Car causing obstruction damaged by pedestrian

Builderfromhell

In the motoring section of boards.ie there is a thread about obnoxious parking.
People upload photos of cars blocking footpaths, forcing pedestrians onto roads etc.
I have often wondered what the legal position would be if, for example, a person forced their buggy between a car parked on a pavement and a wall thereby scratching the car. The alternative options would have been to push buggy, with baby, onto the road and risk a collision with oncoming traffic or wait for car to be moved.
This is just one hypotethical example. A pedestrian might also choose to climb over a car blocking a pavement (Right of Way).

aujopimur

I say tough sh1t on the car owner.

Paulw

IMHO, the offending vehicle should be reported to the Gardai or local parking authority.

Any damage done to the car, if done intentionally, would be criminal damage.

If you can't fit through the gap, you should wait until it is clear on the road to go around the vehicle.

Marcusm

Paulw wrote: »

IMHO, the offending vehicle should be reported to the Gardai or local parking authority.

Any damage done to the car, if done intentionally, would be criminal damage.

If you can't fit through the gap, you should wait until it is clear on the road to go around the vehicle.

If however you feel that you can fit through the gap but subsequently discover that despite proceeding cautiously you inflict some unintentional damage, I assume that the mens rea necessary to sustain a criminal damage charge is not present. (Lots of ifs and buts and certainly not advocating such action.)

Paulw

Marcusm wrote: »

If however you feel that you can fit through the gap but subsequently discover that despite proceeding cautiously you inflict some unintentional damage, I assume that the mens rea necessary to sustain a criminal damage charge is not present. (Lots of ifs and buts and certainly not advocating such action.)

Yeah, I'd agree with you there.

But, climbing over the car, claiming Right of Way, as the OP proposed certainly wouldn't work.

McCrack

Marcusm wrote: »

If however you feel that you can fit through the gap but subsequently discover that despite proceeding cautiously you inflict some unintentional damage, I assume that the mens rea necessary to sustain a criminal damage charge is not present. (Lots of ifs and buts and certainly not advocating such action.)

Mens rea can be absent to nail a criminal damage charge, recklessness alone can be sufficient.

bath handle

McCrack wrote: »

Marcusm wrote: »

If however you feel that you can fit through the gap but subsequently discover that despite proceeding cautiously you inflict some unintentional damage, I assume that the mens rea necessary to sustain a criminal damage charge is not present. (Lots of ifs and buts and certainly not advocating such action.)

Mens rea can be absent to nail a criminal damage charge, recklessness alone can be sufficient.

Recklessness is a category of mens rea.

Victor

The offending vehicle user may also be in a hazardous place, not only for prosecution, but also if damage occurred even if the person trying to pass (pedestrian or motorist) was scrupulous in their attempts, but damage occurred anyway.

Builderfromhell

Slightly off topic, I wonder would owner of illegally parked vehicle be liable for damages if someone were injured as a result of unsafe parking. For example if they fell over as a result of trying to get around a vehicle or got hit by a car having been forced onto road.
This might sound extreme but I have seen a guy in a motorised wheelchair having to drive over a very high kerb as a car was parked on the pavement. the wheelchair did not fall over but it might have.

Victor

Parking is part of driving, so some liability may attach.

Peregrinus

Yes, if you park your car carelessly and someone is injured as a result, you can have both civil and criminal liablity. This usually happens when, e.g., you park too close to a corner and block somebody's line of sight, resulting in two other cars colliding. But if you park in a way that blocks the footpath and someone has to take to the carriageway to get around your car and is injured as a result, I think you are at risk of liability.

Difficulty in finding a safer parking space, or having an unusually large vehicle, or whatever, is no defence. If you can't park safely, then you can't park. There is no general right to park. The highway is for travelling along, not for use as a storage area for a vehicle that you are currently not using.

MagicSean

Peregrinus wrote: »

Yes, if you park your car carelessly and someone is injured as a result, you can have both civil and criminal liablity. This usually happens when, e.g., you park too close to a corner and block somebody's line of sight, resulting in two other cars colliding. But if you park in a way that blocks the footpath and someone has to take to the carriageway to get around your car and is injured as a result, I think you are at risk of liability.

Difficulty in finding a safer parking space, or having an unusually large vehicle, or whatever, is no defence. If you can't park safely, then you can't park. There is no general right to park. The highway is for travelling along, not for use as a storage area for a vehicle that you are currently not using.

Is there case law to support this?