5 hours ago
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Parking lots can be a bit of a maze with arrows pointing every which way and often needing to go the long way around rows of spaces.
But if you’re an early morning/late-night shopper, you may be presented with the opportunity to cut across allotted spots to shave a few seconds off your time to exit the premises.
This act certainly feels illegal, especially when it comes to cutting across solid lines. Still, it could also fall under a grey area of not actually being a roadway – so is it illegal to cut across empty parking spaces?
Is it illegal to cut across empty parking spaces?
There are no specific road rules that prohibit driving across empty parking spaces, but it could certainly spell an accident if you’re not careful.
This is because a car park is considered a “road-related area”, meaning the entry and exit onto a public road is where the majority of the road rules actually apply.
It doesn’t mean that car parks are completely lawless; there are still plenty of actions, including negligent/dangerous driving, which can attract the same fine as they would on the road.
Driving across empty parking spaces can actually be quite dangerous, as traffic following the painted lines could come out of seemingly nowhere behind pillars, ready for you to swipe.
A worse situation is a possible collision with a pedestrian. People walking through the car park may not expect to see a car cutting across empty parking spots, only to step out from a blind wall into your path.
Technically speaking, pedestrians always have the right of way, so colliding with a pedestrian in a parking area could see you found guilty of negligent driving, especially when you are not following the painted flow of traffic lines.
“Typically, the law will hold drivers responsible for a pedestrian incident. For example, if a pedestrian was jaywalking and got hit by a car, even though the pedestrian was in the wrong, the driver will be held liable for not having full control of their vehicle and not being fully observant of their surroundings," according to an article on Taylor and Scott lawyers' website.
Finally, parking spaces often have what's called wheel stops at the end, and even concrete dividers between spots. It could cause serious damage to your car if you hit one of these.
The best course of action is to spend an extra few seconds taking the long way around and not risking it by cutting across spaces, even if it isn’t explicitly illegal.
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.
