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It's no lie that coming out to find a car parked in front of your driveway, blocking you in, can make you mad enough to pop a vessel in your forehead.
It can leave you trapped in your house and can be a hazard if you have an emergency or an ambulance needs access to your house.
However, the Inner West Council in Sydney, New South Wales, has vowed to crack down on offending vehicles parking across driveways.
As it stands, the current fine for parking across a driveway will depend on the council, ranging between $250 and $400, but you can also be fined by a police officer under Road Rule 198 (2), "stop on/across driveway/other access to/from land," which carries a $320 fine in NSW or up to $592 in Victoria.
However, Inner West Council has decided to up its fines from $330 to $660 following 4393 complaints of motorists parking across driveways in the past year alone.
Not only is the fine being raised, but the council is also committed to sending tow trucks to remove any vehicles blocking driveways.
While some have praised the decision, a few residents on Facebook called it "revenue raising".
"Most owners park their cars over their own driveways anyway. It's just more revenue, more taxes from the hard-working people, what a disgrace," said one user.
"Revenue raising. In tight streets, owners park across their own drive – often too tight to turn into the drive due to cars being parked close by," said another.
Drive uncovered that there's not a lot you can do as a homeowner when someone parks over your driveway, besides calling the council or your local police station.
Most councils will treat towing the vehicle away as a last resort, but recent changes to the policy mean that rangers have the power to call a tow truck, contact the owner to let them know their car has been towed, and fine the driver in addition to them having to pay the towing/impound fee.
Inner West Council will be the first to implement a new strategy for this parking law, so homeowners can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that there is something they can do about being trapped in.
It is worth noting that you can be fined for parking over your own driveway and obstructing the footpath by parking over it. For further information, head here.
Drive has contacted Inner West Council on the new policy changes and will update the story with a response.
Zane Dobie comes from a background of motorcycle journalism, working for notable titles such as Australian Motorcycle News Magazine, Just Bikes and BikeReview. Despite his fresh age, Zane brings a lifetime of racing and hands-on experience. His passion now resides on four wheels as an avid car collector, restorer, drift car pilot and weekend go-kart racer.
