How to Stop Cars From Turning Around In Your Driveway?

If you are a homeowner, you might face this issue several times for sure when you see other people turn around in their cars in your driveway. And even if it doesn’t cause any discomfort to you, you might still want to know how to stop people from turning around in your driveway.

In this article, you will learn more about how to stop driveway turnarounds. We will share a few ways to block off the driveway with you.

Also, you will learn how to react if someone keeps on turning around in your driveway. We will explain whether it is illegal for other people to turn around in your driveway and share a few handy tips and recommendations on how to solve this issue depending on how far the situation went.

How to Stop Someone From Turning Around In Your Driveway?

When someone uses your driveway to turn around, as a homeowner, you will definitely have a reasonable question: is it illegal to turn around in someone’s driveway?

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And of course, you will want to find ways to protect your property from intruders.

How PEOPLE act when using your DRIVEWAY to make U-TURN

The problem is that people often don’t have a clear idea of what they can do to keep others from turning around on their property. So below, we have collected the most popular and effective driveway-blocking ideas for you.

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Put a Sign Post

If other drivers have a bad habit of turning around in your driveway, you can put a sign along the road near your driveway, stating that it is your private property and any turnarounds there are forbidden due to this fact.

However, note that signs may not always work! See, they can be helpful if your neighbors are turning around in your driveway frequently.

But if your driveway gets much traffic coming in and out, you may want to consider placing more stern signs on the signpost! It will let all the other drivers know that turning around in your driveway is not an option.

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Consider Installing a Remote Controlled Gate

If you decide to use this option, keep in mind that it is going to be pricey, however, it will be highly beneficial in the long run. To prevent other people from using your driveway to turn around in their cars, you need to build a remote-controlled gate, placing it at the foot of the driveway.

All you have to do is use the remote to open the gate when you want to enter your driveway and close it when you want to leave it. Like that, you will keep unwanted visitors away from your property without much effort.

Besides, with the gate that is remote-controlled, it will be easier to protect your driveway from unexpected turnarounds since nobody can actually trespass easily unless the gate is broken! Otherwise, if a person decides to turn around in your driveway, he will have to smash your gates which is illegal!

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Park Your Car at the End of the Driveway

If no signs and warnings help, and people keep turning around in your driveway, you have nothing left to do but use drastic methods. If you want to keep other people away from your driveway, all you need to do is to park your own car near its foot. However, you need to make sure your vehicle is not parked way too close to the road! If it is, it will cause inconvenience to other road users.

Reduce the Width of Your Driveway

Another way of preventing other people from turning around in your driveway is to make the actual driving area of your driveway less wide. By making it smaller, you will make your driveway less attractive to other drivers. Of course, you need to realize that this will not completely solve the problem, but it will definitely help you to make it better.

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Install a Driveway Gate

We already told you about the remote-controlled gate which is quite an expensive option to protect your driveway. So if you are a bit tight on budget, you may want to consider a more affordable option instead.

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Installing a driveway gate is the most common solution. By fixing a gate, you keep drivers from turning their cars around in your driveway. Besides, a gate is the simplest way to show other people that your driveway is private property and that they cannot enter it.

Hook a Chain Along the Driveway

Putting chains in your driveway is also a good idea. You can install chains and barricade your driveway, making it impossible to access and use by other car owners. In fact, this method is comparable to using a gate. However, it does have one drawback: see, you will have to unhook the chain each time you wish to use the driveway, which can be somewhat annoying.

Well, now you know what to do if you need to keep other people from using your driveway for their turnarounds! Now you have several alternative options to choose from, which makes it possible for you to choose the most affordable and the most effective one for yourself.

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Is It Legal to Turn Around In Someone’s Driveway?

If you have faced the issue of other drivers turning around in your driveway, you may want to figure out whether it is legal to do that at all. However, there is no uniform rule about that. See, in many places of the world, it is actually not illegal for other car owners to use your driveway. The only case when it is prohibited is if they use your driveway to commit criminal activities.

My neighbor uses my driveway as a turnaround.. Cool or No? … 108

So if you know someone who frequently utilizes your driveway to turn around their cars, the best thing you can do is to approach them and ask them to stop doing that. But if the person does not adhere to your polite request, then you can try harder methods like blocking your driveway.

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However, we would say that other vehicles still should not be turning around in your driveway. There are several various reasons for that:

1. They could damage your lawn with the tires
2. Your children could be injured by accident
3. Vehicle headlights could cause a disturbance, flashing into your rooms

So basically, it is not okay for other cars to turn around in your driveway unless you want them to and/or you allow them to do so.

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What Should You Do If Someone Blocks Your Driveway?

Ok, so we have figured out what actions should be taken if you want to stop others from constantly turning around in your driveway.

But what if your neighbor or just a random person parks a car on your property?!

If someone parks in your driveway, it will obstruct your access, first of all, causing inconvenience if you need to drive out of your yard. However, no matter how mad you are, you should not respond by vandalizing the vehicle! Remember that vandalism is a criminal act for which you can be prosecuted!

On the other hand, you still need to react and do something, otherwise, the intruders will assume that you don’t mind them leaving their cars on your property. At this point, it’s good to keep in mind that what they do is actually trespassing!

See, trespassing is not only when a person intrudes on your property (e.g. your land, garden, or yard) or home. It is also when someone blocks your driveway with their vehicle. And you need to keep in mind that trespassing is a civil crime, and you have full right to report to the police if it happens!

If you report to the police, they will usually contact the car owner to arrange for the removal of the vehicle if that’s possible. But anyway, it is important to remember that the police will not intervene in such situations. It is your obligation to keep unwelcome people out of your driveway!

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Is It Against the Law To Park Too Close to a Driveway?

Another issue that you may face is when someone parks their cars way too close to your driveway. It may not block the way for you entirely, but it will definitely cause serious problems with leaving your property! For sure, you may be wondering whether those people have the right to do that.

Unfortunately, there is no law that prohibits drivers from parking too close to a driveway.

As long as a car is legally registered, its owner can park it anywhere on the street as long as traffic on the main route is not impeded. However, we recommend you still check this issue out with your local authorities.

See, some localities have enacted special regulations regarding this subject. But since it differs from one location to another, you can never know in advance what regulations will work for your area.

So, we told you all that a home and a car owner should know about keeping other people from turning around in your driveway. Now you know that doing so is not actually illegal but in some states, there may be rules that regulate this issue at least somehow. Also, we explained what you could do in order to prevent your neighbors or other intruders from using your driveway as their turnaround place.

Now you have several alternative options for blocking your driveway (from using signs to installing gates) and you also know how to act should a person who uses your driveway choose to neglect your warnings and ignore the signs.

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