Eastblock Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 I'm sorry if this is an old chestnut but I tried the search facility and didn't find any info. Since I've only lived in the UK for 4 years I'm not familiar with all the rules and regulations. My driveway is sadly too small for a truck. Can I legally park on a public road? Just around the corner from our house on a fairly wide road there is a space where it shouldn't bother anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastblock Posted September 3, 2009 Author Share Posted September 3, 2009 It will be pre-1960 and MOT and tax exempt. Under 7.5 ton. I also need to investigate what the insurance company thinks of parking on the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marmite!! Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 It will be pre-1960 and MOT and tax exempt. Under 7.5 ton. I also need to investigate what the insurance company thinks of parking on the road. Just tell them when getting a quote & they will adjust the fee accordingly:sweat: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
private mw Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 you shouldnt have a problem as long as you park legally , and the area is well lit dont forget your truck is dark green and the sumb doesnt have any rear reflectors ,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastblock Posted September 3, 2009 Author Share Posted September 3, 2009 It is not a Sumb but a Praga. I have been offered the use of one (may even buy one). The Sumb is the backup solution because it fits on our drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Johns Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 (edited) My driveway is sadly too small for a truck. Can I legally park on a public road? Just around the corner from our house on a fairly wide road there is a space where it shouldn't bother anyone. Depends on the street, trucks over 3.5 ton usually need side lights on at night Edited September 12, 2009 by Nick Johns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryH57 Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 Be careful though, as I seem to remember reading about 20 years ago that an MVT member, someone quite well known in the club like Peter Gray, was fined for causing an obstruction with his vehicle following a complaint by a neighbour. As things are today people are more likely to complain to the authorities first rather than speak to their neighbour. 'Little old lady though she would be 'decked' with a pickaxe handle by MV owner if she asked for vehicles to be moved' - would make good headlines in the local press even if totally untrue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastblock Posted September 3, 2009 Author Share Posted September 3, 2009 Who has the final say in the matter - the local council? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppypiesdad Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 I alway thought that is it was taxed mot'ed and insured it could be parked anywhere? Jamie (Well thats what I usually do anyway ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 my two lived outside the flat for quite a while, in fact directions were given, go to that army trucks and then turn... As long as there taxed MOT and insured. Trouble is the local G***ts getting tanked up on a Friday night! I distrubed one little S***T trying to steal my beat up old Landy Safari. Couldn't belive how fast he got from the front to the back and out of a single open rear sliding window. I wonderd why he'd be intrested in an old heap. Following night the newly opened branch of John Lewis at Nugent retail park was ram raided. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashley Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 As stated befor i was taken to court by the local council (who i work for) for leaving my transit camper in a rear side road for 4-5 days at a time only because the old fart who complainedsome times phoned up up to 4 times a day non stop for about a year. i had to promise not to parkthe van in that spot for 6 months, so parked it in my garden for precisly 6 month to the day befor parking there again. Luckily i had a friedd who owned a breakers yard and would lend me the odd leagle road vehicle to park there from time to time :-D Ashley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoggyDriver Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 At the end of the day not everyone has parking for their vehicles. I don't have any "designated" parking for mine, neither do I have a driveway. Mine are parked in a parking area next to where I live, so yes they are off road. But as I own a Bedford MJ, Land Rover Defender, Toyota Hilux Surf and my missus owns a Mazda 3 Sport, there could be complaints that we are taking up too much parking space. MY argument is that they are all road legal, so what's the problem? There is a car outside that a guy owns which he doesn't drive, but has an out of date tax disc by over a year. He chains his mountain bike to one of the rear wheels at night. No tax for over a year and yet there are all these adverts on the TV about how they will crush your car if you don't tax it (it can't be classified as SORN as it's technicaly still on a public road). These are the vehicles the authorities need to take notice of. So yes I take up space, but mine are all legal. This guys vehicles might be "technicaly" breaking the law, but I think the Police have better things to do with their time than to take an interest in them, like stopping crime. The world is full of jobs worths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastblock Posted September 12, 2009 Author Share Posted September 12, 2009 It would not be difficult to add some position lamps with LEDs in them, connected to a light/dark sensor, a battery and a solar panel on the roof to keep the battery topped up. The LEDs use very little current. