Having a car block your driveway can be very devastating especially when you’re in a rush to attend an important meeting. Imagine having to take a taxi to work just because someone blocked your driveway with his/her car.
Therefore, when you find someone blocking your driveway, what do you do? Should you report the car to the appropriate authorities? How do you report a car blocking your driveway?
To report a car blocking your driveway, you can call an emergency or nonemergency number approved by your state of residence such as 911, 311, etc. You can report the car to them stating how it is blocking your driveway.
Can I Report a Car for Blocking My Driveway?
Yes, you can report a car for blocking your driveway. You have the right to do so. Whether it is a private or public driveway, you have the right to report the incident to the appropriate authorities especially when it is a repeated incident.
Some neighbors can be something else. If you have a troublesome neighbor who drives joy in making you unhappy, if he/she keeps parking in front of your driveway, whether partially parking or not, you can have him/her reported to the authorities especially if you had pleaded with him in the past to stop and he continued in the action.
How to Report a Car Blocking My Driveway
You can report a car blocking your driveway by:
- Calling the appropriate emergency or non-emergency number assigned to handle issues like this
- When they pick up, report the incident according to how it happened to them
- Ensure you explain the incident the exact way it happened and how it has affected you
While making the report, you should be able to provide them with:
- The kind/brand of car blocking your driveway
- The model
- The year
- The color, and
- The license plate number
This is the information that will be required from you when you make the call. However, while stating all these, do not make any mistake. Tell them the exact car, color, and most especially the plate number.
Who to Report a Car Blocking My Driveway
Who to report a car blocking your driveway depends on your state of residence.
Los Angeles
If you are in Los Angeles and you need to report a car blocking your driveway, you can call (213) 485-4184 and make your complaint. You can also call 311 and follow the voice to where you can press to speak with a live operator.
Oakland
If you are in Oakland, you can call (510) 777-3333 to report a car blocking your driveway. You should call this number if you want the car to be removed as soon as possible.
When you report a car blocking your driveway in Oakland, either the owner of the car is issued a ticket or is given a warning. The warning will be written by the authorities and placed on the windshield of the car where the owner can easily see it.
In a worst-case scenario, the car can be towed away especially if it is preventing you from driving out. They can have the car towed away immediately.
New York
In New York, you can call 911 or 311 on a vehicle blocking your driveway. It is called trespassing in NY if the vehicle is blocking your private driveway. You can also report the incident if the car is parked on a public road yet blocked your driveway.
You have the right to report a vehicle that is partially or completely blocking your driveway. When making the report, you should include the color of the car, the make, model, and license plate number.
Be that as it may, once the report is made, the vehicle will be ticketed by the police before being towed. Once it’s ticketed, you can call a towing company authorized and licensed by the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) to tow the car. After the car is towed, the owner of the car is responsible for the towing fees, etc.
San Diego
You can report a car blocking your driveway in San Diego through a phone call or online. All you have to do is contact the San Diego Police Department’s Abandoned Vehicle Abatement Unit at (858) 495-7856 or (619) 531-2000. You can also call 911 if it’s an emergency that needs to be resolved immediately.
If you wish to do it online, you can visit the online violation report form and make the report. Scroll down and click on START, then fill in the information required from you to complete the report. After the parking issue is submitted, a police officer will evaluate the report, and the necessary steps are taken.
San Francisco
If your state of residence is San Francisco, you can call 311 to make the report. After the call is made, the Traffic Enforcement Division will be there as soon as possible to help.
One thing with the San Francisco’s Traffic Enforcement Division is that they are quick to respond to issues like this. The only downside is that you cannot tow a car blocking your driveway in San Franciso until you notify the SFPD.
However, you can have the car towed one hour after notifying the SFPD. The towing company is also required to notify the SFPD within 30 minutes of the towing being conducted.
Houston
You can call 311 to report a car blocking your driveway in Houston. After the call is made, the police will arrive at the scene to give the violating car its ticket after which the car can be towed.
However, while towing a car for blocking your driveway, you should photograph and time stamp the vehicle. You should do the towing through the police towline and notify the owner of the car where the car is towed.
Final Thoughts
Reporting a car for blocking your driveway before towing the car is the best thing to do to avoid going against the law of your state of residence. Therefore, you can easily report a car blocking your driveway by calling non-emergency number 311 and 911 if it is an emergency. After the report is made, the authorities will evaluate the report, and ticket the vehicle before having it towed.
