I locked my car in the parking lot, what should I do?

Responsibility for blocking entry and exit, blocking a car, what to do if you are blocked

• Responsibility for blocking entry and exit, blocking a car, what to do if you are blocked
• Road blocking and car blocking
• Liability and fine
• What to do if your car is blocked
• What not to do when you are blocked
• If you blocked the road or exit for another car
• How to avoid fines and parking fines

About 165,000 cars are produced around the world every day. And as a result, the number of vehicles on city streets is increasing. Therefore, from time to time you may encounter a situation where the driver parked in such a way that he blocked your exit from the parking lot. For more information on what to do if your car is blocked, read the material.

Road blocking and car blocking

The car blocking the exit is parked. Consequently, we may be talking about a violation of the rules for stopping vehicles. Stopping is the intentional cessation of traffic for a period of more than 5 minutes. It is allowed to stop the car in a safe place and in such a way as not to create obstacles for others. By blocking someone else's vehicle, the car owner is already “interfering with others.” This means he bears responsibility in accordance with the current legislation (clause 1 of article 12.19 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). In the courtyards of residential buildings, long-term stopping is allowed only directly next to the sidewalks.

All other options are prohibited:

• blocking the entrance to the entrance;
• placement on the yard lawn;
• parking closer than 10 m at the entrance;
• blocking the service entrance to the store.

If there is a place in the yard designated for parking or parking with an appropriate sign, then it would be good form to park the car there. Other parking rules are regulated by Chapter 12 of the Traffic Rules.

The driver has the right to stop the car in the following places, taking into account the distance:

• at least 5 meters before a pedestrian crossing or intersection;
• no less than 100 m before an area with poor visibility;
• no closer than 15 m to any public transport stop.

It is prohibited to park:

• at a railway crossing, overpass, bridge, tunnel, tram tracks, narrow section of road;
• on a highway with a dividing strip marked closer than 3 m from the side of the road;
• where stopping the vehicle will interfere with the passage of other cars.

Liability and fine

If the driver has violated the rules described in Chapter 12 of the Traffic Regulations, he may be fined. The amount of administrative fines is regulated by Article 12.19 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation “Violation of stopping and parking rules,” which sets out in detail in what cases and how much a driver can be fined.

The minimum fine under this article is 500 rubles. Such punishment awaits the owner of the vehicle who blocked your exit in accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 12.19 Code of Administrative Offences. All other parts of this article describe cases that are subject to a larger fine.

Stopping the vehicle at:

• intended for parking for disabled people will be 5,000 rubles (clause 2 of article 12.19 of the Administrative Code);
• closer than 5 m from a pedestrian crossing or parking on the sidewalk will cost 1,000 rubles (clause 3 of article 12.19 of the Administrative Code); the same fine awaits the driver for parking closer than 15 m from the stop of minibuses and public transport;
• violation of parking rules on the roadway will cost the car owner 2,000 rubles (clause 4 of article 12.19).

Violation of the rules of stopping and parking, provided for in paragraph 1 of Art. 12.19 in Moscow or St. Petersburg will cost not 500 rubles, but 2,500, and if clauses 3 and 4 are violated, 3,000 rubles.

What to do if your car is blocked

Before talking about punishment, you need to try to resolve the issue with the owner of the vehicle who blocked the exit. You can see if he left notes with his phone number under the windshield wipers. Or ask the residents of the house if they know who the owner is and what apartment he lives in. Try honking or hitting the wheel of his vehicle to trigger the alarm sound. Try every possible way to find the owner.

Perhaps in a few minutes this person will return and you can leave the parking spot. If you cannot find this out, you can call the local police department and they will try to contact the driver using the contact numbers in their database. If all methods have been exhausted, you can call the traffic police. The arriving inspector will draw up a report on violation of parking rules and call a tow truck to unblock the exit.

What not to do when you are blocked

Remember that you don’t need to do anything rash. You do not have the right to move someone else's car. You also cannot call a tow truck to change the location of this car. Calling a tow truck is an action that is within the competence of the traffic police inspector. Your initiative in this matter is fraught with difficulties. If the car is damaged, its owner has the right to sue you.

