Parking Fine Sydney

Hi all, just got a fine which I'm considering contesting but would love some advice from the OB brains trust.

I parked in a 1 hour spot on the street at Hurstville for about 50 minutes, moved my car one space and left it another 50 minutes and received a fine. Offence states - "park continuously for longer than indicated".

I have appealed but if that fails have to go to magistrate which I've never done. I think I should not be penalised and I have a case but interested in others experience, input. Has anyone successfully contested this situation?

Thanks for your help and hopefully this will help others who get pinned as well.

Comments

  • +82

    Not going to bother looking it up but IIRC moving one spot doesn't count as moving. The time limit is on that section of parking. If you move but remain in the same section it's the same as if you didn't move at all.

    • +5

      Correct. but feel lucky you came back to your car actually being where you left it in Hurstville…

      • +1

        You from Newtown?

      • And pray tell where you live brother

      • Hurstville is relatively safe IMO, got any figures/data that states otherwise?

    • +10

      I've successfully contested this with dashcam video by driving around the block. Obviously different to just moving the car forward 😉

      • +4

        interesting, any further details you can share? eg contested in court or council and did they explain why you won?

        • further details you can share

          May be clear had a confidential out of court settlement.

  • +14

    Pay the fine OP, you won't win this one. Going to court may cost you more as court costs may be added to the original fine.

    You have to move your car a lot further than 1 space for it to be considered as anything other than continuously parked.

    An old thread but still holds true today

    https://www.aussiestockforums.com/threads/what-classifies-as…

    • -1

      Stock brokers worrying about fines….ah

  • +53

    LOL… Moved it up one place… You must have been the first to ever think of doing that.

    Yeah, take it to court and fight it. You moved the car yeah?? Before you do go to court, you'll need to read the road rules.

    205 Parking for longer than indicated

    (1) A driver must not park continuously on a length of road, or in an area, to which a permissive parking sign applies for longer than the period indicated by information on or with the sign or, if rule 206 applies to the driver, the period allowed under that rule.

    (2) For subrule (1), a driver parks continuously on a length of road, or in an area, to which a permissive parking sign applies, from the time when the driver parks on the length of road, or in the area, until the driver, or another driver, moves the vehicle off the length of road, or out of the area, to which the permissive parking sign applies.

    • +4

      Came for "length of road" comment, was not disappointed

    • -1

      Interesting. So you could park in the same spot but you'd have to move it out of that strip between the two parking signs. That should constitute going out of the "length of road…to which the ….parking sign applies" . Could even do a u-turn twice back into the same spot and you'd be out of that length of road.

      • Check the definitions of road. You might find it’s curb to curb. Ie whole width.

      • Could even do a u-turn twice back into the same spot and you'd be out of that length of road.

        No you couldn't because you would still be on, and never left, the length of road.

        You need to turn off the road at an intersection and then turn back onto it by doing a U turn in the second street or going around the block.

        However that assumes you also left the parking area, which may span more than the length of road.

    • +2

      Thanks for the info, good to know in the future.

      As for “ You must have been the first to ever think of doing that”, you’ll see by my post I’m not only aware I wouldn’t be the first to try this, I was counting on that! I wanted to hear from people who’d been through this before.

    • +3

      Thanks, didn't know this.

    • +1

      So a run around the block, provided that takes you out of the parking area, is the go. Even then you'll still likely get a fine and you'll need timestamped dashcam footage to back you up. Seems like a hassle!

      • +1

        I think the point is, it’s to prevent people like OP gaming the parking restrictions, so that there are movement to allow other cars a chance to also park (it doesn’t matter if it was perceived as a quiet day), if people need to park longer than the restrictions, they need to park further away/elsewhere.

        Yes, people do game it, but if one is caught, pay up.

  • How much was your fine?

    • $117

      • +15

        That's the cost of your lesson.

        apsilon and pegaxs are correct.

  • +9

    I'm considering contesting

    dont bother. lol

    • -1

      I did, and won. Brisbane - Southbank area.

  • Next time other side of the road at least.

  • +5

    That’s weird when I posted my response only one comment showed on the page I was viewing. Hence my response.

    Looks like I’m out of luck.

    Thanks to those who helped but not to those who were unnecessary hostile or rude. There are people behind these comments and so let’s try and be nice to each other.

    • +17

      You need to refresh your browser or app.

      Also, refresh road rules as well.

    • +3

      Thanks to those who helped but not to those who were unnecessary hostile or rude.

      Also known as "Thanks to everyone who gave me the information I wanted to hear and to everyone else who gave me the truth/facts, (fropanity) you guys."

      • +3

        That is a totally wrong assumption on your part!

        I welcome and actually want responses that would support my case or show I don’t have a leg to stand on and I appreciate that info. The forum is great for this.

        But so many keyboard warriors online are quick to be unkind, rude or worse. I too are guilty of this sometimes but aware how this can impact people and try my best to be better than that.

