I recieved a Penalty Notice for parking

I always observe parking restrictions and until a couple of weeks ago had never been given a parking ticket

5/4/2017

I have been driving for 47 years, driving on average 22,000 miles per year. I always observe parking restrictions and until a couple of weeks ago had never been given a parking ticket.

Then I parked in the London Borough of Hounslow with 2 wheels on the road and 2 on an unmade mud & grass verge. I am aware of Highway Code Paragraph 244, but this mud & grass verge was definitely not a pavement, there was no kerb, and no parking restriction signs were displayed.

I received a Penalty Notice which I challenged, and the reply was that the Notice was valid because the car was parked with “one wheel (or more) on the pavement or off the road. Pavement or off-road parking is not allowed unless signs say otherwise. This rule applies 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is enforced because vehicles:
• can get in the way of pedestrians, especially blind people or people with prams; and
• can damage paving or underground pipes.”

In the light of this please consider changing the wording of Highway Code Paragraph 244 to indicate that the restriction applies to any partial or wholly off-road parking and not just partially or wholly on the pavement.
Nick

7 Comments

Clive Jones

25/4/2018 01:33:46

Highway code does actually refer to this legislation.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/1974/24/section/15

Leo Patmore

24/7/2018 10:46:37

Pavement comes from the French and quite clearly means paved i.e. made up, which was not the case here. The defendant should have had a (better) lawyer and found not guilty although the very next case for the same offence would have succeded if not contested. It has happened! One up to Dickens, I fear

William Moore

6/3/2020 19:21:39

Could you please help
In the Highway Code it states "You MUST NOT park partially or wholly on the pavement in London .and should not do elsewhere unless signs permit it "
I take it "elsewhere" means the rest of the country out side London .if not it means it`s fine to park on pavements all over England with all the inherent dangers to pedestrians ,disabled mothers with prams etc
The official view please Thanks WM

Leo Patmore link

9/3/2020 12:22:14

In a footnote to rule 244 it also states that pavement parking is a criminal offence. Everywhere.
In a determined attempt, the motoring lobby tried vainly to get the law changed, without success.
It is a crime! Don't do it
Can someone explain, if you are not caught, are you a criminal?
In a case of wrongful conviction, sameqestion.

Martin Evans link

2/10/2021 15:00:17

Not sure what you mean by 'footnote to rule 244' but parking on a pavement is legal outside London as long as you don't 'obstruct' the pavement - this is generally accepted as allowing a double pushchair or wheelchair to go past.

R J Sheriff

30/8/2021 13:58:36

Why is Rule 244 mandatory for the Capital and advisory for the majority who also experience the dangers and inconvenience of inconsiderate pavement parkers. Surely a rule from a national code should apply to all the population of the UK. It would appear to be yet another case of negative discrimination to those outside of the London area.

2/10/2021 15:04:44

I don't know why London has it's own rule on parking on pavements but outside London, if the vehicle isn't obstructing (i.e. enough space for double-pushchair or wheelchair to get past) what's the problem?

I always observe parking restrictions and until a couple of weeks ago had never been given a parking ticket

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