QLD Overtaking parked cars in School Zone

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PeterMac

Active Member
24 November 2020
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2:45pm in a 40k school zone. Many cars (10+) are parked on a single lane street waiting to pick up children blocking the left lane. Road markings are allowing overtaking.
Is it ok to overtake these parked cars to proceed down the road?
 

Tim W

Lawyer
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28 April 2014
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What markings were on the road?

What speed were you doing?
(I ask because you don't "overtake" parked cars)

What was the offence on your ticket?
 

sammy01

Well-Known Member
27 September 2015
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blocking the left lane.... That is problematic.
Ok so at my school there is a double white line. I'm in NSW BTW. It is a narrow road. Parents park against the kerb and there is no sinage to say they cant. Further down the road is where the buses pull in. No bus bay but the double white lines are not present. I drive past the cars every day to turn into the school (where I work). There is often a police car down the road with the radar gun out checking speed of the cars in the 40km zone. I reckon some days my wheels must cross over those double white lines - especially when parents let their kids out on the right side of the car. Copper has never nabbed me or any of my work mates....

Not exactly solid legal advice. But a good indication.

BUT you said 'blocking the left lane'. I reckon if the streeet is seriously narrow, as in too narrow to accomodate 2 cars snuggly BUT I do think if that were the case then there would be no parking signs and the prents parking on the street would get the cops grumpy before they'd come after you... Again not solid legal advice, but life experience...
 

PeterMac

Active Member
24 November 2020
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31
ok so the street is a regular 2 way street with room to park cars next to the curb on both side. These cars are waiting in line on the street that you would normally be able to drive down. I say parked but they are actually just waiting in their cars queuing up to pick up kids. But they wait for 15+ minutes before the first car can even move again. I’m just wondering if it’s ok to drive past them on the right to get past as if I’m overtaking. The markings on the road indicate that I can overtake.

There are no police involved yet but the crossing lady has threatened it. I just want clarification about the rule to know who is correct. The cars in queue are in the wrong to begin with and several have been fined for it but the problem persists.
I just want to know if overtaking them all it legal so I can keep doing it without the worry of the crossing lady telling the cops.
 

sammy01

Well-Known Member
27 September 2015
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if you wanna provide a link via google maps to help us see the intersection in question? might help.
But my thoughts are NO. The cars are parked by the kerb and as such you're not overtaking. You're simply driving past parked cars. Surely, to be 'overtaking' the other cars would need to be moving.

Let's think this thru. If you didn't 'overtake' them, you'd have to become stationary - it isn't a traffic jam - like waiting for traffic lights to change. So if you stopped, you'd be obstructing traffic and more likely to cop a fine for that stunt, than driving slowly past cars that are not moving.
 

PeterMac

Active Member
24 November 2020
6
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31
Marked Location
Google Maps

See where the D shaped driveway is halfway along mason av. This is where the lineup starts. At approximately 2:30pm the line starts forming as the gates to that D shaped pickup zone are closed.
I need to drive past all of these cars in the right lane.
 

sammy01

Well-Known Member
27 September 2015
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looks to me like there are painted parking spaces on the road. So the parents are parking and you're driving past parked cars. Nothing wrong with that...
 

PeterMac

Active Member
24 November 2020
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My thoughts exactly. Thank you. Is there anyway to get a official ruling on something like this so I can show the person threatening me?
 

Atticus

Well-Known Member
6 February 2019
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Is there anyway to get a official ruling on something like this so I can show the person threatening me?
So what is motivating this 'threat' .... Is someone getting upset because you are acting contrary to the established order of things at pickup... Like cue jumping or similar?

If you are not breaking any road rules, then there will be nothing to show you aren't... rather, you invite that person to show you the road rule that they say you are breaking
 

PeterMac

Active Member
24 November 2020
6
0
31
The threat is coming from the crossing lady. Who knows full well that the cars waiting are in the wrong as i spoke to her about it a few years ago. There’s no queue jumping as I just pass them to park further down the street so I can get out to collect my kids. I also work at that school and so it was one of the admin ladies that told me of the crossing ladies threat to tell the cops.
From what you have all said it seems like I can just continue doing what I’m doing without the worry of cops fining me.