australia property
Can i have the police impound a car which is obstructing my driveway?
<p>a few days ago someone parked their car across my driveway. between my fence and the road there is about 5 meters of land including a foot path and gutter/runoff ditch. my road extends from my front gate and over a pipe which is meant to preserve the gutter's flow.</p>

<p>this was late at night and the car sat there for well over an hour. luckily they moved on however if they remained there I would have had problems getting out for work as because of how deep this gutter/run off ditch is.</p>

<p>now I know that in Australia if they were on my property I could charge them for trespass but the 5 meters of land outside my front fence, despite the fact I am the one who gets fined if the grass isn't kept short and I have to maintain my driveway, belongs to the local council.</p>

<p>I am wondering, if a car parked itself in a way in which impeded me being able to leave, regardless if they were on my property or council land (ie. parked on the nature strip but blocking my driveway) could I then call the police to impound the car?</p>

<p>Generally, you can't tow someone else's car without their permission.</p>

<p>You could contact the police, but as they're not actually committing a crime (unless the road has <em>no parking/stopping</em> signposts), it's unlikely that the police would take any action.</p>

<p>However, in most states, the Road Rules (or equivalent) penalise drivers for obstructing access to driveways, for example New South Wales: <a href="http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/regulation/2014/758/part12/div6/rule.198" rel="nofollow">Road Rules</a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>A driver must not stop on a road in a position that obstructs access by vehicles or pedestrians to or from a footpath ramp or a similar way of access to a footpath, or a bicycle path or passageway unless ...  </p>
</blockquote>

<p>A police officer (or usually even a council officer) may issue an infringement notice. However, someone parked across your driveway is unlikely to be a priority for them.</p>

<p>I was unable to find any law empowering the police to tow away vehicles merely because they obstruct access to a driveway.</p>
