Pregnant mum fights parking fine after pulling over with contractions

"I've never been one of these feminist people, but there's so many things that are normal in pregnancy that if it happened outside of pregnancy, it would be a medical emergency"

Dominique Birouste

2 min read

February 22, 2024 - 7:59PM

Family Life

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Abby Kernahan found herself in a challenging situation back in December when Braxton-Hicks contractions struck while driving home.

Concerned for her safety and the safety of her fellow drivers, she decided to pull over, flick on her hazard lights and wait until the contractions subsided.

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An unlikely consequence

Abby, ensuring she wasn't obstructing traffic on a new road near her apartment complex, spent less than ten minutes parked and briefly stepped out of the car to ease her discomfort.

However, weeks later, she received a $306 parking fine in the mail, accompanied by photos of her car taken on the day in question.

When Abby contested the fine, explaining her pregnant condition and the painful nature of Braxton-Hicks contractions, Revenue NSW responded that they could only consider leniency for fines in medical emergencies posing a risk of serious harm and requiring urgent medical attention.

Despite Abby’s intention to reduce any unsafe driving practices, she was unable to fight the fine on the basis it wasn’t deemed as needing urgent medical attention.

The image that accompanied Abby's fine. Source: 9News

A less-than-ideal response

Abby, a visual merchandiser who gave birth to baby Isla eight days later, expressed being "blown away" by the response.

"I've never been one of these feminist people, but there's so many things that are normal in pregnancy that if it happened outside of pregnancy, it would be a medical emergency," she told 9News.

"For me, it was like Revenue NSW is saying, 'Sorry, we can say that you gave birth eight days later, but contractions which are said to be one of the most painful things you can have, that's not a medical emergency.'"

Disappointed with the perceived lack of consideration for pregnancy-related issues, she decided to pursue overturning the fine through the courts.

Abby thought the safe and logical thing to do in this situation would be to pull over. Source: 9News

Pushing for change

Abby argued that pregnancy-related issues should be included in the leniency considerations mentioned on Revenue NSW's website, which currently includes circumstances like medical emergencies, illnesses (including mental health), personal hardship, or trauma.

She questioned whether these policies had been crafted without considering the unique challenges pregnant individuals face.

"I feel like some man who's written it up, and no one has ever gone, 'Hey, what about pregnancy?'" she said.

“We’re sorry”

Following media attention, Revenue NSW contacted Abby, apologised, and reviewed her case.

Acknowledging that the fine should have been cautioned in the first instance, a Revenue NSW spokesman stated that Abby is no longer required to attend court, and the fine has been cautioned.