“Lesson learnt”: Expat fined for parking mistake
A British expat has copped a hefty fine after going against a "common sense" road rule.
The man had just moved to Sydney and was visiting the famous beaches in Shoalhaven, NSW when he copped a $200 fine for parking on the wrong side of the road, facing against the direction of traffic flow.
“Never heard of this before. It didn’t say anything about no parking and I’ve come back, and I’ve got a ticket, ” he said n the video posted on social media.
While it is an offence in Australia, in the UK the parking technique is permitted, except at night.
“Lesson learnt,” he ended his clip.
The video received a lot of comments, with one asking the obvious question: “Didn’t you see what the other cars were doing?”
Another added: “If the cars are all facing the one way, park that way. Why would you park facing the wrong way then all the other cars are facing the other way?”
“Wasn’t it obvious?” a different person questioned.
Others told him that it was just "common sense" but he insisted that everyone in the UK parks in different directions” despite also driving on the left-hand side of the road.
A few people explained why they think the rule exists.
“I think it’s because to get out of that park you would have to drive into oncoming traffic,” one user suggested. “Maybe in the UK your lanes are small and this would be okay but 99 per cent of our roads are wide and this is not needed.”
“And to get into that park in the first place, you have to drive on the wrong side,” another person pointed out.
Some British commenters could relate to the man's mistake, saying: “I’ve been caught out doing this too,” and “It did my head in when I first moved here!”
The penalty for parking in the wrong direction of travel can reach up to 257, and in school zones, this fine can increase to $330 plus two demerit points.
Images: TikTok