If you blocked the road or exit for another car

If there is no other parking space, then try to resolve your issues as quickly as possible to free up the exit for another car. The owner of the vehicle for whom you are blocking the ability to leave the yard parking lot may not need his car in the near future. But it would be polite to leave a note with a phone number on your windshield. Remember that by blocking the exit, you are breaking parking rules.

How to avoid fines and parking fines

Usually in the courtyard of each house there is a spontaneous parking space located along the road or on the lawn (despite the fact that this is not allowed). Drivers try to park their cars so as not only to not disturb others, but also to be able to leave the parking lot in several ways: forward or backward. To avoid being fined from 500 to 5,000 rubles in accordance with Art. 12.19 Code of Administrative Offences, follow the rules of parking and stopping.

If you need to stop near a store, school or other institution, leave your car in the parking lot. Use parking wherever available. Administrative fines for illegal parking in our country are not so high. Therefore, some drivers do not adhere to the rules, especially in courtyards. But systematically violating traffic rules is still not recommended, so as not to one day take your car from the impound lot.

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What to do if your car is blocked by another car in the yard

Modern populated areas are filled to capacity with motor vehicles, which take up as much free space as possible. This leads to a chronic shortage of parking spaces, both on city streets and in courtyards. This situation often provokes violation of the rules. You can often see abandoned cars on sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, and tram tracks.

Due to inattention, drivers block the exit for other road users. Cars are especially often propped up in parking lots near residential buildings. Therefore, car owners should have a clear idea of ​​what to do if another car accidentally or intentionally blocks their car in the yard. In order to quickly and effectively solve such problems, avoiding moral and material losses, you need to adhere to a clear algorithm of actions, following the rules of the law.

Parking rules in relation to other road users

A parking lot is considered a safe place where you can leave your car for a long time. Road signs, good coverage, and markings are its signs. On a roadway with heavy traffic flow, in a special parking lot or in the courtyard of a house, you need to leave your car in such a way as not to disturb anyone. Responsibility for parking violations is prescribed in the fourth part of Article 12.19 of the “Code of Administrative Offenses” of the Russian Federation.

Parking that blocks other participants on city streets is prohibited in the following places:

• closer than 5 meters from pedestrian crossings;
• near dangerous closed turns with visibility less than 100 meters;
• at railway crossings, bridges, narrow roads, inside tunnels;
• on tram tracks;
• on those roads where a continuous dividing strip is located closer than 3 meters from the side of the road;
• closer than 5 meters from intersections with a continuous dividing strip;
• closer than 15 meters from public transport stops;
• in places where obstacles are created for the entry or exit of cars or pedestrian traffic;
• in areas where the car will be blocked by traffic lights.

In such cases, the police can evacuate the vehicle to a penalty area in accordance with Article 27.13 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

What to do if your car is blocked by another car in the courtyard of a residential building

Situations often arise when a car left near a house is blocked by another vehicle so that it does not have the opportunity to leave. In such cases, it is important to maintain emotional calm. First, it is recommended to try to find the owner of the car or just wait.

Rules for parking cars in the yard

It is likely that he was gone for a short time. In addition, check the windshield, under which there may be a piece of paper with a phone number left on it. If the driver cannot be found, then other measures can be taken.

What can be done

Often modern cars are equipped with a special alarm system. You can find out about its presence by carefully examining the windshield. In the lower right corner there should be a corresponding sticker with the inscription “Knock twice”, a picture of a palm or paw.

After a slight blow and a signal is received on the owner’s key fob, he will appear near his car.

In addition, as a result of a thorough inspection of the interior through the glass, you can find papers containing a telephone number. You can also kick the rubber part of the wheel, setting off the alarm. If such actions are unavailable for some reason, then you can try signaling for a long time. Another way to solve the problem is to ask your neighbors. The result may be finding out the address of the car owner.

When to call the traffic police and how they can help

If there is no result, it is recommended to contact the police. To do this, you need to use number 02 or 112. In this case, the message about the blocked exit is redirected to the district police department. After this, a local operator contacts the injured driver or a squad arrives at the scene of the incident.

