'Unusual spike' in parking tickets after enforcement of little-known law

More than a dozen drivers in Dartmouth, N.S., received parking tickets earlier this week even though they were each parked in a legal space and had paid for their meters.

The violation: failing to turn their front wheels toward the curb.

"I thought it was ridiculous," said Michele Merrick, one of 17 drivers who received a ticket.

"I didn't realize that was something I could be fined for. I knew that I should've turned my wheels, but it just seemed unfair."

Why wheels must be turned

Turning the front wheels to the right on a downhill slope and to the left when positioned uphill prevents a parked car from rolling away if the brakes were to fail.

Section 160(1) of the Motor Vehicle Act states that the front wheels on a parked vehicle must be turned on "any perceptible grade."

Last year, parking enforcement officers issued 12 tickets for this reason.

On Tuesday alone, 17 tickets were written by one parking enforcement officer.

"Obviously, this is an unusual spike," said city spokesperson Brendan Elliott.

He said the tickets are still valid, but special instructions — to go a little easier on that offence — will be given to the company that provides parking enforcement services for the municipality.

"The municipality will be directing our parking enforcement contractor to hand out tickets only when we see a meter violation or when safety could be compromised," Elliott said.

'Growing pains' with new enforcement company

Parking enforcement duties in the municipality were awarded last year to a company called G4S Secure Solutions after the city said there were "performance issues" with the previous company.

Elliott said there are still some "growing pains" with the new company.

Coun. Sam Austin, who represents Dartmouth Centre where the tickets were issued, said parking enforcement is definitely needed to keep people from parking wherever they want.

"But for me, this didn't fall into that category," he said.

He said even though the drivers violated the Motor Vehicle Act, he's asked staff if the tickets can be eliminated.

"But the problem is they are valid tickets, so I'm not sure if that's possible or not," Austin said.