Private Land: Can I do what I please?

[ashleyman]

If I'm on private land can I do whatever I like so long as I have the owners permission/am the owner?

I was watching an episode of Traffic Cops earlier and there was this kid ripping donuts in a Burger King car park. Surely that constitutes as private land and isn't subject to road laws so when they saw what he was doing and was issued a section 59 is that allowed even though it's on private land? Would the same happen if he owned the land he was driving on?

Also thinking: If I own land and wanted to do something not legal on a public highway - say Drink Drive for instance - would there be a chance I'd get prosecuted for that? Drink drive is an extreme example but you get what I'm asking right? Kinda like if I owned an airfield and wanted to test the top speed of my car out. I'm not subject to any speed limits on that road and the Police/Law can't do anything about my behaviour.

I understand this sounds REALLY council but I'm just wondering wether being on private land is an excuse for being able to do what you want.

[ashleyman]

sebhaque said:

Slight thread hijack/continuation - apologies OP.

I think it's a given that a Tesco car park isn't "private" land in the eyes of the driving laws, even if Tesco own the land, because it's somewhere that the public will access. Therefore if someone was to drink a bit too much and then park in Tesco and claim private land, they'd get thrown in the nick. Fair enough.

How does it work with driveways? If we assume one driveway is your average one, open to the public, and one has a gate on it - if someone was to go and sit in their car after a bottle of wine, would they still be arrested for drink driving? I'd have thought the open driveway may warrant a stroll to the car and a knock on the window, but a gated driveway might make things a bit more complicated.

Only asking out of curiosity. For arse-covering sakes, my car keys are safely stored away as I've had a few pints tonight. Furthermore I'm nursing a nasty injury to my ankle so I can't drive until February nonetheless

This also crossed my mind after that thread about the lad sat in the car after a few drinks. Interested to hear responses on this too.

I'm also thinking if I owned an establishment that did welcome the public. Say somewhere like a shop with a car park but it had gates that could be closed. If I shut the gates and put up a sign saying 'No Entry' one Sunday, could I technically do what I like as I've refused access to any uninvited person?

Edited by ashleyman on Wednesday 18th January 00:28