Turn Arounds in Private Driveways

[dvferyance]

Are they illegal? I think they should be you infringing on private property out of respect for personal property I never do it.

[Brandon]

No, they're not illegal.  In fact, if you're doing it on the apron, then that's still public property of some kind, be it municipal, township, county, or state.

[froggie]

No, they're not illegal.

If signed (and some of them here are), they're illegal.

In fact, if you're doing it on the apron, then that's still public property of some kind, be it municipal, township, county, or state.

This may work in the Midwest, where there tends to be a bit more ROW to the local roads, but out here in the Northeast, that is not the case.  There are few roads in New England where there is enough of a "public property apron" to do a proper turnaround.

[briantroutman]

If signed (and some of them here are), they're illegal.

I've seen numerous signed "no turnarounds"  on rural driveways, and invariably (or at least these are the ones that catch my eye) they're never well-done or tasteful signs but rather all caps scrawled in freehand on repurposed scrap flakeboard–with about five exclamation points.

Why are these people are so ticked off?

[dvferyance]

They are still private property. Someone did it on my driveway just as I was coming home I had the right to pull into my driver and no stranger should keep me from doing it. Sure waiting an extra minute may not seem a big deal but really that driver was on private property without consent. There is a culd du sac just up the road they should use that for turn arounds instead. I personally believe in respecting private property and always use a culd du sac to turn around it. Most neighborhoods have them they are not all that hard to find. Whether it;s the law or not I believe it's polite and respectful not to use them for turn arounds unless if your in a situation were there is no alternative but that wasn't the case with me.

[Brandon]

They are still private property.

The apron is not private property.  Anything from the far side of the sidewalk (house side) into the street is public property.  It's the street's right-of-way.  If you park on the apron, you can (and should) be ticketed (usually for blocking the sidewalk).

[cl94]

Heh, we passed a driveway along NY 9N during my meet that had a sign saying "U-Turns $1"

[SP Cook]

I don't see the big deal, as long as it is a paved driveway and you are in a standard sized vehicle.  My mom lives on a dead end street (which is a private road so there is no ROW concern).  It is not possible to leave the neighborhood w/o truning into someone's driveway.

[jeffandnicole]

If signed (and some of them here are), they're illegal.

I've seen numerous signed "no turnarounds"  on rural driveways, and invariably (or at least these are the ones that catch my eye) they're never well-done or tasteful signs but rather all caps scrawled in freehand on repurposed scrap flakeboard–with about five exclamation points.

Why are these people are so ticked off?

If they get to the point of putting up a sign, chances are there's a nearby situation (business, park, street) that people often miss or make a wrong turn, and they need to find a place to make a U-turn. 

The reason they'll be pissed is that their driveway is now blocked.  Let's say the homeowner comes home, and can't pull into their own driveway due to said u-turner. The homeowner has to wait.  In the meantime, the u-turning vehicle is getting pissed that the stopped vehicle isn't going by them on the street, unknowing (or caring) that it's simply the homeowner wanting to use his own driveway!

No, they're not illegal.

If signed (and some of them here are), they're illegal.

The signage doesn't legally prohibit a U-turn.  And pulling into someone's driveway just for a moment to make a u-turn, even if you're technically on the property, really isn't trespassing.  If you were to park the car in the driveway and walk away from it, then it's more of a trespassing situation.

[epzik8]

I don't know if they are.

[rte66man]

I live in a suburban neighborhood.  Even with a 2 car width driveway, many vehicles are in such a hurry that they regularly run up on the lawn to the point that they leave ruts.  The sad thing is there is a large circular area just 3 houses down that would make their u-turn so much easier.......

[SectorZ]

Back in my days as an auto claims adjuster, I had a claim in the state of Florida that dealt with this. My insured was backing up in his own driveway, and someone pulled into it just do a u-turn. They collided, about 15' into the driveway, and the friggin' cop actually gave a ticket to my insured backing up in his own driveway. I actually denied the guy filing the claim against my insured, and never heard a peep about it after the denial.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I agree it's mostly legal but I try to avoid doing this as a courtesy (the "what if the homeowner is trying to get in/out" described above, or the scenario of having him be doing something outside and getting glared at in response). My folks didn't seem to care much about turning around in people's driveways so I don't know where I got my reluctance to do so.