In this case, using the police database, contacts of the owner of the blocking car are established. Employees contact him directly and ask him to solve the problem. All this happens in accordance with the law. If for some reason this procedure cannot be ensured with the help of the Department of Internal Affairs, then you should contact the traffic police.

If the situation cannot be resolved peacefully, then traffic police inspectors fill out the necessary documentation on the spot, call a tow truck, and the car that violated the parking rules is sent to a penalty area. In such a development of events, the offender will have to pay for the services of a tow truck and the cost of maintaining the car in the impound lot. It should be noted that in practice, cars are rarely taken from the courtyards of residential buildings.

Is it possible to move someone else's car yourself?

Against the backdrop of emotional excitement, drivers of blocked cars often try to solve the problem on their own, pushing aside the obstacle. Such rash actions can lead to unpredictable consequences.

When the vehicle is moved forcefully, there is a risk of damage to the transmission.

Also, due to the application of physical effort, the enamel of the body can be scratched. In addition, moving a vehicle without notifying the owner may be considered an attempted theft. Each of these options may become a reason for filing a claim in court. When proving guilt, you will have to incur significant material costs.

In addition, you cannot call a tow truck yourself, since we are talking about someone else’s car. Thus, it is always better to solve this problem calmly, relying exclusively on legal methods.

What does blocking another car mean to a violator?

By blocking the free exit of any vehicle, the driver consciously or unknowingly violates the parking rules under Article 12.19 of the Code of Administrative Offences. Administrative measures in the form of a fine may be applied to him. However, its value depends on the region of the country. For example, in Moscow or St. Petersburg it is 3,000 rubles, and in other regions – 2,000.

In addition, the car can be picked up by a tow truck and delivered to the impound area. It should be borne in mind that the traffic police cannot legally use a tow truck near a residential building, so in case of such a violation, the presence of the violator himself is important. On the other hand, an administrative protocol will still be drawn up, but the amount of the fine compared to city streets will be noticeably lower. Its value is 500 rubles.

There are cases when police officers ignore requests from victims of illegal parking. In such situations, owners of blocked cars may resort to illegal methods. If such situations occur on an ongoing basis, then the car of the violating owner may have flat tires, smear them with valerian, and damage the paintwork.

What to do if your car is blocked from leaving the parking lot?

The lack of the required number of parking spaces is a pressing problem for many modern cities. It is not uncommon for a driver, not seeing any other way out, to carelessly leave his car in the parking lot, thereby blocking the exit for another vehicle. Let's figure out what should be done in such a situation and how to avoid breaking the law yourself.

What is “parking” from a legal point of view?

Despite its widespread use, the term “parking” is not contained in Russian legislation. At the same time, this term is synonymous with the concept of “parking”, which has two meanings:

• according to clause 1.2 of the Traffic Rules, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of October 23, 1993 No. 1090 (hereinafter referred to as the traffic rules), parking is a deliberate cessation of the movement of a vehicle for a period of more than 5 minutes for reasons not related to the embarkation (disembarkation) of passengers or loading (unloading) of vehicles;
• in accordance with SP 113.13330.2012, approved by Order of the Ministry of Regional Development of Russia dated December 29, 2011 No. 635/9, car parking (parking lot) is a building, structure (part of a building, structure) or a special open area intended only for storing (parking) cars and other motor vehicles.

Thus, parking, and therefore parking, refers to both the actions of the driver to stop traffic for a long time, and a special area or other structure intended for such actions. Both values ​​are extremely important in the situation under consideration.

It is quite common to believe that parking lots located, for example, near shopping centers, are not subject to traffic regulations and, accordingly, some deviations from them are not offenses. However, it is not. This misconception is often caused by a restrictive interpretation of the concept “road”. However, a road means not only a strip of land equipped or adapted and used for the movement of vehicles, but also another surface of an artificial structure (Article 2 of the Federal Law of December 10, 1995 No. 196-FZ “On Road Safety”). The car park fully meets these criteria. The driver’s actions on its territory constitute road traffic and are regulated by traffic rules. In turn, parking a car in places where it will make it impossible for other vehicles to move (exit or enter) is expressly prohibited by clauses 12.4, 12.5 of the Traffic Regulations. These actions of the driver are regarded as an administrative offense under Art. 12.19 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (qualification for a specific part of the article depends on the actual circumstances).

