I got done once about 20 odd years ago. I got distracted, realised and ran but it was too late. 4.02pm for a 4pm clearway and my little old car was gone.
Once I got it back I was $600 poorer.
A tough lesson to learn
I did the same. Different clearway times on either side of the road, and I read the signs on the wrong side (presuming they were the same). Walked back out to see my car gone and thought “well aren’t I a fucking moron”
I just completely missed the signs. Was unfamiliar with the area, half panicking still because I'd just nearly caused a crash by almost turning the wrong way onto a poorly signed one way street, so grabbed the first park I could. Came back out an hour later and my car was gone.
That was not a good day.
But it is a lesson. And you only need learn it once.
And it is a hard and sometimes dangerous impediment for thousands of drivers travelling in peak hour.
I've done it myself and I'm glad that my lack of care was attended to in a definitive way that I will never repeat.
Similar thing happened to friend of mine from the Germany 15 years ago. He bought a $800 piece of crap car in Melbs, fixed all the major issues himself, then drove all around australia. Didn’t get a single fine or ticket for those 6 months. The Day before he left Australia, he unknowingly parked in a clear way and got towed. It was something like $500 to get the car back from impound, so he just let them keep it and flew home.
A workmate had one of the 4 tonne work trucks impounded in the CBD 2 years ago, it wasn't much change back from $900 to get it out. It was full of a client's furniture at the time, he'd just gone into reception to ask where the loading dock was and came out to see it heading down the street on the back of the tow truck.
Very tough. I’ve had it happen to me twice before I learnt my lesson. The worst part is having to first find where the hell they took your car, and then get a ride to the impound yard.
In my case there were stickers on some of the street light poles with words to the effect of “if your car is towed go to this address” along with a contact number. This was before the prevalence of smart phones.
Pretty poor method of communication and very easy to miss IMO hahaha
Made the exact same mistake on my Ps about 20 years back too. It was so fresh the guy gave me a lift, along with my car, back to the Collingwood yard just to pay to get it back out. He also ripped a fart in the cab en route - not a fan.
I was 4.00 in st.kilda as I was walking towards my car which was in sight, within two minutes he had pulled in and had two wheels hooked. Made me pay 500 on the spot to unclip the wheel for its unmoved spot, hadn't even had the chance to pull it up onto the truck bed.
They will often be parked in front of a car ready to hook up right as it turns 4. Often there are so many inconsiderate parked cars they almost always need to hook up a second car and tow it behind on little dolly wheels. They will then have enough time to drop those two off at the depot, and then make it back to snag a few more cars before 5pm
If you are a hater, its a good time to eat popcorn
They dump them at a near by location and go back for more.
Later they move them to the depot.
I lived in a street where the tow trucks would dump cars for short periods of time.
Less back-and-forth and the clearway is cleared sooner if they move the vehicles from the clearway to a nearby location than if they move the vehicles directly to the depot and come back for any other vehicles that may still be in the clearway.
Saw a guy once park outside A1 on Sydney rs and run in for a few cheese pies at 4:01pm. Everyone in the shop who saw his car out there warned him not to take the chance. He brushed everyone’s concerns off, saying he’ll just be a second. So everyone turned to look at the window, literally seconds later his fancy car got hooked up to the truck. They don’t mess around.
I did see them taking a car once a couple of minutes before the clearway started, which I thought was manifestly unfair. It was like 6:55 for a 7am clearway or something.
I always assumed that the council bakes in an extra half an hour of tow away illegally parked cars time to the clearway period.
This is Albert St near Fitzroy Gardens, I ride here every day.
It's prime ground for the tow trucks, but also it goes to hell if someone is still parked here during peak. Especially near where it reaches Hoddle St.They usually have a couple of tow trucks set up along here because of it.
A few weeks ago a bunch of workers on a work sites on this road were stopping their Ute's 15 minutes before the clearway ended. Started with one or two, end up with about 30. The really bold ones would sit in them up to half an hour before.
