I disputed this but wanted OzBargain's thoughts - was this a valid parking spot (<5 mins)?
It's a $320 fine with the reason 'Not Parallel Park in Direction of Travel' with the parking sign right there and the car behind the no stopping sign. The other side of the alley is no stopping signs so I couldn't have parked on that side.
Yep, thought the image had been ozbargained and timed out
10 refreshes later…
OP didn't know how to downsize the image and uploaded 32mb size tiny pic.
yeah, a bit like OPs post.
Parked on wrong side of the road and wants to dispute it…..seriously?
Dispute timed out
I say let OP take the matter to court and watch the judge throw the book at them.
Then watch OP get timed out
Dont people realize that the judge can actually INCREASE a fine if they feel the applicant is wasting the court's time…as in Ops case?
Given parking matters are dealt with in criminal court, all OP has to do is introduce reasonable doubt before the magistrate
But you already told us previously that it was a $200k car (E63S) and a daily driver C63S. We get it, you have expensive cars.
It's definitely a Merc. $320 fine is fine then!
@boomramada: oh its a merc
yer man you can park however the fuk you want. why not just park on the side walk
@MrThing: We got a parking fine, which we rang up to dispute. We did a bit of a dance about the car and the lady finally said “so your car isn’t a red Ferrari?”. We told her we would pay the fine if she gave us the Ferrari. Turns out the number plate was written down wrong; we found out because the same tosser was illegally parked in the same area. We were EPY and the tosser was EFY.
So what is OP dong on OB?
@HeWhoKnows: 'what is OP dong on OB?'
that wasn't in the picture - maybe that's why it was cut off below the … you know …
Yeh I even restarted my phone
Is it a one way street?
Not according to the fine
<5 min
Don’t think time really matters tbh
tbf to him the sign says P5min is it is relevant… if he hadn't parked facing the wrong way
Fair cop, didn’t think to verify sign wording and just took it at face value according to what he wrote and the usual defence of ‘it was just x minutes! ‘
You were actually correct. Parking the wrong way means it's illegal, no matter even if that spot allowed 2 hours parking.
What's the location?
Based on that photo, the signs on the right are facing the camera, indicating this is a one way lane. The only way I could imagine you'd park the wrong way is if it's a one way street and your car is parked facing the camera
Hmm, the sign looks angled away from drivers on the left, but it's even hard to tell in Google Maps.
Definitely a 2-way lane though, no chance you should be parking on your right-side. You're in the wrong, I'm afraid
That's the one.
Ah shame didn't know that it mattered what direction I was facing if I was in the right parking bay.
Case closed.
are you from the UK?
@brad1-8tsi: that gave me more than a few moments of "oh crap have I turned into a one way road?" when driving up a street and having parked cars on both sides of the road facing me.
not closed until you pay the fine and learn the lesson.
Didn't the fine clue you up? I worked it out from the title of your post.
I can't believe you've disputed it.
Seriously you didn’t know you can’t park facing the wrong way or are you just entitled?
How did you work out where it was?
Reverse image search mostly. Didn't get a direct result, but it was a starting point.
Fancy that , my last name 😅
Right behind where I used to work in Martin Place (many years ago).
Nice photo of a tree
It's a $320 fine with the reason 'Not Parallel Park in Direction of Travel' with the parking sign right there and the car behind the no stopping sign.
Full clear photo or google map link would be good. Based on your description, It appears you have parked on the wrong side of the road. You must park in the direction of travel, not against it.
https://www.google.com/maps/@-33.8671121,151.2096816,3a,75y,… from the link above. Parked in the same place as the other cars in the photo just facing the other direction.
Where MS paint diagram?
That photo and its cropping should carry another $320 fine.
You have parked opposing the traffic, offense is genuine. My very first week in Oz I did the same thing, it's obvious 'once you know'.
A lot of tradies seem to do this.
Even after they have finished unloading their materials they will leave their vehicle parked facing the opposing direction of traffic.
lots of migrant trades come here for work. they should take drivers license testing here to ensure they know the road rules here, simple really.
Most are safer then those ungrateful unaussie bogan ripoffs causing most danger on roads.
I've been caught out for this, and it's a bullshit law. Any logical need for it has been overcome, but still it persists.
Councils just use it as an easy revenue raiser.
What logical need is there to park opposite the direction of traffic?
Apart from the obvious need of a car space, but he found it whilst facing the wrong direction.
And needing to do a U Turn in a Merc'… shows you can't read ya GPS……perhaps.
How has the Rule been overcome?
The Rules may not be perfect in every situation, but… Blanket Rules are needed more often than not.
The Reflectors/Headlights direction re which is L or RH side of the road…at night… confusion etc etc…reasons, maybe negated in that exact scenario, but we need to Rules for everybody, so OP should just cop it fair and pay the Fine.
Go directly to Jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200
According to previous posts OP will need $200k for his next car
OP was wrong, but $320!!? Cash grab. Thieves and vandals get smaller fines.
should be a percentage of the value of the car driven, in this case $3k fine.
The amount of people that don't know the traffic regulations is staggering.
ikr. Just watch the dashcam videos on youtube. but even worse, is reading the comments on those videos.
And they also don't know how nefarious local councils are …..
And they also don't know how nefarious local councils are …
As the commercials say 'stop it, or cop it'.
You can bet he/she won’t do it again, so it's a win win.
For the council to blow it on something unimportant.
Most common seems to be Round-a-bouts.
So many people have no idea about give way rules, indicating rules etc when using round-a-bouts.
The rules for roundabouts are quite simple, but so many drivers are just ignorant.