Thus, blocking another car in a parking lot is not just a misunderstanding, such actions are punishable by law.

What measures should be taken?

First of all, you need to understand that it is illegal to independently move a car that has blocked your vehicle. When driving an incorrectly parked car, you risk damaging the vehicle. Also, as a result of such movement, the entry (exit) of other vehicles may be blocked, which is fraught with liability. If the car is completely removed from the visibility zone of its owner, then with a high degree of probability the owner of the vehicle will contact law enforcement agencies with a report of theft. Even after finding the car, the police officers will probably have questions for you, which will lead to wasted time and effort.

It is also not recommended to make risky maneuvers. If, while trying to leave, you hit an incorrectly parked car, then the incident will be regarded as a traffic accident - a collision with a stationary vehicle (Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation dated June 18, 1996 No. 328). In addition to the fact that you will most likely be found to be the culprit of the accident, you will not have the right to leave the scene of the accident until all necessary procedures are followed (leaving the scene of the accident entails administrative liability provided for in Part 2 of Article 12.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation).

Thus, there are two possible ways out of this situation: try to find (wait for) the driver of the abandoned car yourself or contact the traffic police.

In the first case, it is recommended to inspect the car: perhaps the driver prudently left a telephone number where he can be contacted and informed that his car is obstructing the passage. You should also contact possible eyewitnesses who saw exactly who parked the obstructing vehicle and under what circumstances (for example, these could be parking employees or drivers of nearby cars).

If you cannot find the driver, you must contact the traffic police. To do this, you should call the police or directly contact any of the police officers, who must independently report the incident to the appropriate unit. At the same time, you should be prepared to describe the situation and, if possible, give the address of the scene of the incident as clearly as possible.

Upon arrival, traffic police officers must take measures to search for the driver of the car, if the police do not find him in the manner prescribed by Art. 27.13 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, a protocol on the detention of the vehicle must be drawn up, and the car must be moved to a specialized parking lot using a tow truck.

However, it is necessary to understand that such a procedure may take hours (depending on the availability of inspectors, tow trucks, and road conditions). It is also recommended to take care of recording the fact of blocking your car: take photographs, record the data of eyewitnesses, as well as police officers (if you decide to call them). In the future, if you suffered losses due to an incorrectly parked car (for example, you were late for a concert or theater), you will be able to recover them from the culprit. If there is moral damage (for example, a headache from worries), you also have the right to claim compensation for it.

Thus, if you find yourself in a situation where leaving the parking lot is impossible because your car has been abandoned, you should not independently take actions that could be regarded as arbitrariness, since this could lead to trouble for you. Your actions must be legal and consistent, then you can solve problems with minimal possible losses for yourself.

What to do if the entrance to your car is blocked by someone else's car in the parking lot?

This most often occurs during perpendicular parking, when a neighboring car is parked too close to the left side of your car. Sometimes the driver does not give up trying to get behind the wheel, desperately pushing the door against the body of the neighboring car and leaving scratches and dents there. And often some smart guys park so close to their neighbor that even the most slender characters do not have the opportunity to squeeze between the cars.

In such a situation, of course, you can enter the cabin from the other side, but in some models, in order to move from the front passenger seat to the driver’s seat, you need to have excellent muscle stretching, and sometimes you even need to be a gymnast or an acrobat. But often the car doors are also blocked on the opposite side.

As you know, experienced drivers are increasingly parking by default with the right side of their car close to the right side of the neighboring one, which is quite logical. After all, when, during perpendicular parking, cars are arranged in a checkerboard pattern in this way, this significantly saves space in the parking lot. But, alas, there will always be a character who will disrupt the harmony and push his starboard side close to someone else’s port.

