Hi there - first time poster here with a question about whether I should fight a parking ticket in court.
Here's the story.
* I parked the car in Mosman on Sunday, on a quiet street (Plunkett Rd - Google Maps),
* There were no parking related signs (ie no timed parking, "no stopping" or "no parking" signs etc). I carefully checked for these at the time of parking.
* There were loads of other cars parked on the same street section.
* It was in front of a reserve / park.
* There were no nearby cross streets or driveways.
* The section of road is on a bend and a hill, but it is a wide street with plenty of visibility
I went and had lunch with my family, returned several hours later and found a ticket on the car - $257 for "Stop at road with continuous yellow edge line". I was shocked - never heard of such a thing, and I've been driving in NSW for 30 years.
I had a look at the road and only noticed the faint yellow line painted right next to the gutter /curb then - it was hard to see when pulling up and parking the car as there were other cars parked all around me at the time!
And I didn't look down at the road when getting the kids out of the car etc, as I have never thought to or needed to! I took a few photos and so on to show where the car was parked, and that there were no "no stopping" signs, a dozen other cars parked in the same area (they all had tickets as well FYI!).
When I got home I googled the offence and discovered 2 things.
1) Under the national road rules it became an offence in NSW in 2012,
2) But it wasn't until 2015/2016 that a select few councils (eg Mosman, Pittwater) started to paint these yellow lines on the road and remove / not install any "No Stopping" signs, in the name of street beautification and the removal of sign clutter.
I live in a different council area that is not doing this, and rarely visit Mosman, so have never before encountered yellow lines on the road before and the absence of "no stopping" sings.
I have already asking for a review of the matter, attached photos etc, but if the review is not successful, I would like to know should I fight this one in court? I would like to!
I know that "ignorance of the law" is no excuse, however in this case it just seems completely unfair and unreasonable! The following would be my arguments I think:
1) The yellow line rule is recent / new for NSW, unknown to most drivers, has not been widely publicised and is not widely used in NSW
2) The absence of "no stopping" signs. Note that other "No Stopping" areas further down the same street have both signs and the yellow line (I checked).
3) The area where I parked, is not near an intersection, driveway etc. While the road curves around a corner, it is not that sharp a corner, and the parking spaces are quite "straight". Ie I do not see even what the safety issue is or why the areas is designated "no stopping"? Is every street with a curve to become a "no stopping" zone in Sydney soon?
4) I'm pretty sure (but need to confirm) that before the yellow line was painted in the last 12-24 months, the area was a legal parking zone.
5) As a conscientious driver, who has not had a parking or traffic fine in 20+ years, I applied due care and diligence when I parked. I checked for parking restriction signs - there were none. I observed loads of other cars parked in same section of street (my space was the only one empty at the time within sight).
6) The yellow line was obscured by all the other parked cars, and therefore non-obvious. Of course I never even thought to look for it as I was completely unaware of this rule!
So any thoughts? If this has to go to court what are my chances - ie do I have an argument for leniency? Am I risking a greater cost than the $257 fine if I lose due to council court costs etc?
I'm guessing that I would need to plead guilty to the offence, but offer an excuse / request leniency? Given that it turns out the council does have the legal right to paint a yellow line, remove all signs, then fine the crap out of dozens of cars everyday who innocently park in that area? It stinks, but apparently is legal, so therefore I don't think I can please "not guilty" can I?
Any/all help will be much appreciated!
Here's the story.
* I parked the car in Mosman on Sunday, on a quiet street (Plunkett Rd - Google Maps),
* There were no parking related signs (ie no timed parking, "no stopping" or "no parking" signs etc). I carefully checked for these at the time of parking.
* There were loads of other cars parked on the same street section.
* It was in front of a reserve / park.
* There were no nearby cross streets or driveways.
* The section of road is on a bend and a hill, but it is a wide street with plenty of visibility
I went and had lunch with my family, returned several hours later and found a ticket on the car - $257 for "Stop at road with continuous yellow edge line". I was shocked - never heard of such a thing, and I've been driving in NSW for 30 years.
I had a look at the road and only noticed the faint yellow line painted right next to the gutter /curb then - it was hard to see when pulling up and parking the car as there were other cars parked all around me at the time!
And I didn't look down at the road when getting the kids out of the car etc, as I have never thought to or needed to! I took a few photos and so on to show where the car was parked, and that there were no "no stopping" signs, a dozen other cars parked in the same area (they all had tickets as well FYI!).
When I got home I googled the offence and discovered 2 things.
1) Under the national road rules it became an offence in NSW in 2012,
2) But it wasn't until 2015/2016 that a select few councils (eg Mosman, Pittwater) started to paint these yellow lines on the road and remove / not install any "No Stopping" signs, in the name of street beautification and the removal of sign clutter.
I live in a different council area that is not doing this, and rarely visit Mosman, so have never before encountered yellow lines on the road before and the absence of "no stopping" sings.
I have already asking for a review of the matter, attached photos etc, but if the review is not successful, I would like to know should I fight this one in court? I would like to!
I know that "ignorance of the law" is no excuse, however in this case it just seems completely unfair and unreasonable! The following would be my arguments I think:
1) The yellow line rule is recent / new for NSW, unknown to most drivers, has not been widely publicised and is not widely used in NSW
2) The absence of "no stopping" signs. Note that other "No Stopping" areas further down the same street have both signs and the yellow line (I checked).
3) The area where I parked, is not near an intersection, driveway etc. While the road curves around a corner, it is not that sharp a corner, and the parking spaces are quite "straight". Ie I do not see even what the safety issue is or why the areas is designated "no stopping"? Is every street with a curve to become a "no stopping" zone in Sydney soon?
4) I'm pretty sure (but need to confirm) that before the yellow line was painted in the last 12-24 months, the area was a legal parking zone.
5) As a conscientious driver, who has not had a parking or traffic fine in 20+ years, I applied due care and diligence when I parked. I checked for parking restriction signs - there were none. I observed loads of other cars parked in same section of street (my space was the only one empty at the time within sight).
6) The yellow line was obscured by all the other parked cars, and therefore non-obvious. Of course I never even thought to look for it as I was completely unaware of this rule!
So any thoughts? If this has to go to court what are my chances - ie do I have an argument for leniency? Am I risking a greater cost than the $257 fine if I lose due to council court costs etc?
I'm guessing that I would need to plead guilty to the offence, but offer an excuse / request leniency? Given that it turns out the council does have the legal right to paint a yellow line, remove all signs, then fine the crap out of dozens of cars everyday who innocently park in that area? It stinks, but apparently is legal, so therefore I don't think I can please "not guilty" can I?
Any/all help will be much appreciated!