Wilful Obstruction

[J3PTF]

I was given a parking ticket by Mr Plod last week, the reason given being "wilful obstruction,' and am struggling to decide whether to challenge this or not. The difficulty is that as it was issued by the police, the only way to challenge it is to go to court.

Basically I was parked at the side of a road, pavement side of some double yellow lines. The area is in a controlled parking zone, but there is currently no traffic order in place in this specific area, so it is always full.

Where I parked, there was enough room between my car and the adjacent building to fit pedestrians / wheelchairs / pushchairs with no issues. I am therefore at a loss as to who or what I was obstructing. What smarts a bit is that there are always several cars there, and the car behind me didn't receive a ticket, even though it was there before mine and still there when I left.

Are there any experts on here who can offer an insight into the requirements for this to be considered as obstruction, or whether I am likely to stand a chance challenging it?

Thanks

[Mk3Spitfire]

Hard to say without seeing the location personally. It sounds like you are parked ON the pavement then? Pavement side of yellows? If that's the case then I think you'd struggle to challenge it.

[vonhosen]

J3PTF said:

I was given a parking ticket by Mr Plod last week, the reason given being "wilful obstruction,' and am struggling to decide whether to challenge this or not. The difficulty is that as it was issued by the police, the only way to challenge it is to go to court.

Basically I was parked at the side of a road, pavement side of some double yellow lines. The area is in a controlled parking zone, but there is currently no traffic order in place in this specific area, so it is always full.

Where I parked, there was enough room between my car and the adjacent building to fit pedestrians / wheelchairs / pushchairs with no issues. I am therefore at a loss as to who or what I was obstructing. What smarts a bit is that there are always several cars there, and the car behind me didn't receive a ticket, even though it was there before mine and still there when I left.

Are there any experts on here who can offer an insight into the requirements for this to be considered as obstruction, or whether I am likely to stand a chance challenging it?

Thanks

Had you reduced the space that was designed & available for passage?
How long was it there?
Why was it there?

[PurpleMoonlight]

"Definition of pavement in English:

pavement

Line breaks: pave|ment
Pronunciation: /ˈpeɪvm(ə)nt øb




noun
British
1A raised paved or asphalted path for pedestrians at the side of a road:"


Do you see car park in that anywhere?

[IanA2]

About a hundred years ago I got a ticket for parking my Guzzi inside double yellow lines. Had to pay.

[Centurion07]

PurpleMoonlight said:

"Definition of pavement in English:

pavement

Line breaks: pave|ment
Pronunciation: /ˈpeɪvm(ə)nt øb




noun
British
1A raised paved or asphalted path for pedestrians at the side of a road:"


Do you see car park in that anywhere?

JT3PF said:

...Where I parked, there was enough room between my car and the adjacent building to fit pedestrians / wheelchairs / pushchairs with no issues. I am therefore at a loss as to who or what I was obstructing...

Get down off your high horse...

[J3PTF]

Thanks for some of the replies....

The 'pavement' I was parked on isn't raised at all, but there is no disputing it is intended as such.

I will try and upload a picture of the location / car when the signal on this train permits!

[anonymous-user]

PurpleMoonlight said:

"Definition of pavement in English:

pavement

Line breaks: pave|ment
Pronunciation: /ˈpeɪvm(ə)nt øb




noun
British
1A raised paved or asphalted path for pedestrians at the side of a road:"


Do you see car park in that anywhere?

Ever been to Scūnthorpe?

[J3PTF]

I was parked on the area on the right of this picture. The second photo is my car as it was when ticketed.

[silverfoxcc]

Sorry to advise you, but you are done like a kipper.
A lot of people think that parking the 'wrong side' of yellow lines means they are in the clear. there are several threads on pepioo where people in your position have tried to get assistnce on gtting off, and have been advised that according to the rules nd regs, the highway exends boundary to boundary. eg a road that is double yellowed and has a grass verge each side, no pavement to make it easier to understand, and people park on the grass verge.They quite legally get tickets for parking, usually by councils and for plain parking offence, but as plod has issued it, they may call it differently.
Suggest that you have a look on pepipoo and get the full sp.
Like you i thought it would be ok, and have parked like that in the past, but not anymore. Lots of useful legal titbits on there to keep in your armoury

[J3PTF]

silverfoxcc said:

Sorry to advise you, but you are done like a kipper.
A lot of people think that parking the 'wrong side' of yellow lines means they are in the clear. there are several threads on pepioo where people in your position have tried to get assistnce on gtting off, and have been advised that according to the rules nd regs, the highway exends boundary to boundary. eg a road that is double yellowed and has a grass verge each side, no pavement to make it easier to understand, and people park on the grass verge.They quite legally get tickets for parking, usually by councils and for plain parking offence, but as plod has issued it, they may call it differently.
Suggest that you have a look on pepipoo and get the full sp.
Like you i thought it would be ok, and have parked like that in the past, but not anymore. Lots of useful legal titbits on there to keep in your armoury

The bit about boundary to boundary makes sense, so like you I've made that mistake before. However, when that happened the offence quoted related directly to contravention of double yellow lines.

