snibgo wrote:thelawnet wrote:I assume it is an offence to ride across, rather than along, a footway, but I'm not sure if there is case law on the subject.
I don't think riding across a footway is an offence. Riding a bike or driving a car along a footway
is an offence, but it seems well-established that parking a car on a footway doesn't constitute driving along it. I think a similar argument could be used for riding across a footway.
(I should note that Peter Miller of
Pedestrian Liberation thinks that parking a car on a footway
does legally constitute driving along it. I hope he's right, but fear he is wrong.)
Remember also that many driveways cross footways (usually with dropped kerbs). I dunno what legislation covers this.
Same legislation that outlaws driving on footways - access to parking on a premises is one of the defences. Peter Miller is wrong, as far as I can see. The law has never been interpreted by the courts in this way; this is further evidenced by the fact that a separate law is required in London to specifically outlaw the practice, and that the Highway Code only issues a "should not" - i.e. advisory, although this could certainly mean that someone who does park on the pavement can't complain much if a legitimate user of the pavement damages the vehicle unintentionally, because they were in breach of a HC directive. Lots of cities, especially outside of the South East, also have rows of terraces where it's virtually unavoidable, although I think I'd prefer it if local authorities regulated the practice rather than allowing the ad-hoc practice that currently goes on, works most of the time, but doesn't always. I think I've once in my life parked partially on a pavement, when the alternative was blocking the carriageway. I'd say that it's not at all times and in all places always wrong, but it's resorted to far too frequently and thoughtlessly - I see vehicles on pavements where the road is perfectly wide enough to allow emergency vehicles through even if the road did have vehicles parked on both sides, and I see whole widths of pavements taken up where, whilst a case for not parking completely on the carriageway could reasonably be made, there was no justification for the amount of pavement taken up.
The problem's exacerbated around our way by people who have driveways and garages
not using them - I wonder what went on the insurance proposal as to where the vehicle is kept at night?
It's easy to say that people who feel the need to have a car shouldn't buy houses without driveways, but there are plenty of parts of the country where the vast majority of the affordable housing stock is of that nature.
