For many people, their van is their livelihood and may require keeping their van at home overnight. Finding a location to park a van anywhere can be difficult especially if you drive a medium to large-sized van when you park your van you could be decreasing visibility for others when they are pulling out of their driveway or at a junction or blocking a neighbours view from their property.

So, when choosing a parking place for your van, be considerate and you also need to consider the laws…

Are you allowed to park at home?

If you are driving a company van and planning to keep it at/near your property at night, then you need to speak to your employer to see if the van’s insurance and tax covers this.

Similarly, if you are self-employed you need to let your insurance company know if you plan to leave your van at your property overnight.

If you plan to park your van on your driveway you will need to check your house deeds because there may be planning restrictions that will prevent you from parking a trade vehicle at your property. Some neighbours may have issues with parking in front of properties or even you are parking your van on your own driveway so it may be best to contact the council before they receive any complaints.

Parking Restrictions

Usual parking regulations like yellow and red lines still apply to vans, but some residential areas will require permits for parking and some parking areas will not allow commercial vehicles to use the car park. You may find that some permitted car parks will allow the parking of commercial vehicles as long as you are the registered owner which won’t apply to all people who drive a company van.

Van Parking Laws

Some van drivers may not be aware of this but there are laws in place that only apply to the parking of commercial vehicles, these are:

• Vans must be parked at least 10 metres away from a junction unless you are parked in an authorised parking space. 

• All vans must be parked facing the flow of traffic, on the left-hand side of the road.

• Any van with a laden weight of over 7.5 tonnes cannot be parked on a pavement, verge or land situated between carriageways.

• A van weighing over 2500kg or a passenger vehicle with more than 9 seats that is parked between sunset and sunrise on a road that has a speed limit over 30mph must leave its sidelights on.

Insurance companies want to know where your vehicle is parked overnight for the majority of the year and if this changes throughout the year you need to let your insurance company know. Of course, throughout the year you will park your van in alternate locations like at the properties of your friends or family and insurance companies know this will happen, so it won’t affect your insurance. If you are parking away from your regular location then try to park in a safe place, like under streetlights if you need to park on the side of a road especially with van theft currently on the rise.