Driveways are an important part of a property and can be owned by private individuals or groups. It is a short road leading from a road to a parking lot, garage, etc.
Depending on your state of residence, there are rules guiding how close you can park your car to a driveway.
Some states have rules against it while others do not. But the question is, how close can you park to a driveway entrance?
Depending on your state of residence and the law that guide it, how close to park to a driveway entrance is between 6 meters away from the driveway to avoid blocking the entrance.
Can You Park Close to a Driveway Entrance?
It is quite common to see people in some neighborhoods park their cars close to the neighbor’s driveway without caring to know if it is appropriate, legal, or not.
Whether you can park close to a driveway or not depends on the laws guiding such in your state of residence. For some states, you can while in others it is illegal.
However, in the ‘Highway Code,’ there are clauses such as; DO NOT, MUST NOT, and SHOULD NOT that should be considered.
The clause used for a particular rule will help you determine if you are in the right or not as regards parking close to a driveway.
How Close Can You Park to a Driveway Entrance?
It is important to first determine what is considered parking close to a driveway. It could be that the car is blocking the driveway and preventing the exit or entrance of other vehicles, it could also be that the car is parked a few steps from the driveway.
How close you can park is dependent on the rules and laws of your state plus whether the driveway is a private or public one.
For some public driveways, there is usually some part of the sidewalk, a few inches from the driveway entrance marked with red or white that indicates that no car is allowed to park there. This is done so it will be easy for drivers to know where to park.
For private driveways, you can park as close to the driveway (to the point of blocking) as you want so long the neighbor isn’t complaining.
It is only considered an offense if the neighbor complains and charges you with the obstruction of passage/entrance.
In some states, the requirement for parking close to a driveway is 5 feet away from the driveway while for others is 6 feet away. Generally, you should never park within 3 to 6 meters to a driveway entrance.Â
Is There a Law Against Parking Too Close to a Driveway?
Yes, there are laws against parking too close to a driveway but this is not applicable in all states.
Some state law against parking looks something like this ‘No driver is allowed to park within 1.5 meters from access to private property, driveway, or a vehicle crossway‘.
Except for public driveways in some states, there are no laws against parking too close to a driveway and therefore legal actions may not be taken against offenders.
In such states, the only ground on which offenders can be faced with legal actions is if the neighbor reports them or their cars are towed away.
While you may not get a ticket for blocking your own driveway, the reverse is the case when other people’s private driveway is blocked.
Some states legally allow parking close to a driveway but only for a short period, anything longer than that will have your car towed away.
 Can You Park in Front of a Driveway without a Dropped Curb?
Dropped curb or Dropped Kerbs are areas of pavement that are lowered outside a property that allows a vehicle to drive easily from the road into the driveway.
In order to have a dropped curb on your property, you’ll need to get planning permission through your local council to ensure that the curb is done according to requirements and suitable for your neighborhood kind of road. This makes it a legal driveway.
You can park in front of a driveway without a dropped curb and within the law also. A driveway without a dropped curb leaves you with the assumption that the property owners do not have vehicles that need to be driven in.
Having dropped curb in front of your driveway tells everyone without words that you own a car that will be driven in at any point in time.
Even for states that have laws against parking close to a driveway, the law doesn’t cover when the driveway doesn’t have a dropped curb, a driveway without a curb is fair game to anyone that needs a parking space.
Can You Park in Front of a Driveway with a Dropped Curb?
No, you cannot park in front of a driveway with a dropped curb, this includes both kinds of dropped curbs i.e. in front of a driveway and dropped curbs for pushchairs and wheelchairs.
Dropped curbs make a statement on their own and if you choose not to comply you can get a ticket.
Parking in front of a driveway with a dropped curb is considered illegal even if you are not blocking the driveway and can be ticketed.
Especially for curbs designed for wheelchairs and pushchairs, it is highly inappropriate to have your vehicles parked there because of unforeseen circumstances such as; an emergency entry or exit.
Usually, in some cases, a property especially public ones with a dropped curb at its driveway has colored lines a few feet from the driveway, this is to avoid violators and for those that will claim they are ignorant
Can You Report Someone for Parking too Close to your Driveway?
Yes, you can report someone for parking too close to your driveway.
Reporting to the authorities may not be the first option but may be required if the violating party refuses to listen after you must have told them not to park there.
In the case where you have unyielding neighbors that continues to park close or turn around in your driveway, you can report to the police or other authorities that can help you take action against them. The police can tow the car from your driveway.
Conclusion
The benefits of a driveway to its owner cannot be exhausted, in the same vein, the driveway can be a bone of contention between you and your neighbors.
In order to prevent your neighbors from parking close to your driveway, you should put measures in place to discourage such actions. Having a dropped curb in place will be a good start, although it may not stop some troublesome neighbors.