And it’s good if a person thinks of leaving a phone number under the windshield so that he can drive away if necessary. But many don’t bother to do this, not realizing at all that you can create an obstacle to the movement of another car not only by blocking its path in front or behind, but also by mooring close to the side.

And the traffic rules say in black and white that citizens are prohibited from stopping their cars in places where this will create conditions “impossible for the movement of other vehicles” (clause 12.4 of the traffic rules). Since a production car cannot yet drive without a driver, the wording of the Rules is fully consistent with the situation described. In this case, the violator may pay a fine of 2,000 rubles, and in Moscow and St. Petersburg - 3,000 (clauses 12.19.4 and 12.19.6 of the Administrative Code)

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You have the right to call traffic police officers, who, in the absence of the driver, must call a tow truck to transport the offender’s car to the impound lot. Only in such circumstances can many “buts” arise. Firstly, you will have to prove that you arrived at the parking lot earlier than your neighbor and that for some reason you yourself did not park close to him on the left side, exiting through the right door. Secondly, it turns out that the fact of this violation directly depends on the driver’s physique.

After all, traffic regulations do not fix a specific distance between cars when parking perpendicularly. This is provided only in the Construction Norms and Rules (SNIP), which states that in parking lots the space between passenger cars on the sides should be 70 cm, despite the fact that the width of the parking space is 2.5 m and the length is 5.3 m.

So, if your car is supported on both sides, it is still better to wait for one of the drivers and from now on try to park in the perpendicular parking lot from the edge, or leave the car parallel to the curb.

“I was locked in the parking lot.” What to do?

Alexey Filippov 09 November 2017 13:14

Internecine yard wars often drive car owners into a dead end

The problem with the lack of parking spaces in yards is only getting worse from year to year. And there is a completely reasonable explanation for this: there are more cars, but the infrastructure does not change. However, instead of working together to solve problems, many residents of apartment buildings organize leapfrogs, fencing off areas in the yard and simply provoking people into conflict. Conflicts occur even with neighbors, what can we say about those who park their car in the yard in “someone else’s” place temporarily, dropping by for a visit or on business?

A good example. The girl parked her car in one of the Kirov courtyards, and then found out that she had taken someone’s place. A car blocking the car's exit told her about this. There are many topics on the Internet where they discuss a similar problem, and everyone comes up with a more and more sophisticated method of revenge: some flat tires, some leave notes, some force raw eggs through a syringe into the seals. All these methods only add fuel to the fire, because it’s easy to guess who’s doing the dirty.

The most effective method is to act within the law.

What to do when the car is locked?

You approach your car and see that the exit from the parking space has been blocked. You should not try to move someone else's vehicle. Such manipulations can backfire on you. If you know the owner of the car, try to “reach out” to him: calls, knocking on the door, and so on. In other words, try to resolve the issue yourself, without provoking a conflict.

What if the driver is unknown?

This also happens. It is possible that the owner of the car is secretly watching you somewhere, waiting for some action. In this case, seeing that you are at a loss, the person may show up himself.

He’s gone, he’s gone, he doesn’t respond to the car alarm!

In this case, you need to take drastic measures. We call the traffic police duty station in Kirov at 58-88-88 or 64-38-77.

How can they help?

When an inspector arrives at your application, he will make sure that the car is interfering with the exit of your vehicle. He will first try to independently find the owner of the car and urge him to remove the vehicle.

What if a miracle doesn’t happen and no one answers the call?

Then the actions of the car owner fall under the Code of Administrative Offenses, namely under Part 4 of Article 12.19, which states: violation of the rules for stopping or parking vehicles on the roadway, resulting in the creation of obstacles to the movement of other vehicles, entails the imposition of an administrative fine in the amount of 2,000 rubles.

Moreover, the vehicle will be loaded onto a tow truck and transported to a special parking lot. Therefore, in addition to the fine, the car owner will have to pay at least another 1,500 rubles for tow truck services. It is unlikely that after such punitive measures a person will want to once again demonstrate his right to a parking space in the yard.