[jp the roadgeek]

Last time I turned around in a driveway, I had the great luck of having the homeowner come home just as I was pulling out.  Fortunately, nothing came of it, but just a case of if it had been 15 seconds later and the homeowner was in a certain spot, could have ended a lot differently.

Personally, I live on one side of a double driveway where my driveway and the house next door have driveways back to back.  During a Fall festival, my street becomes a detour route, and many people who get lost and need to turn around conveniently try to use the driveway as a turnaround.  One year, it just got to the point where my neighbors and I put our garbage cans across the bottom of the driveways to deter it.

[Duke87]

A better question than "are they illegal?" is "can you realistically get in any sort of trouble for doing it?".

The answer to that is, solidly, no. It's not something a cop is going to ticket you for. Some property owners might not like it, but what are they going to do about it in the two seconds you're there? Yell at you to get lost? You're about to do that anyway.

[hbelkins]

I typically don't turn around unless I am entering a county for the sake of collecting it, and then turning around exiting the way I came -- or if I see a sign I want to photograph and need to turn around for it. I will use a private driveway if necessary.

[1995hoo]

A better question than "are they illegal?" is "can you realistically get in any sort of trouble for doing it?".

The answer to that is, solidly, no. It's not something a cop is going to ticket you for. Some property owners might not like it, but what are they going to do about it in the two seconds you're there? Yell at you to get lost? You're about to do that anyway.

Heck, the cops in Fairfax County don't ticket people for parking across the sidewalk (example: parking one car behind another in a driveway that doesn't have enough space, so car #2 blocks the sidewalk or even sticks into the street). They'd never ticket people for turning around.

I don't really see what the big deal is. What annoys me far more is workmen who block other driveways to service one house–say, someone shows up to do plumbing work at one house and parks on the street (illegally in our case, as our street is all fire lanes) such that his truck blocks someone else's driveway. You shouldn't have to ask to be allowed out of your driveway.

[The Nature Boy]

I don't care, to be honest.

I grew up on a dirt road that dead-ended into the woods so if you wanted to turn around, you had to use one of the driveways in the neighborhood. I currently live on a one-way street so I might be alarmed if someone tried to turn around in my driveway.

I personally try to avoid it though because you never know how people are going to react and I don't want to cause trouble or alarm someone.

[rte66man]

I don't care, to be honest.

I grew up on a dirt road that dead-ended into the woods so if you wanted to turn around, you had to use one of the driveways in the neighborhood. I currently live on a one-way street so I might be alarmed if someone tried to turn around in my driveway.

I personally try to avoid it though because you never know how people are going to react and I don't want to cause trouble or alarm someone.

You mean like this?

https://www.local10.com/news/crime/hialeah-man-shoots-tires-of-utility-truck-after-workers-park-in-front-of-home-police-say

[The Nature Boy]

I don't care, to be honest.

I grew up on a dirt road that dead-ended into the woods so if you wanted to turn around, you had to use one of the driveways in the neighborhood. I currently live on a one-way street so I might be alarmed if someone tried to turn around in my driveway.

I personally try to avoid it though because you never know how people are going to react and I don't want to cause trouble or alarm someone.

You mean like this?

https://www.local10.com/news/crime/hialeah-man-shoots-tires-of-utility-truck-after-workers-park-in-front-of-home-police-say

That reminds me of when I used to have a job going door to door. I asked my boss where to park and was told, "just find a spot." I never felt quite right about finding random places to park in subdivisions with no designated street or public parking.

[vdeane]

I don't care, to be honest.

I grew up on a dirt road that dead-ended into the woods so if you wanted to turn around, you had to use one of the driveways in the neighborhood. I currently live on a one-way street so I might be alarmed if someone tried to turn around in my driveway.