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antarmike Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 There might be some distance to go with that idea.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antarmike Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 (edited) But also be aware that Road Traffic Regulation act 1984 S 99 Removal and disposal of vehicles Regs 1986 , not only allow for the removal and possible disposal of vehicles left on the road in condradiction of a statutary prohibition or restriction, (ie in breach of no parking signs, yellow lines, zig-zags atc) BUT ALSO the removal and disposal of vehicles left "in such a position, or in such condition, or in such circumstances as to cause obstruction to persons using the road or to cause danger to such persons." We are not talking about grumpy councils, issuing bits of paper, we are talking about the police deciding to remove and dispose of a vehicle deemed to be causing an obstruction or a danger. Edited September 13, 2009 by antarmike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingp Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 hi gents , my old girl is parked on the main road, havnt had any problems, best of luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 (edited) Out of curiosity - If a large vehicle (ie Zil, Bedford RL or MK/MJ, Stalwart etc.) is parked on the road, facing in the right direction, is not registered, taxed and insured as a commercial HGV but as - say - a PHG or Historic Vehicle and has reflectors on the rear plus the mandated yellow/orange diagonally striped reflective plates on the extremeties where is the problem with that??? I would have thought that if anyone drove into any vehicle thus marked the case would be against THEM for not visiting Spec Savers??? I can't recall the last time I saw any vehicle parked up at night around where I live with the outside illuminated by side markers - and that includes the 40' artics from all over Europe that use the main drags as impromtu lay-bys overnight..... Edited September 13, 2009 by ArtistsRifles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antarmike Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 Out of curiosity - If a large vehicle (ie Zil, Bedford RL or MK/MJ, Stalwart etc.) is parked on the road, facing in the right direction, is not registered, taxed and insured as a commercial HGV but as - say - a PHG or Historic Vehicle and has reflectors on the rear plus the mandated yellow/orange diagonally striped reflective plates on the extremeties where is the problem with that??? The problem is that PHG is a goods vehicle and as such the max unladen weight should be under1525 Kg to be parked on a road without lights and the unladen weights of the vehicles you list all exceed this figure so cannot legally be parked overnight without lights. A ZIL, RL, MK / MJ Stalwart are not "designed solely for thr carraige of passengers" so cannot be parked as "passenger vehicle". The classes of vehicles that can be parked without lights are passenger vehicles, goods vehicles unladen weight under 1525Kgs, motor bikes, or invalid carraiges. These are vehicle definitions, not taxation classes. The tax a vehicle has in the windscreen does not determine wether it can be parked overnight without lights. It is what the vehicle is determined to be that decides whether it can be parked, unlit, at night and none of the vehicles you quote match the definition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 Don't forget offcourse that the Police might not know for sure what kind of parking is legal. After all there are so many laws and regulations. They might by mistake give the wrong statement resulting in a lot of trouble when a accident happens and a investigation launched. Being a Non UK resident I still think this is a interesting topic for me. Carry on and no bun fights please or I will hit all of you on the head with a repro helmet... :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastblock Posted September 14, 2009 Author Share Posted September 14, 2009 I asked a policeman if I would be OK to park on the road and he said "no problem" so probably he is not fully aware of the laws. In many cases there seems to be no clear answer until something has actually been tried at the courts and set a precedence. I'm not taking any chances. If I ever get a truck and end up parking on a public highway over night I will make sure it has position lights switched on. As I mentioned earlier something with LEDs could be rigged up and would run a very long time on a spare car battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antarmike Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 (edited) To take the subject further, even parking a large vehicle in your own drive, or on you own land can lead to problems. It may come as a surprise to some of you but not all local councils are happy to see ex military or other vehicles parked at private residences. And unfortunately they have a legal right under planning law to intervene. Nearly 20 years ago I was living in Aston Clinton, when Aylesbury Vale district council took exception, (as a result of a comnplaint by a neighbour) to me keeping vintage lorries