Do you know this obscure parking rule catching out drivers?
There’s a little-known parking rule that's catching out a lot of Australia drivers and you’ve probably broken it before without even realising it.
The rule was recently brought up on social media when a Melbourne man parked on a side street in Chadstone. There were other cars parked on the street, no signs indicating he could not park there and he had parked there in the past before without issue.
But this week the man got slapped with a $159 fine for violating a parking rule he had never heard of before.
The traffic rule? Across the country, you cannot park or stop your vehicle within 10m of an intersection. It is 20m if there are traffic lights on the intersecting road.
The man’s partner took to the Public Discussions Above the Law Facebook group to question the rule and ask if there was any way they could contest the fine.
“My partner received a fine today for $159 for apparently parking less than 10 metres from an intersection around Chadstone (he works around there),” the woman wrote.
“It’s a t-section of some sort … in a side street there wasn’t any signs, and the street was full of cars? Can we fight this fine?”
Unfortunately, in all states and territories in Australia have rules preventing parking within 10m or 20m from an intersection, “unless a sign allows you to park there”.
If you are caught breaking the rule:
- New South Wales – $330 fine and two demerit points
- Australia Capital Territory – $114
- Tasmania – $119
- Western Australia – $150
- Queensland – $126
- Northern Territory – $154
- South Australia – $115 for the 10m rule and $153 for 20m rule