Incontinence, violence, laziness and ignorance among weird excuses given for illegal parking

Ever wondered how to fight your parking fine in court? Weird reasons given by lawbreakers at a Moorabbin courthouse — including a mum’s desperate need to pee — could come in handy.

A mum caught nine times for stopping at a taxi rank said it was okay because her son needed to catch a bus as the trains weren’t running.

Some of the weirdest excuses used by drivers fined for illegally stopping in no parking, taxi or loading zones were heard at Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court in one morning.

An incontinent relative, a punch-happy cab passenger, a repeat-offending mum’s ‘taxi’ and a client who was too old to walk were just some of the explanations given by those nabbed doing the wrong thing on January 24.

One driver was so desperate to pull over in Centre Rd, Bentleigh in August last year he parked in a loading zone because his mum was in urgent need of the toilet.

He told the court his mother was incontinent and when she needed to go, she needed to go, so he had no choice but to stop his car to allow his mum to use the nearby public conveniences.

His pee plea was well-received by Judicial Registrar Alison Paton, who said there were “clear, extenuating circumstances” why he shouldn’t be fined.

His charge was dismissed, but he still has to pay council costs of $84.

Then the court heard a taxi driver pinged in Koornang Rd, Carnegie in March for illegally stopping said he had to pull over because he had an angry passenger threatening to assault him if he didn’t.

The cabbie said the customer “demanded” he drop him off and he didn’t “want to be punched in the head” so he pulled over straight away.

He said he “gets a lot of complaints” for not stopping immediately upon request.

However, Ms Paton said that as a veteran cabbie he should have the ability to tell passengers the law and that he can’t just stop where he wants.

He was issued a $90 fine and must pay $84 in council costs.

The court also heard a mum, new to the Caulfield area, got caught nine times for stopping at the Sir John Monash Drive taxi rank in a six-week period in March and April last year.

She reasoned it was okay for her to do so because her son needed to catch a bus as the trains weren’t running and there was nowhere else she could stop.

She also told the court she didn’t know about the fines because her mail was late because it had been redirected.

Her submission worked well – instead of having to pay well over $1000 in council infringements, she received a $200 fine and was ordered to pay council costs of $150.

Ms Paton said it was clearly signed as a taxi zone, but as she had since “modified her behaviour” she deserved some credit.

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Also heard was the case of an aged care worker nabbed in a Centre Rd, Bentleigh shopping strip no-stopping zone in May last year.

He said his elderly client wanted to catch up with friends at a cafe but as he couldn’t walk far he pulled over quickly to let him out.

The council’s own photos of the infringement show the man’s mates assisting him out of the car.

His case was dismissed.