In message , at 10:45:11 on Thu, 19 Mar
2020, NY remarked:

My parents have a long layby outside their drive (and outside lots of
neighbouring houses). People park in their in order to walk the 1/4
mile to the railway station. Fair enough, as long as their are nor
blocking anyone's drive. But on several occasions people have been
blocked from getting their cars out, and the police do not want to
know, because the layby is deemed not to be part for the highway,

The highway includes the pavement and laybys as well as the bit the
through traffic drives upon. If they really think it's not a highway
then you could start charging people to park there!

even though it needs to be crossed to access drives.

What they probably mean is that the car isn't causing an *obstruction*
on the highway, but my understanding is that if it's blocking someone
in, then it will be (but asymmetrically, blocking someone from returning
home, not, unless that's an old wives tale).
--
Roland Perry