Avon and Somerset Police have issued a warning to drivers parking on pavements as officers have been out and about "handing out parking penalty notices to vehicles parked illegally".
Posting on Twitter, a force spokesperson said it "continues to educate road users and will use traffic offence report tickets for repeat offenders". It posted the message alongside an image of a Volvo parked partially on a pavement.
However, the Highway Code states parking on the pavement is only illegal in London. Rule 244 of the code says: "You MUST NOT park partially or wholly on the pavement in London, and should not do so elsewhere unless signs permit it. Parking on the pavement can obstruct and seriously inconvenience pedestrians, people in wheelchairs or with visual impairments and people with prams or pushchairs."
Read more: Highway Code rule explains the rules around parking on pavements
The code then cites the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1974 as legislation that forbids parking on the pavement in London - but not elsewhere, since that act applies only in London. This, then, makes it seem strange that Avon and Somerset Police were handing out fines for parking on the pavement, no?
When Bristol Live contacted the police to ask why the drivers were fined, a spokesperson responded: "The motorists could be committing any one of a number of offences under the Highways Act 1980 – the most likely of which is wilful obstruction of a highway."
Back to the legislation, then. The Highways Act 1980 states: "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 and liable to a fine."
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Of course, this is something of a grey area, since parking wholly in the road could obstruct other cars from passing through, while parking on the pavement could obstruct pedestrians and wheelchair users, for example. The RAC advises drivers outside London to exercise common sense.
It says: "Outside of London, we advise people to use common sense when faced with no other option but to park on the pavement. If you are parking along a narrow road, where parking wholly on the road would stop other cars, and particularly emergency vehicles, from getting through, then it is a sensible option to park partially on a pavement, providing there are no parking restrictions and providing you are not blocking a wheelchair user or pram from using the pavement.
"If there are restrictions, or your parking would cause wheelchair users or people with prams to have to walk into the road, then you should find somewhere else to park. "