        I accept I have to pay the fine and as mentioned earlier your info was helpful. Your comment here was not!

        Let’s try and be a little kinder online and continue to make OB a great place.

        • +5

          lol. Ok champ.

          At the time you wrote this, there was absolutely no rude or hostile comments, just comments stating facts and that you should pay the fine based on you breaking the road rules.

          No one was being unkind or even remotely “keyboard warrior~ish”, it was more of the case that you were receiving information that was contrary to what you were seeking.

          Anyway, if you thought that people stating facts was “unkind, rude, hostile or worse” then I suggest you either need to get some thicker skin or expand your mind to accept that what you want to hear is not always going to be what you get to hear.

          And you also broke the law and parked illegally. You quite possibly stopped someone else from being able to park on that “length of road”. You are also probably pissed off from time to time that there is no parking available and negate to realise that it is people like yourself that are the cause of the problem.

          And we are the rude ones? You are the one coming here after parking illegally and depriving someone else out of a parking spot over your entitlement and then seeking a way to get out of paying for your illegal parking and calling people rude when no one wants to help you get off a totally legitimately issued infringement.

          • -6

            @pegaxs: Thanks “champ”

            I would consider terms like ffs, jc and more to a complete stranger let alone a friend at very least rude, you sadly may not. Also often the tone of some comments (most on here are descent) is just straight out aggressive, why be like that, doesn’t hurt to try and be kind?

            Based on some of your responses you are making so many assumptions, - eg. where did I say stating facts was rude unkind or worse? I didn’t. How do you know there weren’t many spots on that street? As there were so I wasn’t really taking away from people like you. If I thought what I did was wrong I wouldn’t have done it.

            You know nothing of the situation, I was doing the shopping for someone with cancer who was too unwell to do it themselves. I honestly thought what I did was okay and acknowledged I will pay the fine and stand corrected on that.

            If I looked at your earlier comments when you quoted the law, I could have assumed you were a know it all prat who likes to put people in there place to make yourself feel more important, (but I didn’t) - They were helpful.

            Anyway one thing I think we can agree is this conversation is getting us nowhere and much like banging my head against a wall, I’ll feel better by stopping here.

            • +3

              @Captain Hindsight: No problem "champ".

              I would consider terms like ffs, jc and more to a complete stranger let alone a friend at very least rude

              No one said anything like that up to the time when you posted this comment. There was no "ffs" nor any "jc" at that point. You simply didn't get the confirmation bias you came here seeking and are reading into it what you want to hear that helps you process it as being the victim. You are not the victim here, you are the perpetrator.

              I was doing the shopping for someone with cancer who was too unwell to do it themselves

              What an absolute bag of bullshit. If that was pertinent to the story you would have offered up that information in your original post, not add it as a sub-note buried 3/4 the way down the thread. So forgive me if I don't wholly believe this newly introduced informational nugget.

              Anyway, what gives you the right to park there over someone else who may have been shopping for their someone who has cancer? If I know nothing of the situation, then neither do you. You don't know who you stopped from parking there. You may have blocked the parking sport of someone who was dying. And your shopping for your "someone with cancer" cant have been too urgent if you were parked there there for almost 2 hours.

              How do you know there weren’t many spots on that street?

              Irrelevant. Road rules are road rules and the road rules in this instance say "don't park longer than what the sign says", not "park as long as you want if the street is empty. The timer only starts once the street is full."

              Anyway one thing I think we can agree is this conversation is getting us nowhere

              No, I cant agree. What I can agree on is that it is getting you nowhere. You made accusations that people were being rude, unkind, hostile and were acting like keyboard warriors when the facts were that people were not doing anything of the kind and were only giving you information and comments that didn't align with the confirmation bias you were seeking. And when it didn't align, you felt like it was an attack, because you're the victim so you manufactured this "rudeness" to justify why you were not getting the confirmation bias you so desperately wanted…

              I’ll feel better by stopping here.

              Probably for the best.

            • +1
    • +1

      That’s weird when I posted my response only one comment showed on the page I was viewing.

      If it took you more than 1 hour to post this comment. Then you may need to manage your perception of time.

      People staying here are stay facts, saying they are "hostile or rude" is using false equivalence divert attention away from yourself.

      • +2

        Another classic example of someone entitled who's not getting the answers that they want so they stamp their feet and start to abuse everyone who disagrees with them.

        • +1

          Agree.

          OPs asking for “help”, isn’t how to improve objectively, but it typically means, “I want people to take my side, I don’t want help that falsifies my stance”.

  • +2

    gone are the days where they would use chalk to mark ur tires and u could rub it out or move forward a bit to cover it

    now they take photos in the car and just fine you on the move

    • +2

      I mean depending on how busy the road was, the inspector probably wouldn't have even noticed it had been moved at all. The guy parked it only one space over.

