A NSW motorist was left stunned after receiving a traffic fine while waiting for a parking space to clear up. But is this actually illegal?
A resident of the Central Coast, NSW, was left stunned after receiving a fine for what appeared to be a seemingly innocent act.
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The motorist said, “I was today years old when I found out you can’t sit and wait for someone to leave their parking space”.
She gave context that she was in a council-operated parking lot with her blinker on and pulled off to the side.
Bewildered by this law, the motorist reached out to the Central Coast Council in protest of the fine; however, they received a response stating that the fine would not be cancelled.
“We acknowledge your comments that you were waiting for the parking space. However, we are unable to cancel the fine.”
“You must not stop a vehicle alongside another vehicle parked at the side of the road unless you are directly pulling into an already vacant parking space. You cannot wait for another car to exit a space as parking must be immediately available.”
Further citing the reason the motorist was fined was because of blind spots and reduced traffic flow.
“Double parking can create blind spots for motorists and pedestrians, as well as cause other drivers to travel on the opposite side of the road.”
While the motorist was initially fined $320, they were able to skirt it by the local council not showing up to court and withdrawing.
However, what was the actual road rule broken here?
Is it illegal to wait for someone to move from their parking space?
Yes, in Australia, it is illegal to wait for someone to move from their parking space. It is covered under the “double park” rule.
Despite the name, regulation 189 of the Road Rules 2014 states that “A driver must not stop on a road if to do so would put any part of the vehicle that he or she is driving between a vehicle that is parked on the road and the centre of the road”.
The way the rule is worded does not just make it illegal to park on the road, but also stop when there is a vehicle parked off to the side next to them.
Online forums are littered with people who have received this fine for similar offences that blanket under the rule, such as dropping a passenger off without pulling into a bay or off the road.
Breaking this road rule will land you a $320 fine in NSW, $118 in Victoria, $319 in South Australia and $120 in Queensland.
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