Parking signs can be confusing at the best of times, but a particularly cryptic one in Sydney has meant drivers had their cars wrongly towed.
Senior 9News reporter Eddy Meyer was on Kent Street in central Sydney yesterday with a cameraman and assistant ahead of an interview.
The team pulled the Nine crew car up, examined the sign with its eight different directives, and got a ticket from the machine.
“We know that street well… normally you can park there for four hours,” Meyer told 2GB’s Ben Fordham.
“Hamish the cameraman even went to the machine and paid for, I think, two hours of parking and the machine gave him a ticket – took his money and gave him a ticket.”
The ticket machine didn’t come up with an error message about checking signs, so the crew headed off to do the interview.
But when they came back, the car was gone.
“There was a couple sitting at the cafe and I turned to them and said: ‘Did they tow our car?’ and they just said, ‘Yes’,” Meyer said.
A call to the towing company was made and the driver happened to be doing a lap nearby, so he came back to chat to them.
“I flagged him down and said, ‘Mate, where’s our car?’ and he told me. And I said, ‘Well, what did we do wrong?’ and he said, ‘Did you read the sign?'”
It turns out the confusion stemmed from an addition to the clearway section of the sign, due to the public holiday in NSW.
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The sign read: “Special Event Clearway 2pm-9pm Sat 30 Sept, Sun 1 Oct, Mon 2 Oct” – which was interpreted that the clearway was for 2-9pm on each of those days.
However, apparently the towing company had interpreted it as being in place from 2pm on Saturday until 9pm on Monday.
”He towed us and he towed a whole bunch of people, I’m not having a go at the towie, he’s just a bloke doing his job, he was very friendly, Meyer said.
“He’s simply enforcing what he’s been told to enforce.”
Would you get caught out by this parking sign?
In a statement, Transport for NSW said the Nine crew and other drivers who had their cars wrongly towed were actually in the right.
“In this instance tow truck company has towed vehicles in error, despite having received clear communication from Transport for NSW on the clearway,” it said.
“Transport for NSW is now working with the tow truck company to rectify all associated fines and fees, and we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this has caused those impacted.
“Transport for NSW is continually working to ensure road and parking signs are as clear as possible while still providing what can be complex information,” the statement read.
