Clearway to revenue Author: Jeff Corbett Date: 19/07/2007 Publication: Newcastle Herald
THE tradesman had driven his long vehicle into my friend's driveway in Cooks Hill but the rear end protruded onto, but not across, the wide asphalted footpath, and a passing parking officer issued a warning.
Number 197 of Australian Road Rules says a driver must not stop on a footpath, and that makes sense. It is beyond rule breaking when drivers park entirely across a footpath and force pedestrians onto the road, as so many drivers do that is close to a hostile act.
So my friend phoned Newcastle City Council to ask what she could do about parking for tradesmen, who needed access to their work vehicles while working at her house, and she was told they should park in front of her driveway parallel to the kerb. That was two years ago.
Four months ago, just weeks after Newcastle City Council talked of its desperate need to increase revenue, my friend was booked for parking across her driveway. Obstructing a driveway is illegal, a council officer assured her when she phoned to protest, even if the driveway is your own!
A few weeks later my friend's neighbour was booked for parking across his driveway, something he'd done since he moved into Cooks Hill four years earlier, and he was told by the parking officers at the scene that it was permissible to park in his driveway on his land with his vehicle protruding onto the pavement so long as there was room for a double pram to pass on the footpath.
As you can imagine, my friend was quickly back to the council. No no, they assured her, no part of the vehicle could be on the footpath.
The very next rule, number 198, is that for driveways: "A driver must not stop on or across a driveway or other way of access for vehicles travelling to or from adjacent land unless: (a) the driver is dropping off or picking up passengers; or (b) the driver stops in a parking bay and the driver is permitted to stop in the parking bay under the Australian Road Rules."
Of course a driver parked across his or her driveway would be denying only his own access to his property, so the rule's application to the property owner does seem to be a nonsense. Its application by Newcastle's parking officers seems to be a revenue-raising nonsense.
As you know in some suburbs the only on-street parking space available to homeowners is often across their own driveway and many homeowners use it routinely and without any inkling that they are breaking any rules. Fine $79.
The RTA, which has administered the Australian Road Rules since they were adopted by NSW in 1999, told me late yesterday that the driveway rule applied to property owners because parking officers would not know that the car blocking the driveway was owned by the property owner.
The RTA spokesman added that "commonsense would tell you" that if you wrote a letter or explained to the court that it was your driveway "the fine wouldn't be carried through", implying that the rule is not intended to apply to property owners.
This wouldn't be necessary if, as in the past when Newcastle council was not so desperate for revenue, cars parked across driveways were booked only when the property owner complained.
The RTA has the power, too, to clarify the rule. While the Australian Road Rules are national the RTA can expand them, as it has done for loading zones.
Road rule 179 says a driver must not stop in a loading zone unless he or she is driving a public bus dropping off or picking up passengers or driving a truck dropping off or picking up goods. NSW expands that to allow to stop in a loading zone any vehicle dropping off or picking up passengers, a station wagon for 15 minutes if it's dropping off or picking up goods, and any vehicle built to carry goods, generally a truck, for 30 minutes if it's loading or unloading goods.
Is your hatchback a station wagon? No, the RTA says a station wagon must have a sedan equivalent, and that most four-wheel-drives and hatchbacks are not station wagons.
Be very careful. Newcastle council is hungry and hostile.