No parking sign
What the No parking sign means: You may stop here briefly to drop off or pick up people or goods, but you must not park and leave the vehicle.
- Group
- Regulatory signs
- Does this group carry the law
- Enforceable. Disobeying one is an offence in itself.
- In the sign deck
- 3 questions ask about this sign
What to do when you see it
- Stop only long enough to drop off or pick up people or goods.
- Stay with the vehicle, because the point of the rule is that you can move it immediately.
- Keep the stop brief and do not leave the driver seat empty.
- Move on rather than waiting there for someone who has not arrived yet.
Where you see it
Outside schools at pick up time, at hotel and hospital entrances, along shopping strips, and on narrow streets where a parked car would block a lane.
Across the states and territories
The face and the meaning are national. The maximum time you may remain while dropping off, and the fine for overstaying it, are set by each state, territory or council, so the number on the ticket is a local matter.
Tell it apart from these
- No parkingthis pageNo stopping
This is the pair people get wrong most often. No parking allows a brief stop with you in the car. No stopping allows nothing at all.
No stopping: You must not stop here at all, not even for a moment, unless there is an emergency.
- No parkingthis pageBus lane
A bus lane restricts who may drive in the lane. No parking restricts what you may do once you have stopped.
Bus lane: This lane is for buses during the times shown, so other vehicles must keep out of it.
How the knowledge tests use it
Almost every knowledge test in the country asks the difference between no parking and no stopping in some form. Learn it as a pair rather than as two separate facts.
What does this sign mean?
A no parking sign still lets you make a short stop, as long as you drop off or pick up and go, and you stay with the vehicle.
State and territory driver handbooks, parking signs
Common questions
- What does the No parking sign mean?
- You may stop here briefly to drop off or pick up people or goods, but you must not park and leave the vehicle.
- What should you do when you see a No parking sign?
- Stop only long enough to drop off or pick up people or goods. Stay with the vehicle, because the point of the rule is that you can move it immediately. Keep the stop brief and do not leave the driver seat empty. Move on rather than waiting there for someone who has not arrived yet.
- Where is the No parking sign used?
- Outside schools at pick up time, at hotel and hospital entrances, along shopping strips, and on narrow streets where a parked car would block a lane.
- What is the No parking sign confused with?
- No stopping: This is the pair people get wrong most often. No parking allows a brief stop with you in the car. No stopping allows nothing at all. Bus lane: A bus lane restricts who may drive in the lane. No parking restricts what you may do once you have stopped.
- How do the knowledge tests ask about the No parking sign?
- Almost every knowledge test in the country asks the difference between no parking and no stopping in some form. Learn it as a pair rather than as two separate facts.
Try it in a question
Original practice questions, not the official bank. How we write and check them.
More regulatory signs
Mostly white with red or black, and usually round or rectangular.