I could say the same thing about parking…
Most common seems to be Round-a-bouts.
Roundabout rules are dumb.
It should be left blinker turning left, right blinker turning right and NO blinker straight through.
It should be left blinker turning left, right blinker turning right and NO blinker straight through.
That is the rule for small round-a-bouts in NSW.
What I can't stand is ppl who speed thru them thinking they have 'right of way' even though they aren't on the round-a-bout yet.
Also, I think it is certainly the case that if you leave a round-a-bout with your right blinker on you don't know what the hell you are doing.
After watching many Dash Cam vids and full blown arguments therein, most drivers do not know, remember or understand many of the Road Rules, including reading Parking Signage.
That is staggeringly more staggering.
The road user handbook is free, not a high yield investment and it could save you money.
Parallel parking
This is the usual way to park, unless a sign says otherwise.
You must park:
• in the same direction as traffic
I didn't know it was a finable offense to park in the wrong direction - that's interesting good to know
OP could have received another fine too from police for driving on the wrong side of the road
Definitely an offence.
Wow - where did you get your license - in a cereal box ???
Technically you are parking too far from the correct pavement ie the direction of flow of traffic. It is all connected with those tail lights which (at night) have reflectors to warn cars you are parked. If you park the other way round no reflectors…simple really.
Exactly!
You werent parked in the direction of travel. The fine stands.
It's a $320 fine with the reason 'Not Parallel Park in Direction of Travel'
FFS This should not be news to you
Inspector figured you can afford it and you probably deserve it. I probably would have done the same thing.
2- way street, you've parked against the flow of traffic.
Easy open and shut case.
But sure if you want to waste more money (not that your rapidly depreciating asset isn't already).
Look, it was a weird way to flex stupidity, bank balance, and maybe a bit more stupidity again (in that order)
Disputing Not Parallel Park in Direction of Travel
What are you disputing? The law is very clear about this.
was this a valid parking spot (<5 mins)?
Time has nothing to do with it. You had been parked when the inspector came by.
The other side of the alley is no stopping signs so I couldn't have parked on that side.
Hosking Pl is a two way street, so you do a u turn and park.
The other side of the alley is no stopping signs so I couldn't have parked on that side.
…did you think about turning your car around?
Better to be thought of as an idiot than to post on Ozbargain and remove all doubt.
Lol @ Merc driver doing Merc driver things and complaining about a fine that would take them about 38 seconds of their work day to earn enough to pay for it.
Pay the fine. You were parked on the wrong side of the street.
For anyone who cares, it's NSW Road Rule 208 (2)a and b.
Lol @ Merc driver doing Merc driver things and complaining about a fine that would take them about 38 seconds of their work day to earn enough to pay for it.
Take this baseballer less than a nano second to pay for it.
https://www.nine.com.au/sport/major-league-baseball-2024-jua…
The other side of the alley is no stopping signs so I couldn't have parked on that side.
That's the same logic as driving the wrong way down a one way street and proclaiming "I'm only going one way".
Your posts about your cars makes you sound like a wanka
I always park my high yield investment in the direction of travel to avoid this issue. Council officers hate this one simple trick!
Haven't done it myself, but wondering why it matters which direction you are parked so long as you aren't obstructing traffic?
Seriously? Other than the fact you have driven on the wrong side of the road to be able to park there? Why it matters? Kept left, if not the first rule drivers need to follow it's in the discussion for top 3.
What matters, at least in vic, is the licensing system is floored. Book the test, dont stuff up for 20 minutes, get a licence for life. Testing needs to be competency based, book a test, meet a standard, then have a license. The current system has people questioing why they cant drive agaist traffic to secure a car park.
Not drive against traffic but if the car is doing a handstand in a space that fits it and it isn't causing a Hazzard then what's the actual harm?
It's more to do with safety. Park in the direction of travel means the left side passengers would open to the "non road side". For a normal car, this isn't an issue since you can usually exit any side. However, not all vehicles are like this (example vans) so you may end up having to exit the "road side" if not parked in the direction of travel. And that might cause a safety issue for the occupants exiting the road side. Like your kids.
Because you need to drive on the wrong side of the road to get into the spot. It might not seem a big deal on a small street like this, but imagine a busy 4 lane road.
It mattered once, long ago, because there was little streetlighting. Everything was super dark, and car headlights weren't great. They put most of the reflective stuff on the back, so if you didn't park the right way those things wouldn't work right.
But laws are hard to make, but harder to get rid of if there's no pressing need for it. So it persists. Idiots create justifications for it, but they're idiots so the justifications never make any sense
I tried to argue a "parked not in the direction of travel" when I got busted in a residential street. I'd parked for 10 mins to pick up a piece of 2nd hand furniture, and it was raining cats and dogs. The correct side of the road had trucks parked continuously for 30m on either side of the place I was going to, due to construction.
Tried a bunch of 'reasonableness' arguments because I knew I didn't have a leg to stand on. Failed. My fault entirely.
he correct side of the road had trucks parked continuously for 30m on either side of the place I was going to, due to construction
If you do a U turn, the wrong side of the road will be the correct side.
time parked irrelevant and yes you are illegally parked. Would not expect you have much of a leg to stand on.
It was a valid parking spot
Until you parked in it facing the wrong direction
Very dangerous and deserving of a fine. You should know people can't see a car if it's facing the wrong way 😅
You should see how they react when you reverse.
It was great living in the UK and being able to park on the 'wrong' side of the road.
Unfortunately for OP this is not UKbargain!
You lost your chance for all day parking
FFS, was waiting thought that photo was still loading.