Parking Fine in Hawthorn. Confusing signage

Lcrazy94boy on 01/03/2017 - 22:48
Last edited 01/03/2017 - 23:21

Tonight I parked on a street just off of Glenferrie road in Hawthorn at about 8.30 pm. I read the sign quickly and it stated 2 hours parking from 8 am - 6 pm with an arrow pointing towards the left of the street where my car was parked. At the bottom of the sign there was an arrow pointing right stating 'residential permit must be displayed'. I took this to mean that beyond 6 pm I could park freely on the left side until 8 am the following day. Unknown to me there was an sign at the top of these two signs with an arrow running in both directions stating permit zone 6 pm - 8 am which I unfortunately missed. Im sure I cant be the first person to miss this, it was truly an honest mistake. I was more surprised that there is actually a ticket inspector working at 9 pm on a Wednesday night in a near empty side street :(. Anyway, I received a $ 93 fine.. making it the most expensive bowl of ramen ive ever had. Im a uni student living out of home I really cant afford to throw money at the government for nothing. has anyone had any experience with this before? would I have any grounds to contest it if I explained the situation? pictures at the bottom. Thanks!

http://imgur.com/a/yxVq5

edit: I think I missed the top sign because I read the sign from inside the car :/

Poll Options

  • 215
    You were wrong just pay the fine
  • 19
    Stupid sign, contest the fine
Automotive

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 03/03/2017 - 00:49

    I bet they won't withdraw if you do an internal review. It's all about the revenue. "We can't withdraw the fine because then everyone would claim the same thing". $89… some councils are worse. Just part of the cost of car ownership… dealing with authoritarian parking bullshit fines.

  • superValue on 03/03/2017 - 07:05

    Always start reading from the top and work your way down. The most important information is always first.

  • pencilman on 03/03/2017 - 07:20
    +2

    I think that's very confusing and unclear signage.
    Unfortunately not for the OP who parked to the left of the sign.

    The contradictory signage is to the right.
    Sign says - It's disabled parking only all the time.
    Then says - residential permit parking must be displayed at bottom
    And has 6pm-8am Permit parking on top.

    So, can only a residential permit holder with a disabled parking permit park there?
    Or can a resident park there and take the disabled parking spot?
    Or can the disabled parking permit holder park and ignore the residential sign?

    Really bad signage !!!!!

    • McFly on 03/03/2017 - 08:21

      The contradictory signage is to the right.

      No, it's not contradictory. Confusing maybe, but not contradictory.
      The extra sign at the bottom is there for the benefit of disabled drivers who otherwise might think it's just a normal disabled zone (with no permit required.)

      So, can only a residential permit holder with a disabled parking permit park there?

      As explained above, yes.

      Or can a resident park there and take the disabled parking spot?

      That would never be allowed - pretty obvious.

      Or can the disabled parking permit holder park and ignore the residential sign?

      See above.

    • [Deactivated] on 04/03/2017 - 21:25
      -1

      A disabled person can use the spot without a parking permit at any time

      A person with a parking permit may use the spot during allocated hours.

      It's not that hard. If the sign permitting parking applies to you, you can park. Likewise, if a sign prohibiting parking applies to you, don't park.

      • McFly on 04/03/2017 - 22:38

        Are you kidding?

    • resubaehtgnolhcs on 05/03/2017 - 23:00

      You can't ever take a disabled parking spot without an appropriate permit

  • McFly on 03/03/2017 - 08:23
    +1

    Need another (sign) pole option:
    Stupid sign, just pay the fine.

  • AceIsMe on 03/03/2017 - 08:26

    "So, can only a residential permit holder with a disabled parking permit park there?"

    Yes that is correct. You need both a parking permit and a disable sticker to park there.

  • JimmyF on 03/03/2017 - 09:48
    +2

    Sign looks pretty straight forward to me. Sorry OP, pay up

  • yoonibear on 03/03/2017 - 11:03

    Take it as a lesson learnt. Next time spend the extra few minute or two to read the sign.

    I made the same mistake back in my uni days - I completely missed the clearway sign up the top and ended up getting paying a fine to have my car released from the tow place and another fine for parking in a clearway.

