Hi guys, I need input of whether I got a case or not.
I got a fine in the mail for Stop on/near pedestrian crossing (in school zone) in Willoughby area. Penalty is $562 and 2 demerit points.
I asked for a review as I believe that:
- I was the only person in the car and there was no one else with me at any time.
- I did not pick up or drop off anyone during my travel on that day. My engine was on at all times.
- It was peak hour so there were a lot of pedestrians and cars in the area.
- There was a school crossing supervisor attending to the pedestrian crossing and there were a lot of people crossing as it was during peak hour.
- I stopped before the pedestrian crossing as directed by the school crossing supervisor to give way to the pedestrians.
- When there were no pedestrians attempting to cross or present near the crossing, the school crossing supervisor moved away to allow me to move forward.
- After the school crossing supervisor moved away, I moved my car forward slowly as there was a car on the other side and the traffic was quite heavy.
- Given that there was a car in front of me and the traffic was quite heavy, I travelled through the pedestrian crossing slowly but my vehicle did not stop on or obstruct the pedestrian crossing.
- When the traffic is heavy, I usually don’t keep pressing the accelerator. I usually let the car roll by itself and only press the accelerator again when necessary.
I also pointed out that:
- Both photos were taken on 20 August 2025 at 9.04am. They were taken in succession within 60 seconds (or less).
- There was a school crossing supervisor who moved away when I began my move across the pedestrians crossing.
- If you look at both photos, I never stopped. I did not press the brake, as evidenced by the fact that my rear brake light was never on. Also, you can see the smoke coming out from the exhaust on both photos as I was in the middle of accelerating slowly due to the traffic conditions on both occasions.
- The car in front of me also was in the middle of cruising through the traffic. His rear brake light was not on too. Both of us were moving slowly but we kept moving together with the traffic.
- If you look at my tyres and the pedestrian crossing lines, you will note that between the 2 photos and within 60 seconds (if not less), I kept moving through the pedestrians crossing.
The original photos and my red marks can be found here - https://imgur.com/a/Uv1l4wx. Basically my car looks as stopping as it's in a picture (possibly taken by a ranger). If it's a video, you will see that it keeps moving slowly.
They responded with: "We acknowledge your comments that you did not apply your brakes or come to a stop at the time of the offence, however we are unable to cancel the fine. We have reviewed fine details along with the images provided and are satisfied the fine was issued correctly."
Anyway, my questions are:
- Is there any point in fighting in court or should I just pay and move on?
- On the website, there are only these 2 photos. Do they actually have more photos? Can I request these extra photos (if any)? If not, I am guessing it will be ranger's word vs mine at court which I am guessing they will believe the ranger and that's it?
- How long attending court will take (from beginning to end)? The whole day?
- Looking at the website, they may impose a higher penalty. Is this correct or just extra fees (e.g. prosecutor's court costs and court fees)? Do you know how much the prosecutor's court costs and court fees be?
- I don't think I should get a lawyer to fight a fine of $562. Should I represent yourself or am I silly to do this? Can LawAccess NSW or Legal Aid NSW help?
Any extra input is appreciated. Thank you.
As a former school crossing supervisor in NSW, let me just start by saying, there is a special place in hell for people who disobey controls and rules around school crossing zones. Ignoring crossing supervisors by driving through, remaining on the crossings or parking just before/after the crossing are the biggest issues I faced on a daily basis.
What you have done here is both dangerous and stupid. It reduces visibility for both pedestrians and the crossing supervisor. It also causes an issue with having to walk around your vehicle. Theoretically, you should not have entered the crossing unless there was room for your car to fully clear the crossing. And this whole "but I was creeping forward" doesn't really cut the mustard, as you can clearly see you are blocked in by other cars…
That being said, it's their definition of what you are doing that may be an issue, because under the road rules, you are not really "stopped" in the definition of parking, but "stopped" because you are in traffic. This makes the road rule surrounding what you did as harder to interpret.
Road Rule 171 deals with "stopping" on or near a children's crossing. The problem lay with the definition of "stopping"… You were not stopping to remain or to park, but because of traffic impeding/obstructing your travel. Even the example they give in RR#171 shows vehicles parked, and not in the line of traffic. (Side note, RR#350 deal with distances and a portion of a vehicle being in the no stopping area)
NEXT we have what they should have possibly booked you for, RR#128A Entering a blocked crossing.
You would have been able to clearly see that the road beyond the crossing was blocked due to traffic, and under RR#128A, you are not to enter unless you can "clear" the crossing, which you clearly could not do as shown in the photos. The crossing starts at the stop line and ends when your whole car is clear of the crossing. This fine is $423 and 3 points, and I feel as though this is the fine you should have gotten.
So, while I am not the bearer of good news, I think they have attributed the wrong fine to what you did. They have applied RR#171 about not "stopping", when what they should have done is thrown RR#128A at you instead. a slightly cheaper ticket, but it moves from 2 up to 3 demerits.
And with that, I cannot vote, because yes, you should have received "a" fine… just not "that" fine…