Parking Law

hopefully out of all the replies on here, you might come up with the best way forward, but I think I would just keep on to the police by phone or visiting personally if you truly believe that there is an injustice here, your daughter is being prevented from going to work in a normal manner let alone all the stress involved.

 

If there's no legal signage, it kind of sounds like a neighbourhood vigilante manoeuvre. I'd be interested in what they told the contractor. I'd have thought it illegal to randomly select a vehicle for removal.

 

Why has my car been clamped or towed?
Your car can be clamped if:

• it’s parked illegally: police and local councils can clamp cars which are illegally parked on roads and public land, or causing an obstruction – this includes cars that have broken down
• your insurance is invalid: police can clamp any uninsured vehicle
• it’s considered a danger to other road users: the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) can clamp overloaded or unroadworthy vehicles
• it’s a commercial vehicle and you’ve been driving for too many hours: the DVSA can clamp these vehicles
• it’s a commercial vehicle and you haven’t paid previous fines

Your car can be towed if:

• it’s parked illegally: police and local councils can impound cars which are illegally parked on roads and public land, or causing an obstruction – this includes cars that have broken down
• your insurance is invalid: police can impound any uninsured vehicle
• your vehicle is untaxed: the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) can tow or clamp any untaxed vehicle
• you have outstanding debts: or unpaid penalty charge notices (this doesn’t apply in Northern Ireland)

The only one relevant here i would guess is the one i have highlighted. Causing an obstruction is open to interpretation but it sounds like the area has a problem with cars being parked in the roads.

 

Can you guys park on the road with no parking sign or parking lines painted on the ground, in the UK?

 

I agree, you shouldn't put it off, but rather go. Reminds me of a situation when I made an appointment with an orthodontist. 8.55 - appointment from 9, call later, I call 9.03 -9.20 busy. 9.22 - appointment's over. And if I had come in person, the situation would have been different....

 

a useful lesson here on this thread is - if in doubt when parking a car/motorbike, always take pictures particularly including number plates of adjacent cars if it's a motorbike. I remember finding my Monster swivelled at an angle that i hadn't left it and marks on the exhaust. Wasn't too worried as was an old scruffy bike, and no-one will ever know what happened except maybe a car driver as it was clear to me that bike had been reversed into and luckily had stayed upright.

Just imagine how much longer this might have taken to resolve if there had been no picture and date stamp etc..

 

If me I’d now go back and park in exactly the same place, walk out of sight and observe what goes on.

 

Let's see it

 

Judging by that photo, the only things I can possibly think of are that the officer who authorised the removal has applied a very expansive interpretation of the Highway Code;

1. Parked on a bend (HC r.243),
2. Because it is on a bend, it is parked in such a way as to not be parallel to the kerb, which leaves the front sticking out, which is “a dangerous position” (HC r.242).
3. Parked opposite or within 10 metres of a junction (HC r.243).

As she’s getting it back FOC, it sounds like the sergeant accepts that his underling screwed up.

 

I don’t follow….

Whoever authorised the towing of the car would have had to determine whether they had any lawful power to do so and on the basis of the photos, those are the only grounds I can think of. That doesn’t mean I agree that their interpretation was correct (I don’t) and it seems the sergeant didn’t agree either.

 

Surely the towing contractor has some paper trail as to who authorised the job and on what grounds?