Stopping and Parking
Stopping and parking rules are tested through exact distances, which learners frequently transpose. ‘Stopping’ is any standstill; ‘parking’ is leaving a stationary vehicle — and every no-stopping zone is also a no-parking zone. The kerb-side colour markings reinforce these: a red line means no stopping, a yellow line means no parking. See Road Markings, No Stopping Sign and No Parking Sign.
Plain-language rule
Wherever you may not stop, you also may not park. You may not stop within 9 m on the approach to a pedestrian crossing, within 6 m of a tunnel or bridge, at a railway crossing, or facing oncoming traffic. You may not park within 5 m of an intersection, within 1.5 m of a fire hydrant, on a sidewalk/island/crossing, or more than 450 mm from the kerb.
Legal basis: National Road Traffic Regulations 2000, Reg 304 (stopping) & Reg 305 (parking)
Exceptions
- Brief stopping to load/offload is allowed under a No Parking Sign but not under a No Stopping Sign
- Demarcated parking bays override the general kerb-distance rules
Question patterns
- Numeric recall (limits, distances, ages) where applicable.
- “What must you do in situation X?” — required response.
- Distractor trap: Swapping the two key distances — saying 5 m from a crossing (it is 9 m) and 9 m from an intersection (it is 5 m); or thinking parking facing oncoming traffic is legal.
Penalty / consequence
Stopping/parking fine; the vehicle may be impounded or towed at the owner’s cost.
Ontology Stopping and Parking [part-of] Rules of the Road
Connections
- Rules of the Road — part_of_topic, source: 2026-06-28
- National Road Traffic Regulations 2000 — derived_from_source, source: 2026-06-28