The following information has been reproduced with permission from the book ‘RURAL‘
(R U Ready for A Life Change), page 37, by author Bernie Webb.
RURAL-Driveway-Lead-In-1.pdf (PDF 314KB)
“What is a driveway lead-in?” I hear you ask. A lead-in is the area of driveway situated between the road and your front gate. If your front fence and front gate are all in one line parallel to the road, there is no lead-in and practically nowhere to pull off the road whilst unlocking/opening your front gate, unless you have an unusually wide verge. If the front fence juts in away from the road where your front gate is, then this can be described as a lead-in.
Any lead-in is better than none, especially if you can get the entire length of your car off the road before having to stop and open the gate. However, I strongly suggest you make your lead-in long enough to allow the length of your car and a reasonable size trailer, horse float or caravan to pull off the road in front of the gate. I recently modified our driveway lead-in to increase the distance off the road to the gate. The ‘after’ photo below shows my ute and car trailer completely off the road still with the gate shut.
Having a large area to completely pull off the road while stopping to open the gate will prove to be a much safer option both to you and other road users, as opposed to stopping part on and part off the road. Likewise, when exiting your property, you can safely stop completely off the road while you or a passenger closes the front gate.
A large lead-in will benefit any delivery trucks visiting your property; they will also be able to pull off the road before stopping to open the gate.
IMPORTANT: Ensure that the ends of the firebreak, either side of the drive, do NOT become ‘dead ends’ should you modify your driveway Lead-In.
