Yahoo Finance Driver fined $900 for parking like this: ‘I had no idea’
A Sydney driver has received nearly $900 in fines for breaking this little-known parking rule.
A Sydney driver is facing nearly $900 in fines for breaking a little-known road rule - parking within three metres of a white dividing line.
Cherie Frankel took to social media to share her surprising fines and said she received three $238 fines in total for “parallel parking close to the dividing line/strip”.
“There’s no road or street signage, no yellow lines, no indication of any kind that you can’t park here .... but it’s not allowed,” she posted on the Bondi Local Loop Facebook group.
“So now I have nearly $900 worth of fines for this,” she said.
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Frankel said she was only aware of her mistakes when she received the third fine as a physical ticket, and claimed the first two fines were sent digitally to the owner of the car she was renting.
“Just wanted to make you aware of this rule as I had no idea and all of the people I’ve asked haven’t heard of it either so don’t want others to get caught out,” she said.
Frankel told Yahoo Finance she appealed the fines on the basis that she hadn’t received the first two fines and was facing hardship. Her appeal was rejected and she is now taking the matter to court.
“I understand that road safety is really important, but I don’t think it is right that people don’t know and are getting such hefty fines. It doesn’t feel right to me,” she said.
“No car could fit safely within the three metre rule, so there needs to be a no parking sign."
Under the NSW parking rules, drivers are told they “must not park within 3m of any double dividing lines”.
Willoughby City Council told Yahoo this was a breach of regulation 208 of the Road Rules and created an "unsafe situation" for other drivers.
"Passing traffic may be forced to cross the dividing centre lines and into oncoming traffic," Willoughby City Council manager safe city unit Mark Taylor said.
"Parking fines are intended to discourage unlawful and unsafe parking behaviour on the public road system."
Similar rules also apply in other Aussie states. For instance, VicRoads says drivers cannot park, stop or leave their vehicle within three metres of double lines or single lines, unless otherwise signed. Meanwhile, the Queensland government says drivers need to leave at least three metres between their vehicle and the dividing line on the road.
Aussies shocked by rule
Many Aussies were surprised by the parking rule, with some saying Sydney roads were too narrow for cars to park three metres away from the lines.
“There should be a sign there advising no stopping, or make the road wider,” one person commented.
“How have any roads even got 3m clearance! Especially in inner west and Eastern suburbs,” another said.
Other people were less sympathetic, saying rules were rules.
“Pay the fine [and] move on,” one person said.
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