on land beside and behind my house, land I owned outright. They alleged under planning law that I had caused a "material change of use" and gave me one month to move the vehicles off my own land. I insisted they were hobby vehicles and I could keep them on my land. They were not being used commercially. AVDC said that storing my own hobby vehicles on my own land was not, in planning tems, lawful. They argued that they were not "incidental to my enjoyment of the property". In plain language they could not accept that I could have large vehicles, in a residential property, because that was not what was normally accepted as the use for a domestic property. There then followed a four year battle. with constant threats of enforcement action, to try and get my vehicles off my own land. I only beat the Council because I was able to trace the previous owner, and obtain from him details of his CPC as a Transpoert manager, and his Goods vehicle operators licence for two lorries at that address. The council completely lied about their earlier attempts to evict him, their issuing of an enforcement notice against him, his taking them to appeal and winning the case. The Council had from the outset of their dealings with me insisted "there is neither planning or enforcement history against this address". Had I not been able to discover the truth about them, deliberately hiding planning history, and been able to prove that lorries had been given planning permission to be on the site, on appeal, I would have been served an enforcement order. When I moved to my next home, within two months, East Lindsey District Council wrote to me alleging a "change of use" by storing and working upon large vehicles at the property, in contravention of planning law. Luckily by this time I knew enough about planning and Councils' decisions that some activities we see as hobbies are not "incidental to the enjoyment of the property", to be able to respond to this second accusation of "change of use"and threat of enforcement action, in such a way as to get them to agree that allthough there had been a "change of use" it did not amount to "a material change of use", which is a very important distinction in planning law. The caveat here is that you can't assume that you will be able to keep our own ex military vehicles on your own land, because some councils do not see this activity as "incidental to the enjoyment of the property" and will push to have them removed by enforcement action. Aylesbury Vale are the most awkward and difficult council I have ever heard of, and had I moved to a house without a previous Transport business having been run from it in the past my solicitor advised me I probably would have lost the case, and would have had to move the vehicles off my own land. If you want to move large vehicles onto private land, dont assume you can. I recommend you ask the Council for a determination whether planning permission is required, to test the waters. Some councils are fine, others are run by tw4ts. Edited September 17, 2009 by antarmike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastblock Posted September 14, 2009 Author Share Posted September 14, 2009 My local council have an online contact form for parking enquiries. Haven't received a reply........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abn deuce Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 I had a run in with the housing inspector in the previous home I had , I had let the registration and insurance expire since the GMC was no long being driven . They sent a letter say if the vehicle wasn't registered or removed in 30 days they would take legal action , Seems they thought I d simple move the vehicle to a different location , I on the other hand just went and re-registered and insured it since they had given me that choice in the first letter .After several months of letters back and forth I had to appear at Court for a hearing with a court clerk to see if the matter needed to be heard before a Judge , Town lawyer presented his case calling it a Commercial vehicle , unregistered and uninsured , that the plates on it were invalid . I got my say and showed it was registered and insured as a Antique Vehicle and had never been a commercial vehicle . The Clerk asked if there were any other Vehicles on the property and then dismissed the case. The Town Lawyer was very embarrassed , The Housing Inspector as later fired for charges of fraud and misuse of town money in an unrelated case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiketheBike Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 The road my brother lives on is also narrow and Emergency services had problems with access. There are markings on the pavement and you HAVE to park 12 inches on the pavement...otherwise you get a ticket. Seems a shame that Lee is not allowed to post on here...should he always wear his moderator hat and not have an opinion? Lets not get too PC...life is dull enough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marmite!! Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Hi, after a PM from a member who was unsure as to whether I was speaking for myself or HMVF it has been decided to save any further confusion to delete my original post(s) & any that quoted or referred to it. You are now free to answer the original question without MY parking arrangements confusing the issue. Any problems with this then please take it to PM with either Jack or myself. Regards Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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