Finding a place to park your car on the street is an increasingly complicated task. The large volume of vehicles that circulate through our cities and the scarcity of available spaces mean that parking on public roads has become an odyssey. For this reason, it is not strange to see how some driver takes advantage of a gap, no matter how small, to insert his car there almost with a shoehorn, leaving hardly any space for separation from other vehicles.
Sometimes, these motorists leave their car so close to that of their neighbors that it is practically impossible to open the doors to get out. We have seen it in the following video published on
In the images you can see how the car, once parked, is sandwiched between two other vehicles. Inside, you can see how a person tries to access the trunk from the second row of seats to open the door and go out to the street, which he finally achieves after performing complicated maneuvers due to the narrowness of the space.
The situation involving this driver shows the difficulty of parking in small spaces. But beyond generating uncomfortable and, to a certain extent, hilarious situations both when entering and exiting the vehicle, it must also be noted that it is an action punishable by traffic officers.
The General Traffic Regulations establish in its article 92 that “every driver who stops or parks his vehicle must do so in a way that allows the best use of the remaining available space.” Article 93 adds that the stopping and parking regime on urban roads is regulated by municipal ordinance without making reference in any case to the minimum space that must exist between parked vehicles.
Therefore, we would have to look at the municipal ordinances to see if they include any regulations regarding the minimum distance that must be between vehicles when they are parked on the street, whether in a battery or in a row.
In the municipal ordinances of Madrid, for example, the wording indicates the following: “When the space intended for parking is delimited on the pavement, you must park within the marked area. Parking will be carried out in such a way that allows the execution of entry and exit maneuvers and allows the best use of the remaining space for other users.
In accordance with Madrid municipal regulations, there is a possibility that the driver in question could be sanctioned if his or her parking does not comply with these regulations. If your car is sandwiched between two vehicles without allowing adequate mobility – as we have seen in the video – it could be considered an infraction.
The amount of the fine is also specified in the corresponding municipal ordinances, so it may vary from one city to another. If these municipal regulations are governed by the same pattern as the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), the amount of the penalty could be 200 euros. This is the fine that is applied for parking in a prohibited place or parking in a double row.
