A father from Australia has been slapped with a $112 fine after leaving his car parked in front of his own home with windows slightly down.
As Daily Mail Australia reported, the incident happened in Sydney where homeowner Nick parked his utility vehicle across the road outside his home while doing some work around the house.
As Nick’s wife, Richelle Amey, revealed, the windows of her husband’s car were just slightly down as the vehicle was parked across the street.
Suddenly, however, an NSW police officer approached Nick and confronted him about his parked car.
“A cop yelled out to him while he was working saying ‘who’s car is this?’ Nick said ‘it’s mine’ then the cop yelled ‘I’m going to fine you for having your windows down’ and Nick said ‘are you serious?’” Amey said in an interview with Daily Mail Australia.
According to the wife, the cop defended his decision to fine Nick for leaving the windows of his parked car slightly down by suggesting someone could steal from the vehicle while he was working around the house.
“The cop said ‘I’m still going to fine you anyway’. We got the fine in the mail and I was like ‘what the hell?’ I couldn’t believe it,” Amey added.
As the 34-year-old wife said, her husband was close enough to his car to see it at all times while doing landscaping work in the yard.
According to the section five regulation 213 of the NSW Road Rules 2014, drivers who are three meters or further away from their cars can be fined for leaving their vehicles unlocked or with windows at least two centimeters down.
The rule says:
“If the driver will be over three metres from the closest part of the vehicle and there is no-one left in the vehicle, the driver must:
“(a) if the windows of the vehicle can be secured, secure the windows immediately before leaving the vehicle, and (b) if the doors of the vehicle can be locked, lock the doors immediately after leaving the vehicle.”
According to the law, the windows of a parked vehicle can only be left open if the gap isn’t wider than two centimeters.
“You have to be within three meters. You can’t even go to pay for petrol,” Amey warned. “A lot of people would do this without knowing. I’m merely warning people because I think it’s ridiculous.”
Replaced!