Is It Legal To Tow A Car That's Blocking Your Driveway?

Anton Vakhrushev/Getty Images

Let's group nan scene. It's been a agelong time astatine nan office. You're tired, you're grumpy, and erstwhile you yet rotation up to your house, you find an unfamiliar car sitting correct successful beforehand of your driveway — lights off, nary driver successful sight. Now, you cognize you can't trebuchet nan offending car into nan mediate distance, but that doesn't mean you can't get justice. It's forbidden to artifact personification else's driveway, which intends you tin get nan cops involved. The champion portion is, since nan personification treating your driveway for illustration a individual parking batch is breaking nan law, you won't beryllium connected nan hook for nan costs of nan tow.

However, earlier you get each due-process and commencement ranting astir really it's "the rule of nan thing," maybe try leaving a statement explaining that their car is blocking your driveway. The driver mightiness not person realized nan car was moreover successful beforehand of a driveway, and mightiness beryllium embarrassed and move instantly upon their return. If there's personification still successful nan illegally-parked car, absent-mindedly texting aliases scrolling done societal media, conscionable sound connected nan model and inquire politely to move. 

There's nary request to spell atomic arsenic a first resort, particularly if you're not successful a clip crunch. Also, nan car whitethorn not moreover beryllium parked, truthful don't telephone a tow motortruck connected immoderate mediocre occupied car sitting innocently successful nan mediate of engaged traffic – but what do you do erstwhile things spell beyond that point?

Nomad_Soul/Shutterstock

Let's opportunity you've tried nan serene approach. Maybe nan driver rebuffed your gentle reproof. In that case, you person 2 options to get free of nan car blocking your driveway. Option 1 is to telephone a tow motortruck to travel and get nan conveyance retired of your sight, though you whitethorn request to hold 24 hours if you don't person a No Parking sign. Then, you tin interaction your section cops aliases region sheriff's office, depending connected what jurisdiction you unrecorded in, and springiness them a explanation of nan car on pinch immoderate different grounds they require. After that, conscionable beryllium backmost pinch a sly grin and watch nan car get towed to nan impound lot. 

Option 2 is to telephone your section rule enforcement first and fto them interaction nan tow company. Make judge you telephone main telephone number and not 911 unless nan driveway blockage is an existent emergency. Your soul rage and righteous fury are, unfortunately, not an emergency successful nan eyes of nan police. If you unrecorded successful an area that has 311, telephone that. 

Once rule enforcement arrives, they'll measure nan mediocre parkland occupation and telephone a tow institution to travel get nan car. This is sometimes your only action because immoderate tow companies won't tow a car unless it's been ticketed first. It's not for illustration section rule enforcement won't travel and summons a car — some U.S. cities make much money from parking tickets than anyplace else.

noPPonPat/Shutterstock

Of course, this article is titled "Is it ineligible to tow a car that's blocking your driveway?" implying that you, nan reader, mightiness want to grip nan tow occupation yourself. I was funny astir this, truthful I called my section constabulary section successful Pensacola, Florida. When I asked nan serviceman connected nan different extremity of nan statement if personification could conscionable hook up a winch to nan offending car's bumper and propulsion it retired of nan way, she paused for a second, past said, "It's benignant of a grey area." 

The gist of her afloat mentation is that you, nan mean person, don't person nan benignant of liability security that tow companies do. If you harm nan car successful nan process of moving it, you could beryllium connected nan hook for a criminal mischief charge. It's champion to fto rule enforcement do its thing. However, if you want to return nan chance, we've written earlier astir really you tin get superior heavy-duty hauling powerfulness from a utilized ambulance.

Seriously, though, if cars support blocking your driveway, effort putting up a No Parking sign. You tin besides effort mounting up orangish cones aliases asking your HOA, city, county, building owner, aliases spot head if you tin overgarment immoderate yellowish lines to make nan driveway much noticeable. Most group aren't looking to parkland successful beforehand of someone's driveway — they're conscionable oblivious. Maybe conscionable get 1 of those noodley, inflatable dancing conduit men you spot astatine car dealers and prosecute a teen to rotation an arrow-shaped sign.