    • crazy94boy on 03/03/2017 - 16:17

      Good advice, im pretty much writing this one off. I guess we learn :)

  • Hirolol on 03/03/2017 - 11:52

    if u have the time contest it and claim hardship or whatever,
    its a long process and might involve court but you might be able to get out of it.

    depends if you value endless hours of ur time over $93.

  • smpantsonfire on 03/03/2017 - 12:47

    I did this once. To much effort to appeal it. Got over it pretty quick

  • guysmiley on 03/03/2017 - 13:02

    I would appeal. The worst they can say is "pay the fine" the best that could happen is that they agree that it could be considered ambiguous, waive the fine and amend the sign.

    While the top sign does indicate a permit zone, the arrow indicates that the permit zone is is one direction, not in the direction that you were parked.

    There shouldn't be an arrow on the "Residential Permit must be displayed" sign.

  • punk000 on 03/03/2017 - 15:33

    Don't contest the infringement notice, but write a letter to the review office, describing the event just like you did this post. They might let you off with a warning, the poor student that you are. I was lucky enough to be let off twice.

    • crazy94boy on 03/03/2017 - 16:23

      thanks for the advice, would writing to the review office be different to filling out an infringement form? When you did it did you just find a human to write to relevant to that department?

  • CLoSeR on 03/03/2017 - 16:16
    +1

    If you can afford a car, you can afford the fine. Just pay it and be done with it.

  • thepigs on 03/03/2017 - 16:17

    have you had a parking fine before? If not, if you write a sob story they'll let you off the first time…

  • No ONE on 03/03/2017 - 16:49

    You cannot miss a sign with RED. It was an obvious sign and you missed. Right arrow is only for disable parking. Seriously, how could you miss such a sign?

  • Brouw3r on 03/03/2017 - 17:42

    I would send a letter contesting the fine saying something along the lines of: "I figured the updated sign at the bottom meant that a permit was no longer needed to the left (where I parked)." Attach copy of the photos and you should be good.

    I don't understand what the sign at the bottom is there for? Do you need to be disabled and a resident to park there?

  • whooah1979 on 03/03/2017 - 17:58

    I really cant afford to throw money at the government for nothing.

    you should put this behind you and just finish your md or gp. then start bulk billing the crap out of the government. you'll be laughing all the way to the bank.

  • dbun1 on 03/03/2017 - 20:12
    +1

    You can always appeal a fine and try your luck.

    The sign is pretty clear though, so I'm not sure how lenient they will be.

    If you are struggling with this sign, then good luck to you when you get to one that has four or five conditions hanging of it.

  • misterpotatomato on 04/03/2017 - 06:45

    In my experience, normally what I do for parking fines is this (usually come up against the Brisbane City council, who are irresponsible with their money, so I can't just hand the money over in good conscience)

    • Get fined
    • Put it through the online fine dispute thing (reasoning can be really good or really rubbish)
    • Get a letter in the mail saying, no, you have to pay the fine, with a brand new due date
    • Letter contains details of the office that does an independent review
    • Write a letter to the independent review dude restating my reasons
    • Get another letter back saying no, you still have to pay the fine

    Doing this moves the due date back by up to two months, letting you plan your expense.

    • FeRGan on 05/03/2017 - 00:55

      I would be careful with that in case they say they didn't receive it.

      • misterpotatomato on 05/03/2017 - 09:54

        You get emails from the council saying they have received your online enquiry. It has a paper trail and is easy to prove.

  • A Driver on 04/03/2017 - 20:05
    -1

    You say you read the sign quickly… wrong, you did not read the sign, the full sign - there was actually nothing confusing about it. It's a mistake we've all made before, don't worry about it just pay the fine or contest it, whatever, and learn to be a bit more thorough in the future.

  • FittyFitty on 04/03/2017 - 22:05

    Sign is clear as mud, bud; you are pay.

  • iversonjack on 04/03/2017 - 22:14

    i had a similar mistake… parked in a clearway area.. because i focused on what times i dont need to pay rather than the actual time …
    $243 lesson. at least after reading this post i dont feel as bad =P

  • kaleidoscope on 04/03/2017 - 23:47

    Sorry to hear your troubles. But sign is very clear, I don't think there is anything you can do. Pay up and learn a lesson.

  • FeRGan on 05/03/2017 - 00:54

    This is one reason I don't like the city and will only go when good concerts are on.

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