A NSW driver has copped a $283 penalty for unwittingly breaking a little-known parking rule.
The driver left their car on the grass out the front of their home in Seaforth, in Northern Sydney, on Saturday and came back to discover a parking fine waiting for them.
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The driver thought they were fined for having the wheels of their car touching the kerb and asked if there was anyway they could get out of paying the fine.
However, they were soon informed they were pinged for parking on what was technically the nature strip and not their own grass area.
“Does anyone know if I can contest this?” they asked in a Facebook community group.
“I park on the grass out the front of my property, our land.”
Despite there being no pedestrian footpath in front of the driver’s home, the area between a residential property boundary and the adjacent road counts as a nature strip — which is owned by the local council.
According to NSW road rules, parking a vehicle on footpaths and nature strips is illegal.
This means you cannot park on the grass outside your home if it is beyond your boundary line.
Northern Beaches Council’s parking guide states: “Always park all wheels on the roadway, not on the verge or path. This includes cars, trailers, boats, caravans etc.
“Also ensure you are parallel to the road in the correct direction of travel.”
It then warns that the minimum penalty for the offence is $268.
Similar road rules apply in South Australia, Queensland and Victoria, with penalties in place.
In Western Australia, drivers can park on the nature strip in some council areas provided they have sought approval from the owner or occupier of the adjoining home.
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