Parking Fine

DrumSteve

Need some advice on this; stopped on double yellows to let one of the kids out of the car this morning, garda pulled up and gave me a fine for parking on double yellows.

I never turned the car off or stepped out of the car, so can I contest this? For me, I was setting down as opposed to parked.

Is it worth going to court to contest?

Wanderer78

id imagine setting down isnt allowed on double yellow either?

whippet

how did the person get out of the car if you weren't parked?

Double yellows are there for a reason - they are not a set down.

You have committed an offence so I can't see any point in contesting

DrumSteve

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118593812#Comment_118593812

Had the indicators on

DrumSteve

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118593837#Comment_118593837

Fair enough.

They took none of my information though, nothing. Which I thought was strange.

Miscreant

You're not supposed to "park" on double yellow lines even to drop someone/something off so I don't think you will be able to appeal it. Indicators or no indicators does not matter.

You were just unlucky that there was a garda behind you in this instance and they were willing to go to the trouble of ticketing you.

ARX

From a quick glance at the legislation it appears that parking on a single yellow line to set down a passenger is legal, but parking on a double yellow line for the same purpose is not. I've never been able to find a definition of what constitutes parking, as opposed to merely stopping.

However, given the widespread egregious illegal parking that the Gardai happily ignore virtually all the time, it does seem exceptionally mean-spirited.

DrumSteve

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118593855#Comment_118593855

Yeah suppose I'll just chalk this one off.

One of the shiny new 80e fines too.

whippet

could be 3 points as well if the guard deems it as 'parking in a dangerous position' ... double yellow would have been there as it would have been deemed a place that was dangerous to park in.

DrumSteve

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118593876#Comment_118593876

I'd hope not, he never mentioned anything about points at the time.

mondeoman72

My daughters school in Firhouse has a serious issue with people doing this and it is a danger to the children as well as causing a bottle neck when buses and cars meet. They were there again this morning moving on people doing this. There is a massive car park next door in Supervalu if only people would use it.

If you get a ticket, you will just have to accept it.

whippet

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118593878#Comment_118593878

the last time I got points the guard who stopped me never even mentioned a ticket. Just had a look at the license told me what speed I was doing and two weeks later the letter arrived with the points and fine. I'd say half the time they don't want the discussion at the side of the road ... just tell you what you did wrong - get the details and tell you to move on

DrumSteve

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118593925#Comment_118593925

Yeah, but he didn't do any of that. Took none of my info.

Look it is what it is.

Not much more to be gained discussing it here. I'll just pay it when it comes in.

eurokev

Good to hear that the gardai are doing their work

loyatemu

I thought it was

• Single yellow - no parking at certain times
• Double yellow - no parking at any time
• Clearway - no parking or stopping for any reason

I'd have said "parking" involves leaving the car or waiting for a period of time - unless this was a clearway it seems harsh to get a fine for dropping someone off (and I say that as someone who is quite intolerant of bad parking, blocking bus lanes etc).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2MJfr1jPFQ

whippet

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118595135#Comment_118595135

double yellows are there for a reason ... as any vehicle stopped on the double yellows are causing a hazard. I'd imagine in this case the guard probably reminded the OP of the rules of the road and gave them an opportunity to move on. But stopping a car outside of the normal traffic flow is parking. ... set down is also parking but is allowed in specific places which is clearly marked for specific vehicles.

mondeoman72

If it is a school area, this is probably an ongoing issue that they are working on. So it is not just a "I stopped for a moment to let someone out". I see it every day, and saw the gardai this morning moving people on again. The day will come when they dont say anything and you will just get the fine. I see the school has sent out a message today via the Aladdin app about this. Was this in Firhouse ?

If it was Firhouse, then you asked for it. My wife has been pinged about this multiple times.

Ginger83

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058231744/parking-fine

It seems you were just unlucky. I remember doing multi drops as a courier and there was a blind eye turned to a lot of parking by the gardai, clampers were a different story.

Hopefully you are wise to it next time.

ARX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118595175#Comment_118595175

I'm not trying to be antagonistic here, but it's permissible to park for up to 30 minutes while loading/unloading, so I think it's not necessarily the case that parking on them is hazardous. The Sweetmount estate in Dundrum is covered in double yellow lines, and that's no different to a thousand other suburban estates. In that particular case, I would assume that they are used to discourage people from parking there while visiting the nearby shopping centre, which charges for parking.

whippet

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118595795#Comment_118595795

I'm not sure what point you are trying to make - loading / unloading is a specific use case scenario and is permissible in marked loading bays etc.

Double yellow are double yellows for everyone ... and are there for a reason. In estates there is more pedestrian traffic; children etc and the roads tend to be narrow enough and parking can cause danger. I'm not familiar with the estate in question .. but you can be sure the double yellows are not there to line the pockets of the Town centre car park owners - they are there to ensure you don't get people blocking the road ... ambulances, fire engines etc need access all the time and it can cause massive problems if there is a rogue car parked there.

