chrisfree Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 Is their any law about laying your cable across a little used footway to charge the van parked in the road Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agaric Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 Do you mean a footpath or pavement, can't remember seeing a legal definition of a footway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 None that I am aware of, but I think you would be wise to cover the cable with one of those flexible rubber/plastic cable covers, preferably yellow and black striped. First, you don't know what may be wheeled over the cable and damage it; second the cable would create a trip hazard so making its presence obvious, while removing the trip risk, should be a reasonable defence should someone still fall over it and claim injury. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 Note that if it's a right of way it makes no difference if it's little used or not. As you say to charge van would that be for limited amount of time ?(note alans advise that vans shouldn't be left on charge permanently) I can only guess that you should not be obstructing any right of way, also as per Brian it should be safe, if it where for long periods there might be some argument as to if a wayleave might be needed, but I'm just guessing there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 I'm not a practising solicitor so cannot give legal advice. I would suggest you consider at least two points 1. All land in England & Wales is owned by someone. You will need permission to cross the land through some form of easement. I cannot see such an easement being granted for an occasional use of an electric cable because of 2 below. It may be difficult to ascertain the owner. 2. There is also the health & safety legislation aspect of laying a cable across a footway. You will probably know that trips and falls are bread and butter work for Accident Claims specialist, the cost of which can easily run into thousands of pounds. There are also people who make fraudulent claims. I think this is potentially your biggest risk because it has an impact on the point above. You may think your specific circumstances are worth the risk which you can always mitigate by reducing the trip problem. Will anyone notice or be bothered by you running the cable? People run hoses etc across footpaths without a second thought to easements and the risks; I've not read of solicitors drawing up easements for hoses and the Courts being chock full of claims from people tripping over hoses. Much depends on what is the footway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david lloyd Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 Brian Kirby - 2017-11-11 12:03 PM None that I am aware of, but I think you would be wise to cover the cable with one of those flexible rubber/plastic cable covers, preferably yellow and black striped. First, you don't know what may be wheeled over the cable and damage it; second the cable would create a trip hazard so making its presence obvious, while removing the trip risk, should be a reasonable defence should someone still fall over it and claim injury. As Brian points out there is an obvious trip hazard and, in this modern culture of 'where there's blame - there's a claim' it is perhaps also the case that even if you point out there is a trip hazard it is possible that could be used against you if a claim were made. In other words, if you knew you were creating a trip hazard (simply by pointing it out or covering it up) then you should not be creating the trip hazard. It's one of the gnarly issues that will come to the fore if the country does try to implement the policy of all electric vehicles by 2040. How will people charge their vehicles when they only have on street parking? Although I know of no particular law preventing, personally, I would be very wary of doing it. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 David, I know an elderly gentleman in my home town who charges his mobility scooter on the road. The Council put the charge point on the edge of the roadside pavement and buried the cable under the pavement to address the trip issues. The Council own the charging point and the pavement so no easement required. One mobility scooter is not the same as tens of thousands of cars though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisfree Posted November 11, 2017 Author Share Posted November 11, 2017 Thank you everybody, that is exactly my thoughts until the other day I have been doing this for 8 years to mainly charge the battery and clean out the van and do maintenance work. I store the van elsewhere, in case we cant get parked on arrival back home, that has no other facilities, but do keep it out there, if there only a short gap before going away again. We do cone the lead and I tend to be around the van doing oddbits and we are almost at the end of a close. It was just that an electrician told me recently it was illegal and could face a fine of a £1000, but I cannot find any mention of this, in any documents, after searching on the net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 Couple of things, if it is construed that you are restricting a right of way, also a van is not supposed to connected to the house earth, the outlet should have it's own earth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyg3nwl Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 Hi, talk about treading dangerousl, that sounds like asking for trouble, electric shock potentially lethal, trip hazard for the poorly sighted, no planning consent to cross over or under a public highway, contravening electricity company wiring regulations, the list goes on and on.... you could just stand there , pointing it out to each one passing by , warning them to lift their feet over the cable carefully, but why not remove the battery, into the house, and charge it there.. maybe not , cos then an immobile vehicle causes an obstruction... sorry not a lot of help tonyg3nwl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisfree Posted November 11, 2017 Author Share Posted November 11, 2017 Thanks boys and girls. That's made me think. I have just received a booster pack this week and I can therefore recharge my batteries without the lead if they flatten. The fridge can be cooled down on the gas. My wife will have to wait until we are on a site with EL, before she can use the vacuum. So no need to use the lead onto the road anymore.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanb Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 I think that it is illegal to carry out other than emergency repairs to a vehicle, on the public highway. Loading and unloading is legal, unless specifically prohibited. If your vehicle is stored some distance from home, would not the battery recieve sufficient charge during the journey? You could consider a 12V or rechargeabe vacuum cleaner. Given your location it may be possible to use a solar panel to keep the battery topped up. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 Can you put the cable above the pathrway, only to sued by passing giraffe owners ? This Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMS Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 A couple of years ago we parked outside a friends house in Freiburg Germany and we used the van for overnight sleeping. We connected the van to her outside mains socket in her garden and passed the cable at the height of the van across the footpath. The cable was hooked onto the awning casing and then to the van socket, thus no person had to walk on the cable as it was suspended nearly 3metres above the path. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 There are UK regulations regarding power cables crossing a public footpath, and more stringent ones for a cable crossing a public highway. Whether those regulations would apply in this instance would depend on what a "little used footway” is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 This is the kind of thing I was referring to http://tinyurl.com/y993279x Have a word with your local highways dept. and/or HSE, if unsure. However, since these items are commonly used in such situations I would expect its use on a temporary basis to be acceptable. I see two main risks, and I don't presently see any subsidiary risks. 1 electrical safety. 2 trip hazard. 1 should be eliminated by the design of the cover, which fully encloses the cable in a duct intended for pedestrian/light wheeled traffic. 2 should be eliminated by the duct having a ramped profile, so removing the trip hazard, and through its intentionally "high visibility" colouring. But, as others have said, if a crossing a ground level is unacceptable, why not take the cable over the footway at high enough level to allow free passage for pedestrians. Passing it via your van roof should be sufficient. The main snag I can see with this is if the footway is also a designated bridle way, in which case you would need to raise the cable sufficiently for both horse and rider to pass safely beneath. You may then need to ensure visibility of the cable, in which case I would think a standard orange or yellow EHU cable should be adequate. However, as above, consulting your highways dept. or HSE, should elicit the required guidance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Brian Kirby - 2017-11-15 3:10 PM ...But, as others have said, if a crossing a ground level is unacceptable, why not take the cable over the footway at high enough level to allow free passage for pedestrians. Passing it via your van roof should be sufficient. The main snag I can see with this is if the footway is also a designated bridle way, in which case you would need to raise the cable sufficiently for both horse and rider to pass safely beneath... This IET-forum entry http://www.theiet.org/forums/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=205&threadid=29707 seems to be suggesting that, when no vehicular traffic is involved, a ‘high level’ electrical cable crossing a footpath needs to be a minimum of 3.5m above the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les W Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 As already mentioned having the cable high is (if possible) the way to do it. A neighbour (where I used to live) had a lead coming from an upstairs window to the top of his motorhome, then into his hook up socket for years.. Only people approaching nine foot tall had to worry... 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawki Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Have you thought of using something like this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-Channels-Cable-Protector-/221383863214 There are loads of cheaper alternatives ones as well on eBay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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