na - on road / off road? - clive jackson

Many years ago, I lived with my parents in a terraced house. In front of the houses were three parking bays. I bought my first car but it had no tax. My father told me that I could park it in one of the bays legally because there was a dark line in the road in front of all three parking bays and that depicted the parking bays behind the line as classed as off road. I now live in a block of flats and there was a line similar to the one at the old property in front of nine parking bays until they resurfaced the road and covered this line over. Was my father correct in saying that this line depicts off road?

na - on road / off road? - daveyjp

Lines on roads mean very little.

For a definitive answer you need to know the extent of the adopted highway and for that you need to ask the local highway authority.

na - on road / off road? - Xileno

Moved thread to Legal forum. Might get a bit more visibility there as well.

Mod

na - on road / off road? - Falkirk Bairn

In Scotland, I do not know about other parts of the UK, if the parking space is numbered+ noted in the House deeds as being sold with the house/apartment then the space is private property. ie it is off the road.

A son had a flat in Aberdeen and parked in his numbered space - all good.

If he parked in ANother space, eg a Visitor space it was deemed to be on the road.

Near me are a number of terraced houses and each has a lock-up - private property & off road. Parked in front of their garage is not and a young chap I knew was scanned by the DVLA transit van and fined for no road tax.

na - on road / off road? - Andrew-T

According to the RAC website, a SORNed car must be kept in a garage, on a driveway, or on 'private land' - NOT at the roadside, on the pavement, in a car park or a garden. A private road is a possibility if the owners accept the situation.

So this query depends on finding out the meaning of any black lines. I would guess that they make no difference, as the area is probably still 'public'.

na - on road / off road? - Bromptonaut

Markings such as those described by the OP may well mark the edge of the carriageway and delineate the area maintained at public expense.

Whether land beyond there is private may be a different question as at least for some purposes, including compulsory insurance, private land to which the public has access is treated as part of the highway. Classic example would be a supermarket car park.

I think front gardens where they're not contained by fence/hedge can be a grey area too.

na - on road / off road? - Andrew-T

I think front gardens where they're not contained by fence/hedge can be a grey area too.

'Gardens' are explicitly excluded as 'Off-Road', so the question may become When is a garden not a garden ? Similarly the OP says this area is a lined-off part of a car park, which is also excluded, so a further question may be What is the legal difference between 'public' and 'private' car parks ?

na - on road / off road? - KJP 123

Many years ago I had dealings with a large private estate of flats; 6 blocks, > 150 units and in England. There were similar lines at the end of the parking bays and I was told that this was the boundary between the private area and the public roadway. The bays were not numbered or allocated. I don’t know if this was correct as there never was a reason to test it.

na - on road / off road? - sammy1

On road or off road if your car is at any risk the argument is immaterial. You need to have it insured

na - on road / off road? - Andrew-T

On road or off road if your car is at any risk the argument is immaterial. You need to have it insured

The SORN rules relate to on- or off-road taxation. If a car is correctly SORNed and thus free of VED, presumably it is on private land and is insurable in the same way as other domestic items ?

na - on road / off road? - thunderbird

Markings such as those described by the OP may well mark the edge of the carriageway and delineate the area maintained at public expense.

Whether land beyond there is private may be a different question as at least for some purposes, including compulsory insurance, private land to which the public has access is treated as part of the highway. Classic example would be a supermarket car park.

I think front gardens where they're not contained by fence/hedge can be a grey area too.

Absolutely spot on as I understand it. When the law was changed I was involved on the committee of the local Motor Club and it for a time appeared to be putting the existence of Motorsport in the UK in doubt since if applied any car on the track would have needed tax/MOT/insurance despite the public being unable to access the actual track area. The lawmakers considered that the actual "facility" was all accessible by the public. Luckily common sense prevailed in that case.

But the point regarding front garden with no hedge/fence etc is a very good one.

na - on road / off road? - bathtub tom

So if I want to store a car in my front garden, I take the number plates off, or even fit false ones?