Using an old or fake parking fine to stop yourself from getting a real one is a trick almost as old as the parking meter itself.
The idea is simple: save a parking ticket from when you last got a fine, or print out a fake one, to trick a parking officer into thinking that you've already been fined and don't require another.
This practice has been popular on the "Unethical Life Hacks" Subreddit for years, with some users claiming to have seen success with it.
"It's worked for me at my university numerous times," proclaimed one user.
"That's actually a pretty good idea, as long as you're not in a disabled spot or similar," said another.
Others were quick to point out that it likely won't work for a number of reasons.
"The ticketers know whether they wrote you a ticket or not. All this does is flag that your car needs a ticket from a block away," said one user.
"This doesn't actually work. Source: I tried it, and my car got towed," another simply wrote.
With differing levels of success, does something like this actually work?
Does using an old parking ticket really stop you from being fined?
No, keeping an old fine or using a fake one will not stop you from getting a real one.
Drive contacted a number of major councils around Australia, and many agreed that parking officers are trained to inspect the vehicle as a whole before issuing a fine, including any fines left on the windshield.
"Placing an old ticket or fine on the windshield will not prevent an infringement being issued if an additional breach of the parking laws has occurred," said a spokesperson for the City of Gold Coast.
As many people pointed out on the Reddit posts, parking officers walk around set routes and they will likely remember if they fined a vehicle that day, and if not, they will definitely inspect the ticket on the windshield.
Another part to keep in mind for this life hack is how parking inspectors determine if you have overstayed parking. When a spot is timed but not metered, chalk is drawn on the tyres or images are taken of each vehicle on the street.
That means that if a parking officer sees a ticket on the windshield but no chalk on the tyres – they'll know something is up.
The same goes if images are taken; parking inspectors will cross-reference their images with your vehicle to determine how long you have actually been parked in a spot.
In recent years, cities have begun rolling out parking sensors that detect a car's arrival and departure from a parking space, making it even harder to get away with this unethical life hack.
The City of Melbourne website states that sensors placed in parking bays kick in once a vehicle has overstayed the permitted time. After this, a five-minute grace period is given before a parking officer in the vicinity receives a notification. The officer will then check to see if a parking offence has occurred before issuing a fine.
These parking officers are assigned spots to go to. If they arrive and see a parking ticket already on the windshield, they will know something is not right and check the ticket immediately.
Can you get the same parking fine twice?
While a fake parking fine is out of the question, what about a real one where you leave your car just to get "your money's worth"?
Whether or not you will be fined twice depends on where you live and where you've parked – but it's entirely possible.
"It depends on the restriction on the sign," a spokesperson for Sydney's Waverley Council explained to Drive.
"If a sign does not have a time-of-day component, generally, a vehicle can be fined only once. However, other actions such as being towed can sometimes apply."
However, it's a different circumstance if you leave your already-fined car in a timed space that changes throughout the day.
"If a vehicle remains illegally parked it can be fined each time the timeframe resets. For example, a sign says '2P 8:00 am to 10:00 pm', a vehicle that is fined at 11:00 am today can be fined again tomorrow between 10:00 am and 10:00 pm if it has not moved, and then each day thereafter until it moves," explained the spokesperson.
Other areas, such as councils in Queensland and Melbourne, can issue a second parking fine at the discretion of the parking officer.
Similarly, in the City of Perth, parking inspectors are able to issue multiple tickets for a car that's overstayed in one spot, with a maximum tally of $500 a day.
Moving your car to another spot in the same zone will attract a secondary fine in most major councils, even if you leave your ticket on the windshield.
Zane Dobie comes from a background of motorcycle journalism, working for notable titles such as Australian Motorcycle News Magazine, Just Bikes and BikeReview. Despite his fresh age, Zane brings a lifetime of racing and hands-on experience. His passion now resides on four wheels as an avid car collector, restorer, drift car pilot and weekend go-kart racer.
