Safety guidelines
Any application for a domestic vehicle crossing may be refused or need to be altered on the grounds of safety. The applicant must make sure that the required sight lines are maintained to allow safe access to and from their property. The requirements are for a pedestrian visibility splay of 2.0 x 2.0 metres. More detail can be found in Section 2.10.5 of the Council's design guide.
In ideal circumstances, there will be sufficient space within the curtilage of the property to enable vehicles to enter and leave in a forward direction. However, as domestic crossings are not generally intensively used, it is acceptable for vehicles to reverse off the highway onto the private curtilage, so long as highway safety is not compromised. Acceptability will depend on the level of visibility along the road and pavement, the volume and speed of traffic, the width of the road and the presence of street furniture and other obstructions.
Situations where manoeuvring onto or off the highway may be hazardous and so result in an application being refused or modified include:
- onto a section of road where traffic speeds are high
- on the approach to a traffic signal junction where regular queuing takes place
- in close proximity to a junction, roundabout or traffic signals
- within the zig-zag markings of a pelican or other controlled pedestrian crossing
- immediately adjacent to a pedestrian refuge or traffic island which would prevent a vehicle turning in excess of 90 degrees in a single movement
- at a bus stop where use of a crossing could conflict with passengers waiting or make it difficult for disabled passengers to board or alight a bus
- where there is inadequate forward visibility for other drivers, pedestrians and users of the proposed access, given the speed of traffic using the road.
The above list is indicative, but not exhaustive.