BRITS could be handed a whopping £1,000 fine for making a common mistake while parking on their own driveway, experts have warned.
Research from Direct Line found that millions of UK drivers could potentially be committing an offence without even realising it.
GettyMillions of Brits could face £1,000 fines if their driveway doesn’t have a dropped kerb[/caption]
Their survey of 2,000 motorists, weighted to reflect the national population, found that 29% of households with driveways didn’t have a council-approved dropped kerb installed in front of it.
As a result, these drivers would have to mount the kerb at some point to get up into their parking spot.
However, many might not realise that this is actually against the Highway Code and can lead to a hefty penalty.
As the law stands, you can be slapped with a £1,000 charge for driving on a public footpath if you mount the kerb or a grass verge when you’re trying to park up.
Not only that but you might not actually be allowed to take the necessary steps to address this.
A Freedom of Information request revealed that local authorities receive an average of 14,000 planning requests for dropped kerbs every year.
But roughly 20% of these are rejected, with reasons including the driveway in question not being large enough, being within 10 meters of a road junction or simply having a lampost within a meter of it.
This means homeowners could be stuck with drives that are unusable without the risk of a significant fine.
That’s on top of the fact that councils often charge a non-refundable fee of up to £340 simply to make the application.
Even if your request is granted, it could still cost you thousands to have the work done.
Successful applicants are required to use a council-approved contractor to install the kerb, with costs mounting as high as £1,800, according to Direct Line.
Lorraine Price, the company’s Head of Motor Insurance, said: “People risk large fines if they try and install their own dropped kerb to access their property.
“It is important people go through the correct channels and apply to their local council for permission.
“Driving across pavement without a dropped kerb is not only illegal, but it can also cause significant damage to a vehicle.”
It comes after an expert revealed what the “tiny coffee cup” symbol on your dashboard really means and why you should stop driving immediately if you see it.
Meanwhile, we gave readers a glimpse inside an “Aladdin’s Cave” motor museum that boasts a 54-inch microcar and several bizarre amphibious vehicles – it’s only an hour’s trip away.