      • +2

        I think that too

        • And it didn’t work out so well did it.

          I’d assume that parking inspectors have an eye for vehicles and can probably identify a similar car in a similar spot. Then t only takes a rego check to confirm.

          And that’s not mentioning new sensor systems that track parking spec usage.

    • +2

      I've done the chalk rub thing. Now need to keep up with technology. Time for revolving number plates.

      • +1

        These are better than revolving plates.

        https://www.drive.com.au/news/california-begins-digital-numb…

        These smart plates use e-ink, and if the car is stolen change to say STOLEN, and because they have a GPS receiver and are wireless connected they continuously report the location of the car to the police. When you're parked they can be set to shrink the licence number to the top right hand corner and display programmed messages.

        Everyone is waiting for someone to hack them so they display whatever number you want them to.

        • the initial purchase price is US$699 ($925) excluding fitting, and there's also a US$7 ($9.30) per month fee.

          I'm waiting for them to be free

  • +5

    Username checks out.

    • +13

      Technialy you need to read what pegaxs posted above.

  • +1

    I was reading the parking sign at the shopping center that the free 3 hours for parking is cumulative for the day. so even multiple trips will count, just be warned that the use of technology will catch you out if you do the wrong thing it will cost you.

    • Yeah that could really catch you out, imagine going for 2 hours in the morning then back that evening for more than an hour at getting fined, you'd feel pretty unlucky.

      • +1

        Shooing centre rules are not the same as on street parking.

        • They can't issue a fine either

    • I'm guessing half the shoppers wouldn't read the sign and the other half wouldn't know what cumulative meant.

      That is bloody genius - a licence to print money.

      • Lol…

      • +1

        Apparently you don’t even need a licence to print money anymore just ask the Reserve Bank.

        • Weird comment ..fairly sure reserve bank have a license to print money..infact the only license….

    • +2

      Some places let you stay multiple free periods, so long as you have a 45 minute or 1 hour gap between parking.

      Eg Westfield

      You are entitled to 2 hours free parking on your first entry into the car park. When returning to the car park in the same day you will only receive an additional 2 hours free parking if your time of car park entry is more than 45 minutes after your previous car park exit.

  • +1

    hurstville is a POS council. Backed into a spot, looked around. Came back to a ticket and couldnt find any handy capped signs. looked under the car to see a handicapped sign painted only on the ground.

    Contested it and they said clearly signed, they put up more signs behind on a pole. This isnt even a larger space, just a normal spare converted I assumed only part way through.

    Used to always go but rage quit that shit hole

    • And seems like just under half the people goes there are disabled, measured by cars parked on the street with a disabled permit.

      • Counting invisible disabillities? Add a bit if you can find a doctor that beliefs you!

  • -2

    Quick! Vote for a new PM. The newspapers tell us so!!! All issues will go away, so they promise!

  • There's a first time for everyone to learn how car parks work

  • They normally put a chalk mark on tyres in Melbourne, look for that if you find one than move. Either drive to another car park or wipe it with wet towel.
    Not sure if they do same chalk marking on tyres in Sydney as well

    • wipe it with wet towel

      I never get the silly "hacks" that people come up with to park in places for longer. I'm not a stickler for rules, but the entire point of having parking limits is so that there is a more even distribution of people who are able to access parking and so that different parking spots are used for different purposes.

      E.g., the 60 minute "quick shop" park is not used by someone who wants to stay there for 4 hours and hence, blocking out people who just want to get in to pick up two apples and milk.

  • Yeah, you can't do that unfortunately

  • Lol, contest and let it know how it goes.

    You tried to be clever and lost

  • I’m reviving this thread because I have a question in relation to the new License Plate Recognition technology on council vehicles that can detect overstaying.

    Now, consider this FAQ from North Sydney council document (https://www.northsydney.nsw.gov.au/files/assets/public/docs/…):

    9) What if someone parks their car in a spot for the allotted time and then moves it down the road. Will they get booked?

    LPR technology incorporates GPS coordinates so it can tell if a car has moved from one space to another. The Australian Road Rules say that a vehicle can only park in a restricted zone for the time stated on the sign. (A zone is defined by the inward facing arrows on the signs.) The vehicle must leave the zone, although it can return to the zone if a space is available. The LPR can detect whether a vehicle has moved; vehicles that are parked legally will not be fined.

    My question is: the LPR can detect that your vehicle has moved — but how can they detect if you have exited and re-entered the zone (and re-park on the same zone and possibly the same spot)? Because, from their camera’s point of view I wonder if they can differentiate between “exiting and re-entering the zone and re-park” and “just moving the car down the road”.

    Thoughts?

    • I wonder if they can differentiate between “exiting and re-entering the zone and re-park” and “just moving the car down the road”

      I doubt they can differentiate. They should be erring on the side of caution and assuming the former (but wouldn't surprise me if they assume the latter)

Login or Join to leave a comment