An Aussie tradie is heading to court to challenge a $320 fine for parking across his own driveway while opening the gate to drive in.
Builder Mark Fricker of 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.
He only became aware of the alleged offence when he received a fine via email about 10 days later. The penalty notice said he was parked in a bus zone.
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. His attempts to take up the matter with council were referred to Revenue NSW and he 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.”
With just his two tyres in the gutter, Fricker argues he was not in the bus zone — he was on the footpath, but had to leave two wheels in the gutter while he opened the gate so he didn’t block the footpath.
The driveway where Mark Fricker parked is in a bus zone but he says he only had two wheels in the gutter while he opened the gate. Source: Google Maps.
A City of Newcastle spokesperson told Yahoo News that NSW Police will represent it in Newcastle Local Court next month but declined to comment further on the matter due to the case listed to appear in court.
Pressure on councils to halt ticketless parking fines
The dispute is one of several to arise from 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. Revenue from ticketless fines surged to $158 million for that period, up 54 per cent on the previous year.
With more than 40 councils switching to ticketless parking fines, there has been an outcry over motorists being unable to contest infringement notices until days or weeks later when they become aware of the fine.
NSW Finance Minister Courtney Houssos has been pushing for a halt to the ticketless system, and says if councils aren’t willing to provide a “common-sense fix” the government will step in.
“The current implementation of the ticketless parking system has eroded trust in [the] parking fine system,” she wrote to councils last year. “Providing immediate notification to drivers is the right thing to do.”
Council should educate not fine, ratepayer says
The City of Newcastle introduced licence plate recognition technology across the region in November, 2023, The Newcastle Herald reported, with the aim of “supplementing foot patrols to improve the efficiency of parking compliance”.
Fricker said he understands the council’s perspective but doesn’t agree with the automated approach.
“It is easy for them, probably raking in revenue and their council rangers aren’t put at risk of violence or abuse,” he told Yahoo News.
“I can see their perspective, but as a ratepayer my view is the council’s job is to educate, not fine ratepayers.”
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