I was ticketed for parking in my own driveway just feet from my door after 43 years – the little-known law to watch for

A car owner has been accused of getting his vehicle a parking ticket for simply parking it in the driveway of his home.

The Andrews family has lived in their home in San Diego, California for over 40 years and said they have never had any trouble with the city because of the vehicle in front of their house in the past.

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That said, the family’s Buick Enclave was apparently ticketed because it’s just a bit too big for their driveway, ABC 10 News investigator Adam Rakuten revealed.

“The vehicle sticks out,” he showed with a video of the parked car.

“The driveway is too short, the vehicle too long – so it rolls onto the sidewalk right there.”

The City of San Diego’s website states that parking on sidewalks is prohibited, and the vehicle ordinance also refers to the same rule.

The number one question the Andrews family wants answered has to do with where the city would like to park their car if not in the driveway of the home they’ve owned for 43 years, Rakuten said.

“This is our driveway, it’s how we’ve parked our vehicles since we bought the house,” admitted Michelle Andrews.

After four decades, she said she doesn’t understand where the sudden strict enforcement is coming from.

Andrews said she also has a hard time understanding why her family’s car was the only one in the neighborhood that had a ticket and why they weren’t just given a warning.

Having lived in her house for many years, the woman shared that many of her neighbors’ driveways are also not suitable for the size of their vehicles due to the long construction period of the houses.

Andrews said her family’s vehicle was the only one penalized for the violation, although several other cars swerved on the sidewalk throughout the neighborhood.

“Why would you just single us out, that didn’t make sense to us,” she explained.

When she saw the ticket on her vehicle, she said she couldn’t believe it and thought it might be a hoax.

But it wasn’t a joke, it was a legitimate speeding ticket stating her vehicle was blocking the sidewalk.

“We were just shocked because, like I said, we’ve never had this problem before,” Andrews said.

She even admitted that a small portion of the back of her vehicle was technically on the pavement.

The woman explained that parking in the driveway of her mother-in-law’s house, which has an official disabled parking sticker, allows for easy access.

The family even stops as close to their garage door as possible so the vehicle doesn’t jut out onto the sidewalk.

“I’ve been to the garage a few times,” Andrews admitted.

“I mean, there are a few dents in there.”

The family appealed the parking ban and is awaiting a response from the city as to where San Diego officials would prefer to park their car if not in the home’s driveway.