No stopping and no parking are not the same

Getting Your Learner Licence4 min readText and drawings only

This pair catches more people than any other, on the test and in real life. They look almost identical at a glance, they mean genuinely different things, and getting them the wrong way round is how cars get towed.

The pair people confuse most NO STOPPING Cross means never. Not even for a second. NO PARKING One line. You may pause to drop someone off.Two lines, no stopping. One line, no parking.
The pair that catches the most people.

Count the red lines. Two lines crossing means no stopping at all, not even for a moment, not even with someone in the car.

One diagonal line means no parking. You may pause long enough to let a passenger out or in, but you may not leave the vehicle standing there.

How do I remember which is which under pressure?

More lines, more forbidden. Two lines is the stricter of the two, and it forbids the smaller thing, which is stopping at all. One line forbids the bigger thing, parking, but still allows a brief pause.

Before you move on

  • Count the lines before you decide what the sign allows
  • Two lines means do not even pause
  • One line means you may drop someone off but not leave the car

Check what you know

3 questions. Have a look at what this lesson asks.

1. A blue circle with a red border and two crossed red lines means what?

2. Under a no parking sign, what are you allowed to do?

3. How do you tell the two apart quickly?

Sign in to take this quiz

Reading is free and always will be. Answering counts towards your progress, your streak and your certificate, so we need to know who you are.

Sign in or create a free account

It takes a minute and costs nothing.

Share This Article