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I was fined for parking and I feel the circumstances are un-fair. I've been looking for ways to contest the fine and having trouble working out where to turn.

Google tells me that it's likely a small claims court issue which sounds good. But I'd like legal guidance before taking that step and finding the right lawyer to talk to is proving difficult.

The question I would ask is simple. Are motorists expected to understand the detail of Council Bylaws when using the parking provided, or should the usage terms be clearly communicated on the signage? If we are expected to know the bylaws in detail then I guess I dont have a case.

Here is the scenario:

- I parked in a p120 pay and display and paid for 2 hours.
- 2 hours later I came back and paid for 2 more hours.
- 2 hours later I came back to re-check the car and found that I had been ticketed for not vacating the space.

Apparently the parking space must be vacated once the time limit is reached. Regardless of how much you pay. However this is not communicated anywhere on any of the customer facing parking signage.

The council happily took my money for additional parking time but fined me anyway. They also will not answer any of my questions around this rule. For example, how long must the car be vacated from the carpark before it can be returned. Is it 5 mins or 24 hours? All they say is that I need to refer to the bylaw and refuse to enter into discussion on it.

So the question remains. Is it required to have a deep understanding on 100's of pages of bylaws to avoid getting fined?

Any comments or help on this greatly appreciated. I'd like to take it further but obviously not if there is no chance.

You don’t need to have a detailed understanding of the bylaws. Council-operated (e.g. on-street) parking signage is regulated nationally, and as a minimum there must be parking signs placed at every 100m along the street. These will usually say things like ‘P120’, or ‘Pay and Display’, ‘Time limits apply’ and so forth, and there will be further information on the parking meter or machine, typically with words like ‘Maximum parking 2 hours’ or whatever the time limit is, and the times that applies (often excluding after hours or weekends).

P120 signifies the maximum time limit you can park is 2 hours, not the maximum time you can buy before topping up. It is generally understood by motorists that metered parking is short term, designed to cater for the turnover of customers. If you require longer term (all day parking), these are provided by public or private off-street carparks and parking buildings.

Whether you have a valid defence to contest the ticket will depend on whether there was clear signage on the street and on the meter/machine notifying you of the time limit. If there was, your only other defence may be if you moved the car. There are no specific rules on how long you have to vacate a car park, although the council may have their own policy. If, for example, you left the park to attend another appointment in another part of town, and then returned, then this would be deemed to be two different parking ‘contracts’. But if you stayed in the same park then the small claims tribunal adjudicator is likely to conclude it was one continuous parking event and therefore that you exceeded the 2 hour parking limit. It doesn’t matter that you paid for the extra time – the machine doesn’t know it’s the same person. If you had moved the car, even briefly, or to a nearby park, you may have a point to argue but from your description this was not the case, so it’s a moot point. The adjudicator is likely to rule based on what a ‘reasonable motorist’ would understand, and I would expect they would conclude the average motorist would know that the time limit is 2 hours and that they have to permanently vacate the car park after that.

Unless the signage on the street and parking meter/machine was unclear, I doubt you have a case to argue. On top of that, you have to consider whether the value of the fine is worth taking time off work to defend, and risk court costs if you lose.

Thanks for the reply. I guess it is a lost cause. Before getting fined for this, it was my understanding / assumption that you were essentially renting the carpark for 2 hour periods. The 2 hour maximum was to stop people from renting the things all day without cause. But at the same time I never expected to be fined for renting it consecutively.

I asked for feedback from colleagues and they shared the same assumptions. That you could continue to use the park as long as you paid for it.

My point was you have to go down to the detail of the bylaw document before the rules are clarified. There is adequate signage, but the signage doesn't tell you the car must be moved. It just states the park is available for a 2 hour period if you pay.