No parking any time

What it means

This sign removes the right to park, and usually to stop temporarily and leave the vehicle, along the stretch of kerb it governs. The restriction keeps lanes clear for moving traffic, preserves sight lines at corners and crossings, and keeps space open for hydrants, driveways and transit stops. The crossed-out P is the international symbol for the prohibition, and the sign normally stands at the start of the restricted stretch and repeats along it. Waiting inside a stopped vehicle still counts as parking under most local definitions.

How it gets misread

Drivers often read the sign as permitting a quick stop with hazard lights on, or as applying only to the exact side of the street where the sign is posted and not the stretch beyond it. Some also assume it permits standing with the engine running.

What to do

Keep driving and find a legal space beyond the marked stretch. Do not stop here even briefly with flashers on unless your vehicle has genuinely broken down, and if it has, move as far off the roadway as possible and stay with it. Remember the restriction continues past the sign until another sign or the end of the block releases it.

More regulatory signs

• One way →
• Keep right →

Browse all road signs