Generally, blocking a sidewalk with a motor vehicle is against the law. You should call the police and ask them to remove the vehicle.
Yes you can, because you are blocking a public right of way for pedestrians. It is a fine-able offense.
What type of driveway? Was it a curving and could not see the car before rounding the curve? Is it straight; then why did you not see the car blocking the driveway before even getting into car and/or backing..
As one who has received tickets for parking in my driveway in L.A. here's what I know. You cannot block any part of the sidewalk. It used to be 33% but that's not the case any longer. You can park in your driveway but if the slightest bit of the bumper is in the sidewalk they'll nail you. And smile while doing it.
I think that you could call a tow company have it moved, and give the owner the bill.
The car that is moving is normally the one at fault. No matter how someone is positioned you should not drive into them (going forward or in reverse). It therefore seems to me that the car backing out of the driveway is at fault.
In most municipalities in Canada it can be towed if it is not owned by a resident of the home.
I have had cars towed for blocking my driveway. It is the city's responsibility to tow cars that are on a public road that block driveways. If someone blocks your driveway, don't call 911. Call your district police station and either they will put the call out or will direct you to the correct number. It may take up to two hours to get a tow truck to your place. However, if someone parks in your driveway, I think it's your responsibility to get someone to tow that car.
I would think not, if your driveway is private property. Take pictures of the car and complain to the police.
In practice this is very difficult to do anything about. I know because it happened to me. The police weren't interested unless any damage was done to the property, and the council weren't interested unless the pavement was being blocked. Similarly, I am a lawyer and my litigation colleagues said there was pretty much nothing I could do about it except stick a sticker in the window asking them not to park there.Another PerspectiveIt must depend on your jurisdiction. If a car blocks your driveway, preventing you from accessing it, the car can and will be towed by the local police and a citation will be issued. Most municipalities in the United States have town and city ordinances regarding how close a driver can park to a driveway. For example, there is a five foot limit locally. The police are happy to oblige when a property owner complains. If the car is parked on private property it certainly can be towed. If you are the owner of property no one else has the right to park their car in your driveway unless you have given them permission.
Yes, it is not legal to block a sidewalk with a car. Sidewalks are designated for pedestrians, and blocking them with a car can create safety hazards and accessibility issues for individuals with disabilities.
The person backing up can be held accountable, since he is responsible for knowing what is in his line of backing. However, you can also be held responsible for blocking his driveway, this is considered a safety hazard. Most city ordinances have laws against parking on sidewalks and blocking private entranceways and driveways. So, you both could be in trouble but the car blocking the driveway will be cited with stiffer fines. Note that most states have some form of comparative negligence in analyzing cases like this. It is likely that the vehicle blocking the driveway would be assigned some level of negligence for blocking the driveway. However, it is probable that the majority (if not all) of the negligence would be assigned to the person backing out of the driveway, because his vehicle was in motion and he is supposed to be aware of its direction and speed of travel and any potential hazards it may encounter in its path. If I had to make a guess, negligence might be assigned 90/10 or 80/20. Depending on the jurisdictions form of comparative negligence, any damages would be split accordingly.