PARKING your car can sometimes be a pain, but is it worth risking nipping into the shop quickly while parked on double yellow lines?
Here's everything you need to know about the parking rules related to the road markings.
Is it illegal to park on a double yellow line?
It is prohibited to park on double yellow lines at any time — restrictions apply to them 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
You can only park on single yellow lines outside of the restricted hours — it’s important to look at nearby road signs and markings, which will let you know if there are any restrictions in place.
The Highway Code states: "You MUST NOT wait or park on yellow lines during the times of operation shown on nearby time plates.
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"Double yellow lines indicate a prohibition of waiting at any time even if there are no upright signs.
"You MUST NOT wait or park, or stop to set down and pick up passengers, on school entrance markings when upright signs indicate a prohibition of stopping."
Can I be fined for parking on double yellow lines?
Parking on a single or double yellow line will could land you with parking fine.
A fixed penalty notice (FPN) or penalty charge notice (PCN) can be issued for parking offences.
FPNs will be £50, £100, £200 or £300 depending on the severity of the offence.
There are two levels of fines for PNCs, either £80 or £130 — most are issued at the higher rate.
Gov.uk explains:
- How you pay a parking ticket, FPN or PCN depends on what type it is and who issued it.
- You usually have 28 days to pay; in some cases, the fine is reduced if you pay within 14 days.
- If you lose your ticket, contact the ticket issuer to find out how to pay.
- If you do not pay a PCN within 28 days, you’ll get a ‘charge certificate’ and you’ll have 14 days to pay the original fine plus 50% more
- You can get an FPN for parking from the police, local council or Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA)
- If you do not pay an FPN within 28 days, you’ll have to pay 50% more
- You’ll only get penalty points on your licence for certain types of parking FPN, for example for leaving a vehicle in a dangerous position
What are the street parking rules?
You may see yellow lines on the kerb next to a single or double yellow line on the road.
Lines on the kerb mean no loading or unloading is allowed.
There may be black and white plates to tell you what time the restrictions apply — if there’s no sign, you should assume they are always in force.
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However, in these locations you may still briefly stop while picking up and dropping off passengers, and you can usually pull over to quickly pick up a passenger on single yellow lines — but you could get in trouble if you do not move when asked to by law enforcement.
It is prohibited to wait, park, stop, drop off and pick up people on school entrance markings.
As a general rule, however, if the lines on the road are not visible when the enforcement officer arrives, no penalty charge will be issued.
