Is Parking in Front of a Hydrant a Good Idea?

10 Mar Is Parking in Front of a Hydrant a Good Idea?

When a person is driving in a city or heavily populated area, they know that finding a parking spot is probably going to be difficult. After all, there are a lot of people in cities, all of whom are trying to find a spot close to their destination to minimize any walk time. This process can be made even more difficult thanks to all sorts of signs, meters, and rules regarding parking.

Often times, cites have signage up that instructs drivers on when they can park in certain areas. These signs can often be a bit confusing to some drivers, but can easily be understood after some quick consideration. Other rules are much more straightforward, such as never park on a red curb. At least, that is what most people would think. Some drivers don’t pay attention to this simple rule, and end up paying the price.

California’s Color Coordinated Curbs

Parking is such a simple act. All a driver is doing is bringing their car to a stop in a safe, designated area. However, here in California, there are a lot of rules and restrictions on where a person can park their car. A driver cannot just leave their vehicle wherever they feel like, whenever they want.

A driver can come across several different colored curbs while driving, and each one tells a driver a different rule. Some examples includes:

• Blue: Parking is reserved for vehicles of handicapped people only.
• Green: Vehicles can only be parked for a limited amount of time.
• Red: No parking or stopping in front of this curb.
• White: Cars can only stop long enough to pick up or drop off someone.
• Yellow: Cars can only stop long enough to pick up or drop off cargo and the driver needs to stay with the vehicle.

These color codes are very basic and simple to understand, and still some drivers struggle with them. If they do not follow these rules, then they can find themselves getting a ticket.

Parking in Front of a Fire Hydrant

One of the biggest no-no’s when it comes to parking, is parking in front of a fire hydrant. With every fire hydrant, fifteen feet in either direction, the curb is usually painted red. This is done to allow fire fighters to have access to the hydrant in case of an emergency. They need all of that space to do their job properly. Intruding on that space can be the difference between someone losing their home.

Parking in front of a hydrant may seem harmless, since how often do fires really break out? However, structure fires break out pretty frequently, and fire fighters will do whatever they need to in order to put the blaze out. Often times this means breaking the vehicles windows so the fire hose can run through it. There are plenty of images of this happening online when some dumb driver decided to park in front of a hydrant.

Not only does this mean the person has to pay for repairs on their vehicle, they can count on their vehicle being impounded and receiving a ticket from local law enforcement. This means that a person who parks in front of a fire hydrant will have a lot of expenses to deal with, which will add up quickly.

Don’t Park in Front of Hydrants

Having brightly painted curbs is a quick and easy way to alert drivers to where they can and cannot park, provided the driver pays attention. Of course, paint fades over time, and some hydrants may not be marked as no parking areas, however, that does not mean that a person can park in front of the hydrant.

Even if the open spot in front of a hydrant is close, it simply isn’t worth it to park there. A good rule of thumb is to never park in front of a hydrant, and keep a car length of distance between a vehicle and a hydrant. That will ensure that the car is never too close to a hydrant. A driver just needs to keep an eye out, or else they could wind up dealing with some costly consequences.