A DRIVER has been left fuming after being slapped with a £400 fine because of a “ludicrously over the top” rule.
Damian Seagar said he usually parks two of his three motors on the road near his home in Sydney, Australia.
9newsDamian Seagar was fined for what he has branded an ‘unfair’ rule[/caption]
He was sent a second ticket for breaking the same rule with another of his cars9news
He has been leaving his cars on the street for around eight years.
But suddenly in December, Damian was stunned when a parking ticket dropped through his letter box.
He was hit with a $362 (£207) fine and given two penalty points on his licence, reports 9News.
The motorist was sent the ticket for “parking within ten metres of an intersection with no traffic lights”.
Damian said the fine was “unfair” as he and other residents often park in the same spot as there are “no signs” to suggest drivers can’t park there.
He said: “This seemed ludicrously over the top for a quiet area; I would never park intentionally illegally if it was signposted that way.
“$362 plus the two demerit points – it’s brutal. I think it’s totally unfair.”
Just weeks later Damian was stung with another £207 fine for breaking the same rule with his other car parked on the opposite side of the road.
Damian said the rules are “really unclear” as signs have been put up near some street corners but not others.
He added: “It’s really unclear, and it’s mixed messaging to have some corners with signs and some without, because that implies that the corner without the sign is fine.”
The outraged motorist tried to dispute the fines, but was told it would not be cancelled.
Damian is now planning to fight the tickets in court.
On the NSW Government website, it states: “You must not park within 10m of an intersection without traffic lights, unless a sign says you can or it’s a T-intersection and you park along the continuous side of the continuing road.”
In the UK, the Highway Code says drivers must park “at least 10m away from any junction, close to the kerb and facing in the direction of the traffic flow”.
Meanwhile, a former soldier hit out at a parking company after he was fined £100 for arriving at his pre-booked space just one minute early.
Tim Spearing and his wife Leanne drove for four hours from Lowestoft, Surrey into Central London to see the late Queen lying in state, only to be slapped with the fine.
The couple had booked the space through JustPark for 8pm on September 17 but were told by Parkingeye that they had arrived fractionally early and so would have to pay up.