How long are you allowed to park on a single yellow line?

Question

I was picking up my elderly mother from church and got an instant ticket. Should this have happened as I want to appeal. I left my car for about 3 mins. and left a note on car explaining what I was doing.

Answer 1

there should be notices on the lamp posts telling you what times you can park, if you parked outside of those hours then you will get a ticket


but appeal anyway stating what you were doing, you never know they might show some sympathy.. dont be suprised if they dont though i spose they hear it everyday, even though some cases are genuine

good luck

Answer 2

Generally, with a single yellow line, either you are allowed to park there, or you are not, depending on the time of day and day of week. Nearby notices on posts will tell you the times that parking is forbidden, eg Mon-Sat 0800-1800. Parking in a no-parking area is an offence however short a time you do it for. Bear in mind that if you appeal and the offence is upheld the penalty may then be greater. The thing to do in the circumstances you were in is to make sure that the car is not left unattended, if someone is in the car and able to explain to a warden and drive the car around the block if necessary then a ticket would be unlikely. But, given that you were only 3 mins, you must just have been very unlucky. Or a warden was watching from the shadows and waiting to pounce, which does happen. Bad luck.

Answer 3

I work for a local council in the parking dept. unfortunately, there is no law stating that a 'grace period' for parking on single yellow lines must be enforced. However, It is worth checking the local councils website of where you were parked, because they should have guidelines as to whether they personally allow a grace period some do, some don't. Restriction times for parking on a single yellow line should be clearly posted on signs where you parked. If you were there during those times even for a few minutes, you are unlikely to get the ticket cancelled. Be aware that some parking restrictions are enforced right up to 10pm at night. If the signs were removed, or not clearly visable, make a note of that in your appeal. DO NOT pay the ticket before hand and then appeal, that will mean that you have accepted liablilty, the ticket will be closed, and you will not get you money back. If you want more advice got to>>>>>>> www.parkingticket.co.uk
hope this helps!

Answer 4

it depends on what restrictions were in force at the time! If the sign says no loading or unloading (white sign) then you can get an instant ticket as you are not allowed to stop during these times. If you parked at a time when no parking is in force (yellow sign) then you are allowed two minutes stopping time (however this depends on the area, as different areas have different time limits). It doesn't matter if you left a note either because a traffic warden is instructed to ignore notes as it can not be proved that the person is genuine.

I used to be a traffic warden and believe me people make up all manner of excuses. Although there are genuine people who have to make stops for legitimate reasons there can not be exceptions as the law applies to everyone! I remember when I was a traffic warden (and please do not judge me) we were told we had to give tickets even to cars that had clearly been in a road traffic accident. Obviously that is unfair but the rules were that the owner of the car would then have to provide documentation of repairs to have the tickets cancelled!

I know traffic wardens have a bad name and it is highly unfair because they are only being paid to enforce the road traffic act. They are not allowed to use their good common sense/judgement as one's judgement can be deemed subjective and biased. Hence they have to give tickets even if their common sense says 'hey this is an exception'. Members of the public complain when exceptions are made and so therefore people who are genuine have to pay the price too i'm afraid!! The law sucks!! I really do think parking laws should be made universal across the country because at the moment they are not: Different areas/boroughs have slightly different rules/regulations which makes it confusing for drivers - i.e. how long they can park for!!

Answer 5

A single yellow line means "waiting at other times". There needs to be a sign telling you the times when you can't wait there. So if you are there inbetween the times, you CAN'T wait there. A note in the car normally just means that the person who gives the ticket has a lot more to write down in their notebook. Usually an observation period is required before the ticket is issued. You say that this ticket was an instant ticket. Were there any markings on the curb at right angles to the yellow line? If there were, this means that loading restrictions are in effect, and again, there needs to be a sign telling you at what times this is in effect.

Answer 6

Its different everywhere, and depends on local parking regulatgions. All limited areas must display signs to tell you what hours the restriction applies, so you should go back to the area and look for these.

If ther signs are there, and you were parked illegally, then an appeal isn't going to get very far for you and you should learn from the mistake.

However, if there is no clear indication of the restriction, you should contact the relevant authority to lodge an appeal.

Back in the day the rule used to be simply "1 line for one hour", but these days there's a heck of a lot more vehicles trying to park in limited space, hence these annoying things happen all the time.

Answer 7

It really comes down to state and city laws, but in most places, you can't park near a yellow line at all. So, by you getting caught even in the 3 minutes you were gone that just goes to show that at least the cop was doing their job. I say as long as it was due to a real rule and you weren't the only one breaking it that got a ticket, there's really nothing you can do. I would go to a site that will show the city traffic laws and statutes and see where it says anything about yellow lines and parking. It may even be on the ticket itself the actual offense and you can do a quick search.

Answer 8

You are allowed to park on a single or double yellow line for up to an hour. BUT YOU MUST HAVE A DISABLED BADGE DISPLAYED ON YOUR DASHBOARD!!! If you just left a note then you have nothing to appeal. Sorry.
You could have been Jammy though!! Make sure they wrote down your correct Reg. My boyfriend recently ran out of petrol and had to park on double yellows. He left a note but when he got back he still had a ticket but they had missed one digit of his reg off the ticket and because of this one tiny mistake, the ticket is not valid and he got away with not paying.

Answer 9

I had a ticket issued a few weeks ago and managed to get off on a technocality because the yellow line was faded and "broken" in places thus not a true solid continuous yellow line. My advice, take a photo of the yellow line if it is faded and or broken and appeal as it wont conform to the highway code and road traffic laws and therefor not legal.

Answer 10

always appeal!!! there is so many scams going on out there and some tickets ant even legal or valid.if its a single yellow line you have 5 Min's unless there is 2 yellow lines on the pavement.in this case its no parking at all not even disabled parking,def appeal

Answer 11

As far as i am aware you cannot stop / park on a yellow line unless it is after 6.30pm, a Sunday or Bank holiday. There should be a sign near where you parked to let you know when you cannot stop there.
If your mother has difficulty walking, look into getting a blue badge. Then you can stop on a yellow line for 3 hours.
I'm afraid that you will have to pay the ticket in this instance.