Your responsibility as driver and frequent questions and answers

As driver, you are responsible for registering the parking charge to the correct vehicle in your parking app or in the pay and display machine. Even if you are able to show afterwards that you paid for your parking, you are still liable to pay the fine if you happened to enter the wrong registration number.

Nor will your challenge be accepted if you registered your vehicle in the wrong zone or if you bought a parking ticket from a private parking company but parked in a municipal area.

Parking attendants must be able to easily and clearly check that you have met the requirements for being allowed to park where you have parked. For example, if a parking ticket is required, the parking attendant must be able to see that you have paid the correct charge for that parking area. Even if you are able to show afterwards that you paid the charge, this is not reason enough to waive liability to pay the parking fine.

The same applies if you have a disabled parking badge but it was not visible to the parking attendant. Nor will payment liability be waived if you send a copy of the valid parking permit after the event, as the permit has to be visible when the parking attendant checks.

It is never permitted to park a car on a pedestrian area or cycle path, regardless of how important your errand is or if you have heavy lifting to do, such as when moving house. This prohibition also applies to class I motorbikes and mopeds. It also applies if the pedestrian area is on private land if the area can be considered an area that is used by pedestrians. The only exception that can be made if you have parked your vehicle on a pedestrian area or cycle path is if it was an emergency involving danger to life, health or property.

When you stop or park your vehicle, it is your responsibility to ensure that you follow the rules in place in that location. This responsibility includes checking road signs and ensuring that you have good knowledge in other regards of the rules that apply for parking a vehicle. There may also be prohibitions that apply to the whole of a large area without there being signs present on every single street. Road signs are not necessary in all areas for special rules to apply nonetheless. For example, in built-up areas you are not permitted to park on terrain, i.e. places that are not road (such as areas of grass or gravel). Nor are you permitted to park for longer than 24 hours at a stretch on Mondays to Fridays in a built-up area unless there are signs stating otherwise.