'My brain hurts': Confusing Aussie road sign baffles TikTok
Finding a parking spot in some parts of Sydney can be frustrating and making heads or tails of road signage can confuse even the most experienced drivers.
So, spare a thought for people utterly flummoxed by this particular parking sign.
Marc McLachlan used his TikTok account to share a video of a “confusing” sign he found recently with the video receiving more than 120,000 views.
Mr McLachlan is seen standing in front of the sign staring at it, seemingly pondering and trying to make sense of it.
The sign has a no-parking symbol with red arrows signalling the space.
“Motor vehicles excepted,” it reads.
It’s believed the sign is in Sydney.
Viewers puzzled by the sign with 'no answer'
Mr McLachlan wasn’t the only person left puzzled by the sign.
“No parking but yes, parking?” one man wrote.
Drivers face $1000 fine for act 'as dangerous as drink driving'
Intersection causes debate after drivers caught in 'ridiculous' act
Another man, seemingly defeated by the sign, simply wrote, “there’s no answer”. Another said his “brain hurts too”.
“I don’t get it,” another man wrote.
What the parking sign actually means
As for what the sign means – it’s all in the wording.
According to Northern Beaches Council, the NSW Roads and Maritime Services installed a number of the “Motor vehicles excepted” signs to restrict the parking of trailers and caravans.
It also means “any vehicle that doesn’t contain a motor to propel the vehicle e.g. boat trailer (with or without a boat attached), box trailer, advertising trailer, caravan, etc” can’t park in spaces with the signage.
As the Oxford dictionary states, "excepted" means “to not include somebody/something”.
In this case it means motor vehicles are not included in the no parking area, and drivers can park their cars there if they wish to do so.
More signs, more confusion
Confusing parking signs are often shared online leading to discussion on what they actually mean – after all, getting a parking ticket is a great way to ruin anyone's day.
In May, a number of residents in suburban Melbourne struggled to figure out a two-hour parking sign.
A parking sign pictured in Melbourne's CBD in February last year also led to many people on Reddit trying to decipher it.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
