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Parking

Asked by Darren PaffeyLabourDepartment for TransportTabled Answered 21 May 2026UIN 1798

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential risks posed by vehicles parking facing oncoming traffic.

Answered by Simon Lightwood

Rule 248 of the Highway Code states that drivers must not park on a road at night facing against the direction of the traffic flow unless in a recognised parking space. The Department has made no such assessment and does not plan to extend this requirement to daylight hours as there is no corresponding advantage during daylight hours when parked vehicles can be seen more easily whether or not they are parked against the traffic flow. Moreover, this would increase the number of awkward and often dangerous manoeuvres, such as U-turns, which might be required to find a legal parking place.

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