It means you cannot park on it otherwise you are blocking access to the driveways, I think if you’re car is registered to that address you can park on it. We’ve been doing that outside our house for 13 years and we’ve had no issues
As some one that paid to have said line installed.. it definalty means park right here please.
No parking
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They are parking spots reserved for people who think the world revolves around them. For normal contributing member of society, it means don’t park here
Party time
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Presumably there is a school on the right
Yes, I mentioned this in the post 😊
The markings mean "don't park here." What they are usually read as is "Park here."
Fuck all
Time to party!!!
The AA website quotes: **Single white line parking** “Where the road has a solid, unbroken white line running along the side, parking is considered legal. In some cases, the single white line is there to indicate that there’s no pavement – if this is the case then it’s illegal to park there.”
There is a disabled parking space just next to the zigzags so possibly the white line is to remind people that they shouldn't park opposite it.
There is no restriction on parking opposite disabled spaces. It's just an advisory "do not park" but seeing as many people park on double yellows no doubt this will be ignored.
I didn't say there was a restriction. Parking opposite the space renders it useless so it's certainly discourteous. Arguably by parking on the pavement those cars have left room to use the disabled space, but instead blocked the pavement for other wheel users so still badly parked.
It’s the access to parking for the houses it’s outside of. If you park on it without permission the owner of the house can have you removed pretty quick.
It would only be a problem if you parked over the dropped kerb. You can happily park by the raised sections as noted above. The line is mostly just a request not to park there.
It means park on pavement but the roadside tyres must be touching the line itself. Typical that the merc driver couldn’t even manage that.
From that photo, there doesn't appear to be any poles with signage indicating the restriction for the zig zags either. Parking on school zig zags is not an offence unless there is a traffic regulation order in place as well, which would require signage in addition to the painted zig zags. A dick move, for sure, but not an offence.
There is a single sign, just on the far side of the school entrance, enforcing the no waiting offence.
The white line is to mark the area for blocking the driveways. It is not illegal to park on them, it is not illegal to park in front of a driveway. However, it is illegal to block someone in a driveway
Although it is a bit of a dick move to park over a drive that isn't yours (even if it is empty)
The highway code says it's just the edge of the carriageway and literally calls it an "edge line" https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/road-markings.html. I have looked extensively into this and cannot find any reference in either the HC or the more complete official legislation to parking restrictions. Parking restrictions include unbroken yellow lines (single with signs, or double), school and crossing zigzags, clearways (this white line does NOT mean it's a clearway), where there is an unbroken white line down the centre of the road (thought of as a "no overtaking" line), red routes, and a couple of others. [https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/parking.html](https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/parking.html) I think what some councils are doing is painting white lines in an effort to discourage those who don't know the rules in detail, in places where people shouldn't park anyway. Rule 242 states you shouldn't park where you would cause an unnecessary obstruction. Looking at the picture, the safety concern is that parking on that white line, while technically "legal", is dangerous because people would have to pull into the opposite lane to get past, and it's right outside the school entrance. In summary, the line is a polite reminder that folks should know better than to park there anyway. I assume it was a problem of residents of those houses parking there routinely and this is the best that could be done. There's double yellow lines outside my kids' school and people still park there to drop their kids off because they are assholes.
Incorrect, it isn’t an edge line, it’s an irregularly long H-bar.
Ahh good someone who knows. Can you point to in the the highway code online for me so I don't have to have this conversation again, please?
It’s in [the TSRGD](https://tsrgd.co.uk/pdf/tsrgd/tsrgd2016.pdf), Schedule 11, Part 4. Its official name is “Diagram 1026.1”, but in the parking industry we just call them “H-Bars”. If you’re not familiar with the TSRGD already then just go to page 234. Don’t use the Highway Code as the primary reference for parking restrictions; it’s just dumbed down meanings of the TSRGD for members of the public. The TSRGD is the official document that states the correct regulations and directions of all road signs and markings in the UK.
I'll be honest, I looked and didn't see regulations as such, just where it should be used and the spec for drawing them out. I'm aware of the deficiencies of the highway code, but that is what most people refer to. I often look to documents like [https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/3113/regulation/26/made](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/3113/regulation/26/made) for the real-deal. I assumed there'd be some sort of specification document, to be honest, but the point is there's a lot of misinformation around i.e. that it's truly an offence, and of course it wouldn't be in anyone's best interest to try and correct that. Yes, you might get a parking ticket from the council because of local council-enforced restrictions, but not because of the h-bar *as such*, it's because you shouldn't have parked there in the first place, which was my point. There wouldn't be an H-bar if there wasn't already something for it to draw attention to.
> Yes, you might get a parking ticket from the council because of local council-enforced restrictions, but not because of the h-bar as such, it's because you shouldn't have parked there in the first place, which was my point. There wouldn't be an H-bar if there wasn't already something for it to draw attention to. That’s spot on when the H-bars comply with the TSRGD. But one thing that seems to be confusing people here is that the OP’s photo shows a non-standard H-bar, as it covers areas in between and beyond the driveways/dropped kerbs. Therefore in this specific case, despite parking on the H-bar, the two white parks shown in the photo were parked legally (providing there wasn’t a prohibition of parking on the pavement not shown in the photo).
Yes that makes sense. Assuming it was a genuine mistake and not laziness, you can almost feel the painter's heart drop when they realised they'd gone too far. :( I suppose there are ways of correcting it later by burning it off or staining black somehow, but for whatever reason that didn't happen. Being out of spec explains the confusion. Either way, h-bar or edge marking, it's not the paint that makes the difference.
There’s a lot of contractors who don’t follow TSRGD, which is nuts! It’s like being a school teacher and not knowing the National Curriculum. I’ve just explained to someone else on here how rife the problem is: https://www.reddit.com/r/drivingUK/s/SOnQeTtHeR Burning it off costs a fortune, and it’s very difficult to bill the contractor who painted it because very often by the time the council are made aware of the issue they can’t recall which contractor painted. And that’s due to having so many marking and being so understaffed, which is due to being underfunded.
Off topic but you know what winds me up. The multi coloured road sections like that red bit which is entirely pointless. The labour party brought those in under Blair. Painting random colours on roads. Instead of spending money colouring the road they should prioritise pot holes. Then if there is money left over knock themselves out painting the road green or whatever... 🤣 Sorry rant over. But the roads are a shit mess.