"John Rowland" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I've seen a lot of signs recently declaring roads to be private. What does
this mean?

It means that it is not adopted as a public highway by the local highway
authority (usually the local council) but is owned by the residents or the
freehold owner of the land where the houses have been built.

Am I allowed to drive down it?

Yes, unless there is a sign telling you "residents only" in which case you
would be trespassing but nobody would be likely to sue you because you could
easily be visiting a friend who lives there. But if you regularly drove down
it as a short-cut they might begin to notice you and take your number and
sue you. Near me, there is a private road where an electronic sign suddenly
lights up and displays your registration number, which is a bit unnerving.


If I crash or kill someone, will
the outcome be different to the outcome on a public road?

No. You still require insurance, you could still be prosecuted for driving
without due care etc. I don't know about the speed limit but I should think
that in the absence of a speed limit sign the police would (someone correct
me if they know otherwise) enforce a 30mph speed limit.


I have also seen signs, particularly guarding the car parks of small
pretentious blocks of flats, saying "No Turning". Has anyone ever been
prosecuted for turning their car on a road so marked?

You mean sued (in a civil court) not prosecuted. Maybe they have been, but
only those directly involved would know. It seems very unlikely given the
likely expense. Again, it could be different if you were a serial offender.


While I was using a private shortcut which serves the numerous car repair
garages which occupy the arches of the Piccadilly Line viaduct in South
Harrow, a big van containing three men whizzed onto my side of the road to
pass a parked car blocking their side of the road. Judging by the smug
look
on the drivers face, he presumed that my little Kia Pride (which looks a
lot
like a Nissan Micra) would stop and let them through. He was wrong, and we
met face to face at the narrow part. After about half a minute of my
legendary stare he reversed and I got through the gap. Afterwards I
wondered
who had been in the right - if they worked at or owned one of the garages,
did they have priority over me? But then again, they might have just been
using it as a shortcut, like me. It doesn't seem possible that priority
would depend on something which is so difficult to ascertain. Or is there
no
legally defined "right side of the road" on a private road?

Same rules of the road apply.