Effects

If they didn't take any information, perhaps nothing will come of it, and he just wants you to worry about it.

Surely the car could be registered to your wife or something, so no way to know who you are, to send you the fine.

Miscreant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118595861#Comment_118595861

The OP says "garda pulled up and gave me a fine for parking on double yellows", so presumably details were exchanged on the spot.

28064212

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118595828#Comment_118595828

There is an explicit allowance in the legislation for loading/unloading goods even on double-yellow lines: https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1997/si/182/made/en/print

5(2)(e) a prohibition on the parking of a vehicle imposed by article 36(2)(a) shall not apply to a vehicle parked while goods are being loaded in or on to it or unloaded from it, for a period not exceeding thirty minutes from the commencement of the parking.

36(2)(a) is the article prohibiting parking on double yellow lines

ARX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118595828#Comment_118595828

My point is that if it's ok to have a lorry parked for 30 minutes on double yellow lines (which is expressly provided for in the legislation - "a prohibition on the parking of a vehicle imposed by article 36(2)(a) shall not apply to a vehicle parked while goods are being loaded in or on to it or unloaded from it, for a period not exceeding thirty minutes from the commencement of the parking") then it's hardly unreasonable to expect to be permitted to stop for 30 seconds while a passenger alights.

My original point is that given the widespread illegal (and indeed dangerous) parking to which the Gardai turn a permanently blind eye, it seems a little excessive to nick someone for stopping to let a passenger out, assuming they didn't create a danger in doing so.

The interesting point in all this is the difference between stopping and parking. As far as I can tell, neither is defined anywhere in legislation. But S.I. No. 182/1997 - Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations, 1997 does seem to distinguish between the two (albeit in relation to motorways):

33. (1) A driver on a motorway shall not—

[...]

( c ) stop or park a vehicle on any part of a motorway;

DrumSteve

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118595216#Comment_118595216

It wasn't in Firhouse.

Look, I can accept that I shouldn't have stopped where I did. I was more just curious about whether or not there was an allowance made for setting down and whether it could be contested.

No biggie, I'll pay it and move on. Every day is a school day. This thread can probably be locked.

dxhound2005

It seems Local Authorities have their own Parking Bye Laws. In the South County Dublin laws, the only reference to "setting down" is to do with taxis in bus lanes. In case anyone doesn't know, Ctrl and F together brings up a search box. There is also just one reference to "double yellow lines".

https://www.sdcc.ie/en/services/transport/parking/sdcc-control-of-parking-bye-laws-2021.pdf

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118593812#Comment_118593812

Hazard warning lights do not exempt you from breaking the law.

Effects

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118595891#Comment_118595891

Nah, if you'd read his posts, you'd see that the Garda didn't take any of his details.

"They took none of my information though, nothing. Which I thought was strange."

Sierra Oscar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118597640#Comment_118597640

They could have just noted the registration from their car or whatever all the same. It's a non-intercept offence, they don't need driver details. The fine can just be sent to the registered owner of the vehicle.

Good chance the Garda was just putting the frighteners on the driver all the same.

Effects

So does it arrive like a speeding ticket? Where you have to say you weren't driving at the time, and nominate another driver?

mondeoman72

Hopefully the guard was just trying to put a scare into you, but a couple of years ago, I got a parking ticket in Glasthule, while at a restaurant across the road. It appeared about 3 weeks later by post and was addressed to the car owner. I only copped what it was for as it was dated the wifes birthday, and that is why we were there.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118597066#Comment_118597066

And then you get caught for false reporting on top of everything thing else. It never ceases to amuse me, how the some amateurs fancy their chances! They fail to realize that you heard it all before and that you’re just politely handing them more rope.

GM228

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118596017#Comment_118596017

Parking is defined as "keep or leave stationary", in law when you keep your vehicle stationary then you are parked.

Marcusm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118593858#Comment_118593858

Are you sure it wasn’t a clear way. Stopping to set down on double yellowsshould not be an issue just as active loading/unloading on double yellows is not an offence so long as no other restrictions, clear way, continuous white line, traffics lights, within 5m of junction etc. don’t want to be mean but impressed by guard. Usually they can’t be arsed.

28064212

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118623327#Comment_118623327

The loading/unloading exception is explicitly for goods only:

...not apply to a vehicle parked while goods are being loaded in or on to it or unloaded from it

There's also an argument that the loading exception only applies to commercial vehicles. This definition appears in the same regulations:

"goods vehicle" means a vehicle used exclusively for carrying goods and taxed for commercial purposes

Whether that definition automatically implies that the exception is only for commercial vehicles is up for debate, but the only way you'd challenge a fine on that basis is by going to court, and I don't really fancy your chances