England and Wales only??
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Cycling News
"Has parking on shared use footways been illegal since 1988?"
(6 posts)-
Posted 13 years ago #
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What about Scotland? Is there a Lawyer in the house??
Posted 13 years ago # -
The easiest way to tell whether a piece of legislation extends to Scotland is to look what is generally the last section (in this case s.197 - usually entitled 'Short title, commencement and extent'), before the Schedules.
If it doesn't mention that it 'only extends to England and Wales' or 'does not extend to Scotland' (not forgetting Northern Ireland) then it does apply (unless superceded by later legislation, and these days these sites show the updated versions, so if there is a change to a particular provision with regard to Scotland it will be noted within that provision).
And so we turn to s.21, and all looks rosy, until s.21(4) - "This section does not extend to Scotland."
I'm off to check the Roads (Scotland) Act....
Posted 13 years ago # -
Parking on a cycle track in Scotland is an offence under Section 129(6) of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984. The definition of a cycle track in Section 151(2)(b) of the 1984 Act includes those tracks used by both bikes and pedestrians.
Unfortunately, this only covers cycle tracks and not on road cycle lanes, where parking is a problem. I don't really see this as a startling revelation - I always assumed parking on off-road cycle or shared-use tracks was illegal.
Posted 13 years ago # -
"I always assumed parking on off-road cycle or shared-use tracks was illegal."
Yes but.
I believe this is about pavements that happen to have a cyclepath on.
My understanding is that if the police find a car on the pavement they (often? always?) can't do anything unless they have seen it drive there.
I know that sounds ridiculous.
True? Urban myth?
Help...
Posted 13 years ago # -
Quick run-down on the law in this area as I understand it:
It is an offence, under Section 19 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, to park a commercial vehicle which has an operating weight of at least 7.5 tonnes on a footway.
It is an offence, under Section 129(5) of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to drive on a footway. However, there is no specific offence relating to parking vehciles under 7.5 tonnes on a footway in Scotland.
Under Section 99 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and the Removal and Disposal of Vehicles Regulations 1986 (as amended) a police constable can require the owner, driver or person in charge of a vehicle which is causing an obstruction to road users (which includes pedestrians and cyclists) to move that vehicle. A police constable can also arrange for such a vehicle to be removed if the person responsible will not move it or cannot be found, a charge will be made to the vehicle owner if the vehicle is removed.
Do police have to see a car drive on to a pavement to take action, I don't think this is necessarily true as explained above. However, it is right to say there is no offence of parking on a pavement and a police officer can exercise their judgement (!) as to whether a vehicle parked on a pavement is causing an obstruction and take action as they see fit.
If anyone knows any different I would genuinely like to know - not sure of any case law in this area.
Posted 13 years ago #
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