A couple fined for parking in their own driveway say they’ve been ‘screwed over’ by their local council.
Kate’s husband received a $362 fine and was docked two demerit points by the Lake Macquarie City Council in NSW, which caused his Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance to skyrocket.
Recently her neighbourhood became incensed by a pamphlet distributed by council which told them how to correctly park their cars at home.
‘Are [council] kidding themselves,’ one local wrote online.
Another person who lives in the area said they had already received two fines under the new scheme which they described as a ‘crackdown’.
Council claimed Kate’s husband obscured access with his car meaning there was either no walking space for pedestrians or that it had blocked access to their home.
She went to her local MP armed with photos of the offence in an attempt to contest the fine – and more importantly the demerit points which affects the price of CTP coverage.
‘We can’t afford the points, it’s [already] added hundreds to my husband’s cost of his green slip due to the points he has so it really screwed us over,’ she told Yahoo.
Kate, who lives in the Lake Macquarie City Council, in NSW, and her husband were fined $362 for parking incorrectly in their own driveway (pictured)
Council recently distributed a pamphlet regarding proper parking etiquette in the area which has caused an uproar among locals
Kate said the legislation concerning where she could or could not park a car was confusing since ‘there is not a measurement of what is considered a footpath’.
She added that this was the first time her husband had been fined for the offence despite him parking the exact same way in their driveway for the last 12 years.
Council replied to the local outrage over residential parking fines and disputed that there was any ‘specific crackdown’ taking place.
Instead, they told Yahoo that rangers simply ‘conduct reactive patrols when we receive complaints from the community’.
‘You cannot park your vehicle on or across a driveway or prevent access to that property,’ the spokesperson said.
‘We are receiving an increasing number of complaints from the community each year about instances of parking non-compliance.’
The spokesperson said the purpose of these rules was to ensure pedestrian access is not restricted and visibility for other road users and pedestrians is not reduced.
Council replied to the local outrage over residential parking fines and disputed that there was any ‘specific crackdown’ taking place
Between January and June this year council issued 440 fines for similar offences, including 226 fines for parking on nature strips and 135 fines for parking on nature strips in school zones.
Another 35 fines were issued for parking on driveways in school zones and another 44 for parking across driveways in built up areas.
Council spokesperson added that Kate’s specific offence was ‘within a school zone during the morning arrivals of children trying to make their way to school safely’.
NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury told the publication that the fines were fair and just: ‘It’s illegal to park across your own driveway.’
Mr Khoury explained that the laws were good because emergency responders do not have time to deal with badly parked cars.
‘If emergency services need to access that driveway for some reason, they’re not able to do so if you parked across it,’ he said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Lake Macquarie City Council for comment.