I personally try to avoid it though because you never know how people are going to react and I don't want to cause trouble or alarm someone.

You mean like this?

https://www.local10.com/news/crime/hialeah-man-shoots-tires-of-utility-truck-after-workers-park-in-front-of-home-police-say

So, if you're angry about someone parking in front of your house, you go ahead and make it impossible for them to leave.  Yeah, that makes sense.

[jwolfer]

I don't care, to be honest.

I grew up on a dirt road that dead-ended into the woods so if you wanted to turn around, you had to use one of the driveways in the neighborhood. I currently live on a one-way street so I might be alarmed if someone tried to turn around in my driveway.

I personally try to avoid it though because you never know how people are going to react and I don't want to cause trouble or alarm someone.

You mean like this?

https://www.local10.com/news/crime/hialeah-man-shoots-tires-of-utility-truck-after-workers-park-in-front-of-home-police-say

So, if you're angry about someone parking in front of your house, you go ahead and make it impossible for them to leave.  Yeah, that makes sense.

If you dont want people parking in front of your house and it really upsets you.. Move out to the country ...

I have never understood people getting upset. My ex wife would get mad if neighbors has a party and tgeir guests parked infront of us.

I grew up in a Jersey Shore summer resort.. People parking in front od the house happened all summer


LGMS428

[bzakharin]

I don't care, to be honest.

I grew up on a dirt road that dead-ended into the woods so if you wanted to turn around, you had to use one of the driveways in the neighborhood. I currently live on a one-way street so I might be alarmed if someone tried to turn around in my driveway.

I personally try to avoid it though because you never know how people are going to react and I don't want to cause trouble or alarm someone.

You mean like this?

https://www.local10.com/news/crime/hialeah-man-shoots-tires-of-utility-truck-after-workers-park-in-front-of-home-police-say

So, if you're angry about someone parking in front of your house, you go ahead and make it impossible for them to leave.  Yeah, that makes sense.

If you dont want people parking in front of your house and it really upsets you.. Move out to the country ...

I have never understood people getting upset. My ex wife would get mad if neighbors has a party and tgeir guests parked infront of us.

I grew up in a Jersey Shore summer resort.. People parking in front od the house happened all summer


LGMS428

I too am in NJ, and never thought twice about parking next to someone's house. I was really surprised to learn that in towns surrounding Cleveland (and I think Cleveland itself) it is illegal to park in front of a residence, even if it's your own, overnight. I do that at home all the time.

[AlexandriaVA]

Never understood why people think they own the section of public street in front of their house. Obviously a private development with its own road network is a different matter, but I can't think of any such places my way (have to get to medium/outer suburbs for that).

[jeffandnicole]

I don't care, to be honest.

I grew up on a dirt road that dead-ended into the woods so if you wanted to turn around, you had to use one of the driveways in the neighborhood. I currently live on a one-way street so I might be alarmed if someone tried to turn around in my driveway.

I personally try to avoid it though because you never know how people are going to react and I don't want to cause trouble or alarm someone.

You mean like this?

https://www.local10.com/news/crime/hialeah-man-shoots-tires-of-utility-truck-after-workers-park-in-front-of-home-police-say

So, if you're angry about someone parking in front of your house, you go ahead and make it impossible for them to leave.  Yeah, that makes sense.

If you dont want people parking in front of your house and it really upsets you.. Move out to the country ...

I have never understood people getting upset. My ex wife would get mad if neighbors has a party and tgeir guests parked infront of us.

I grew up in a Jersey Shore summer resort.. People parking in front od the house happened all summer


LGMS428

I too am in NJ, and never thought twice about parking next to someone's house. I was really surprised to learn that in towns surrounding Cleveland (and I think Cleveland itself) it is illegal to park in front of a residence, even if it's your own, overnight. I do that at home all the time.

There are towns in NJ like that as well.  Pitman and Glassboro don't allow any on-street parking between 2am & 6am.  Woodbury has the same rule, although it's unenforced there.