Tradie fights "unfair" fine for parking across his own driveway
A frustrated tradie is fighting an "unfair" fine he copped for parking in his own driveway.
Mark Fricker, a builder from Newcastle, was photographed last September by a council camera when his ute was briefly stopped across his driveway with two wheels in the gutter of the bus zone that fronts his property.
The man was only parked in the precarious spot for a few minutes to open the gate to his home.
He only became aware of the alleged offence when he received a fine about 10 days later, with the penalty notice saying he was parked in a bus zone and was required to pay $320.
The fine was generated by the council’s mobile licence plate recognition technology with cameras attached to council cars patrolling the city’s streets to monitor parking offences.
Fricker told Yahoo News the fine was ‘unfair’ and would not have been issued if a ranger was on the scene to see what was going on.
While he attempted to take up the matter with his local council, he was referred back to Revenue NSW and felt he had no option but to contest the fine in court.
“If it had been a person and not a car, they wouldn’t have issued the fine,” Fricker said.
“I don’t feel an automated camera system is right. If a ranger had seen me park there, get out and open the gate, and move the car in, he wouldn’t have worried about it. He could see that I’m not a threat or danger to a bus, or passengers getting on or off, so it wouldn’t have happened."
Fricker's dispute is just one of many to arise from the increased use of controversial ticketless parking fine systems used by councils across NSW.
There was a 49 per cent surge in ticketless parking fines issued in NSW during the 2023-24 financial year, with revenue from ticketless fines surged to $158 million for that period, up 54 per cent on the previous year.
Image credits: Newcastle Herald