New signs for old rules?

Following a change in the law last year which now allows local authorities to fine drivers who obstruct a driveway, the AA is calling for such driveways to be clearly marked with a white line.

[ClickPress, Mon Jan 12 2009] Following a change in the law last year which now allows local authorities to fine drivers who obstruct a driveway, the AA is calling for such driveways to be clearly marked with a white line.

The new law means that drivers in England could be fined £70 for obstructing a driveway, with the penalty increasing to £120 in London. The AA says that such fines are unfair and that better signage of driveways (that is, those identified by a dropped kerb) is needed, to warn drivers exactly where they can and cannot park.

However, local government authorities say they should not be required to spend money painting signs on the road since the rules about parking or stopping in front of dropped kerbs are made perfectly clear in the Highway Code. Councillor David Sparks, chairman of the Local Government Association’s regeneration and transport board, argued that the vast majority of drivers know these rules, so, as he put it, “Why should we spend a fortune for a bunch of idiots?”.

The Department of Transport also said that drivers already know the rules, and there is no need for “a specific sign being placed at each individual location”.

In calling for better signage, the AA has expressed concerns that councils could go too far with enforcing the new rules, using them as an opportunity to maximize council revenues. An AA spokesman, Paul Watters, said, "When civil parking enforcement started, there were some councils going round in the middle of the night enforcing footway parking bans … and I think some people might be concerned this might re-appear if we have carte blanche power, like [with] this drop kerb."






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