The issue for me here is that the road I was parked on is newly developed, and therefore there in not yet a traffic order in place, and therefore the double yellows don't mean anything. I suspect if there was, that's what the ticket would have been for. As it is, it seems to me like they have used wilful obstruction as the reason because it's all that was available to them, and it's this I'm unsure about is a don't accept anyone was or could have been obstructed!

[philip600]

J3PTF said:

silverfoxcc said:

Sorry to advise you, but you are done like a kipper.
A lot of people think that parking the 'wrong side' of yellow lines means they are in the clear. there are several threads on pepioo where people in your position have tried to get assistnce on gtting off, and have been advised that according to the rules nd regs, the highway exends boundary to boundary. eg a road that is double yellowed and has a grass verge each side, no pavement to make it easier to understand, and people park on the grass verge.They quite legally get tickets for parking, usually by councils and for plain parking offence, but as plod has issued it, they may call it differently.
Suggest that you have a look on pepipoo and get the full sp.
Like you i thought it would be ok, and have parked like that in the past, but not anymore. Lots of useful legal titbits on there to keep in your armoury

The bit about boundary to boundary makes sense, so like you I've made that mistake before. However, when that happened the offence quoted related directly to contravention of double yellow lines.

The issue for me here is that the road I was parked on is newly developed, and therefore there in not yet a traffic order in place, and therefore the double yellows don't mean anything. I suspect if there was, that's what the ticket would have been for. As it is, it seems to me like they have used wilful obstruction as the reason because it's all that was available to them, and it's this I'm unsure about is a don't accept anyone was or could have been obstructed!

Sorry but what happens when two people with pushchairs going in the opposite direction meet, wheelchair users & more importantly anyone one, including children & those mentioned above wanting to cross the road ? The cars make this pretty dangerous to be able to see clearly. The yellow lines have been put there to keep the road clear of traffic & people think it's ok to park on the pavement. Good luck with contesting it ??

[s p a c e m a n]

That's easy picking for a traffic warden, there's no way I would chance parking there regardless of everyone else doing it. Parking on any pavement in London gets you a ticket for obstruction regardless of how wide the kerb or what the enforcement on the road is, I guess other councils have taken this up.

[Magic919]

In my area only the Police can issue tickets for obstruction, not traffic wardens.

[Hackney]

Instead of spending time looking into whether or not there's a parking order on the road or other such bks why not just do what everyone should know..... don't park on double yellows

[PurpleMoonlight]

J3PTF said:

The bit about boundary to boundary makes sense, so like you I've made that mistake before. However, when that happened the offence quoted related directly to contravention of double yellow lines.

The issue for me here is that the road I was parked on is newly developed, and therefore there in not yet a traffic order in place, and therefore the double yellows don't mean anything. I suspect if there was, that's what the ticket would have been for. As it is, it seems to me like they have used wilful obstruction as the reason because it's all that was available to them, and it's this I'm unsure about is a don't accept anyone was or could have been obstructed!

You weren't parked on the road, you were parked on the pavement.

It's not up to you to decide if the space you left was sufficient for pedestrians, you shouldn't have parked there and were therefore at least obstructing part of the pavement. And that appears exactly what you have received a ticket for. End of.

Just another fool refusing to take responsibility for their own actions really.

[J3PTF]

philip600 said:

Sorry but what happens when two people with pushchairs going in the opposite direction meet, wheelchair users & more importantly anyone one, including children & those mentioned above wanting to cross the road ? The cars make this pretty dangerous to be able to see clearly. The yellow lines have been put there to keep the road clear of traffic & people think it's ok to park on the pavement. Good luck with contesting it ??

You'd be able to get two pushchairs past each other in most places, and would only be likely to struggle if a car has been parked particularly far over. Anywhere there is a problem, the regular trees mean there is a 'passing point' every car or two.

People crossing towards the cars is unlikely - the building has no entrances on that side, so the only likely crossing points are at the corners, where no cars are able to park anyway.

[J3PTF]

Hackney said:

Instead of spending time looking into whether or not there's a parking order on the road or other such bks why not just do what everyone should know..... don't park on double yellows

Thanks for that.

It took me all of three seconds to find out, by asking a traffic warden what the score was with parking there.

I've only parked there in line with what they said, hence my confusion over why it was an issue.

[J3PTF]

PurpleMoonlight said:

You weren't parked on the road, you were parked on the pavement.

It's not up to you to decide if the space you left was sufficient for pedestrians, you shouldn't have parked there and were therefore at least obstructing part of the pavement. And that appears exactly what you have received a ticket for. End of.

Just another fool refusing to take responsibility for their own actions really.

Really?

I'm quite happy to take my responsibility for my actions, I said I parked the car there after all. I just disagree that it caused an obstruction, and wanted to hear a few other opinions.

I'm sorry that you're kitten got hurt by my parking...

[Hackney]

So why are you wining on here about it when the rule is pretty simple.
Asked a traffic warden if you could park where you're definitely not allowed to park?

Jeez!