Aussie dad slapped with $201 fine despite not breaking any rules
A NSW father has been stung with a parking fine while dropping his kids off at school – despite being confident that no rules were broken.
Taree dad-of-two, Jicky Mathew, dropped his son and daughter off at school on the morning of February 22. The very next day he received a fine for $201 and two demerit points for stopping in a no parking zone.
While it’s true that Mr Mathew did stop in a no parking zone, he said he had obeyed the rules of the law to the letter.
According to NSW road rules, you are allowed to stop in a no parking zone for less than two minutes if you stay with your vehicle and are either dropping/picking up passengers, or loading/unloading items – which is exactly what Mr Mathew was doing.
No parking zones are not to be confused with no stopping zones, which do not allow drivers to stop for any reason other than an emergency.
Mr Mathew’s fine for "disobeying a no parking sign in a school zone” was accompanied by a photo, showing his two children exiting the car. Mr Mathews said he did not leave the vehicle.
He told 9news.com.au that while he noticed the ranger across the street, he wasn’t concerned because he wasn’t breaking any laws.
"He was holding a camera but I was not worried because I knew that I hadn't done anything wrong," he said.
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After receiving the fine in the mail, he phoned council and was told someone would get back to him, which he claims never happened.
He also lodged an objection online, but it took almost two months to hear of an outcome.
On Thursday, he was relieved to find that his appeal had been accepted and the fine had been cancelled.
Despite the case now being resolved, Mr Matthew is calling for a review into how fines are issued and dealt with.
“I just hope that the councils are more empathetic and compassionate rather than penalising people for something they think is right,” he told NBN News.
“Why go through all that hassle and penalise someone for something they haven’t done wrong?”
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