Motorcyclist's attempt at 'considerate' parking backfires: 'You're kidding me'
The driver thought he was doing the right thing.
He was only trying to do the right thing by other drivers but a motorcyclist’s roadside act has sparked fury from other drivers.
In an image which was shared online and has since gone viral, a motorbike can be seen parked along a street in Childers in the Bundaberg region of Queensland, straddling the white line between two parking spots. The caption posted alongside the image said: ‘You’re kidding me’.
“I was just trying to be considerate and not take up a whole parking bay,” a man claiming to be the rider wrote on Facebook.
“I figured 90 per cent of people would get in and out of there no problems. Next time I’ll just take up the whole bay, but [people will] probably whinge about that too.”
Debate breaks out
After the photographer shared the photo online, claiming that “no one will park on either side [of the bike] in fear of knocking it over”, fierce debate broke out over the rider’s manoeuvre.
Many sided with the motorcyclist, commending them on their “considerate” move, saying a car “could still park behind and in front no worries”.
“This post is a joke, isn’t it?” another asked. “If people can’t park there for fear of knocking it over, they need to hand their licence in.
“I would say he is being considerate by allowing someone to use the space either side for parking. He could have taken up an entire parking bay.”
But others argued that the rider had “actually parked in two spaces”.
Sharing a zoomed in photo of the motorcycle’s position, one person wrote on Facebook: “The ‘dork’ is illegally parked as his wheels are on one side of the white line, and the side stand is over the other side of the white line. Logically it should be parked centrally between the white lines.”
Which is exactly what the state government said.
What are the rules?
Unfortunately for the rider, it all comes down to a matter of centimetres.
“A driver must park completely within a marked parking bay, unless their vehicle, including trailer, is too long or wide to fit,” a spokesperson for the Department of Transport and Main Roads told Yahoo News Australia. “The fine for breaking this rule is $61.”
However, local governments do have the power to set their own fines for parking offences so the spokesperson explained that this fine “may differ in some areas”.
They also urged other drivers to take note and not try to fit their own vehicle around the motorcycle if it meant they would be pushed over into another bay themselves.
“If a vehicle is illegally parked across multiple parking bays, it is not recommended that other drivers do the same within the remaining space available as they will also risk a fine,” the spokesperson explained.
Yahoo News Australia has contacted Bundaberg Regional Council for comment.
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