Pavement parking prohibition – section 50
338.Subsection (1) of this section provides that a person must not park a motor vehicle on a “pavement”, which is defined as meaning a footpath or footway to be construed in accordance with section 151(2) of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984. A footway is a road (within the meaning of section 151(1) of that Act) which is associated with a carriageway and over which there is a public right of passage by foot only. A footpath is a road (within the same meaning) which is not associated with a carriageway and over which there is a public right of passage by foot only. This prohibition is referred to in this Part of the Act as the “pavement parking prohibition”.
339.For the purposes of the pavement parking prohibition, subsection (4) provides that “motor vehicle” has the meaning given by section 185(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988, meaning a mechanically propelled vehicle intended or adapted for use on roads. But it does not include:
a mechanically propelled vehicle which is an implement for cutting grass, is controlled by a pedestrian and is not capable of being used or adapted for any other purpose;
any other mechanically propelled vehicle controlled by a pedestrian, or an electrically assisted pedal cycle of a class, as may be specified by regulations made by the Secretary of State for the purposes of section 136 of the RTRA (and section 189 of the Road Traffic Act 1988) (see, for example, the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/24) amending the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles Regulations 1983 (S.I. 1983/1168)).
340.Furthermore, the definition of “motor vehicle” for the purposes of the pavement parking prohibition also excludes a “heavy commercial vehicle” within the meaning of section 20(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988, meaning any goods vehicle which has an operating weight exceeding 7.5 tonnes. The pavement parking prohibition does apply to heavy commercial vehicles as section 19 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 provides that it is an offence for those vehicles to park wholly or partly on a footway (with “footway” having the same meaning as in the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 – see section 192(2) of the Road Traffic Act 1988).
341.In addition, section 185(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 is subject to section 20 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 (the “1970 Act”). This means that the definition of “motor vehicle” for the purposes of the pavement parking prohibition does not include an “invalid carriage” (within the meaning of section 20 of the 1970 Act) which complies with requirements set out in regulations made by the Secretary of State and which is being used in accordance with conditions set out in regulations. This is because section 20(1)(a) of the 1970 Act provides that where an “invalid carriage” is mechanically propelled, it is to be treated as not being a motor vehicle for the purposes of the Road Traffic Act 1988. (“Invalid carriage” is defined by section 20(2) of the 1970 Act as meaning “a vehicle, whether mechanically propelled or not, constructed or adapted for use for the carriage of one person, being a person suffering from some physical defect or disability”.)
342.Subsection (2)(a) provides that a motor vehicle is parked on a pavement for the purposes of subsection (1) if it is stationary and one or more of its wheels (or any part of them) is on any part of the pavement.
343.Subsection (2)(b) provides that a motor vehicle is stationary (in order to be considered to be “parked” on a pavement) whether or not the driver of the vehicle is in attendance or the vehicle’s engine is running.
344.The pavement parking prohibition is subject to the exceptions (which also apply to the double parking prohibition) set out in section 55.
