Just FYI, I haven't actually hit anybody yet, but its only a matter of time that I might. Also, I mean accidentally in the title but I've reached the character limit.
So there is this moderately busy road near my place which, over the past few years, the number of parked cars on the side of the street has steadily increased, up to the point where there is about a 20 to 25 metre stretch of that road which has cars parked on both sides. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue, however, the street itself is quite narrow now that there are cars parked on both sides. When there is a car coming from the other direction, I always slow down to about 20 or 30 kph to try and squeeze between the on coming car and the parked car, and I assume that the other driver does the same.
Often times, if I'm just at the beginning of that stretch of parked cars, I would back up out of it so that the opposing car can go through with more room. However, as previously mentioned, this is moderately busy and sometimes I have a couple of cars behind me which makes it difficult if we're in the middle of that stretch.
My question is this: what happens if I accidentally hit or scratch the parked vehicle? I'm willing to accept some responsibility since I was the one who hit their parked car, however, I feel like they should at least get partial blame for partially inhibiting the road. I don't think they are visitors to the properties either, since they are there about 80% of the time that I drive past.
Also, while some of the properties along that stretch have driveways that are full, others have driveways that are empty, but I'm not sure if the car parked directly outside of their property is theirs.
Any advice? I can take a detour to get around it, but that is a minor inconvenience that I shouldn't have to take. (I know, I sound spoilt, but the road is not theirs, its for public use).
If you hit a parked car, it is your fault. The car may get a fine for being there but that would not mitigate the blame for the collision.
Avoid the blockage and report the situation and include factors like sloppy parking. If the width of the street is too narrow for parking on both sides simultaneously, council may have to implement no standing areas.
If the street is wide enough but the vehicles are not close enough to the gutter, report it and include the risk of a collision. If council ignores the problem, you may be able to recover some money from council due to negligence.