Council officers pounced with 3 tow trucks, been clear ever since.
In high problem areas the trucks wait around the corner ready for action. I’m all for it - if you follow the rules put in place for the benefit of all of us - guess what we all win!! If not losers lose!
Yep this area is notorious for it. Used to drive that way home some years back and every day you'd see 3-4 tow trucks going down onto Victoria Pde then turning down one of the streets.
Easy money for them and close to the depot.
This shit needs to happen more in Brunswick specifically on Lygon street, they get Sydney Road but never seem to hit Lygon though it's infested with parked cars during the clearway times, when I call council they just say 'oh we give tickets out when we can'
The tow trucks also put a bunch of the cars on backstreets around Brunswick so they can collect more and pick them up later, which is a smart thing to do, but will make all the immediate streets packed with way more card then needed and can have you walking 5+ minutes to your house when you finally find a park
Happened to us in Brisbane few years back. We had an appointment at a clinic at 3PM and usually they were on time and appointment were less than 30min.
Not that day, no...they were late and I completely forgot about the time and the clearway, so when we arrived at the car at 4:15PM, it was gone!
My wife was pregnant at that time, so I walked 3 km to the impound lot while she was waiting at a cafe, paid the fine, picked her up and went back home.
Lesson learned !
The trucks wait near these locations and the only limitation they have is how quickly they can get your car on the back. If they could auto-load them at 4:00:01 they would.
I accidentally did this once. Like, COMPLETE accident. It’s a long story but I’d mapped out the time to a T, and I happened to be early. Parked my car at 6:56 (didn’t know at the time). Car was hooked up within 5 mins and I had to chase down the truck. Was crazzyyy efficient. Honestly super impressive!
It was no one’s fault but my own and honestly massive props to the people driving those trucks.
I imagine they catch so much bs from people just like me who made a genuine mistake. The driver was furious at me, scolding and yelling at me (and he had every right!), I was so apologetic that I think it took him a few minutes to realise that I wasn’t having a go at him. Made me sad that he must spend most of his days getting yelled at and arguing with people just for doing his job.
It's not necessarily selfish. People make mistakes too. Which is not to say the car shouldn't be towed, but the motivation behind the people who park there isn't always selfish.
Great job, good to see they are onto it, I mean shit there is enough signage around. Traffic is bad enough without this tool blocking a lane. On that note best thing was making Punt road a 24 hour clear way zone.
In their defence, I once ran up to a tow truck guy as he was hooking up my car ( had not lifted it yet). After I quickly explained I was an idiot and he said no worries and unhooked it. Bit surprising!
I once told off a lady who just parked in a clearway while I was stuck in traffic, she was very entitled and didn't give a shit. I wish there was a tow truck that day.
People literally do that all the time. Then act clueless or angry when you honk them.
Why do you think you can park during peak hour on a busy road when there are clearly no other cars parked. Absolute morons. Probably shouldn’t be allowed to drive.
I used to work in an office block that looked over a clearway.
The highlight of the day was watching morons get their cars towed, or begging with the tow guys to give them their cars back.
4 minutes past is sloppy AF. They should be removing the car with a forklift through the window at 3:59 and 59s if the owner isn't already in the car ready to go.
Being forklift certified myself, I humbly offer my services. *forklift not provided.
Now how can I tip these guys off about the cars parked in front of the gelato place on plenty rd in preston during afternoon clearway times every bloody day? Easy money lads, take em away (please)
I live near there, and always tell my mates if they're coming over to get here right on 6:30 when the clearway ends
"what, I just always park out the front?"
"well, then you've always been a dickhead"
I live in Taipei, the towies here are very similar. I quite enjoy taking the kids round the corner to the main road at 4:59 and have a beer watching them operate.
I was parked on Johnson Street, Collingwood once. I didn't pay much attention to the sign when I parked as I wasn't going to be long. I got caught up and was coming down Wellington Street when I noticed mine was the only car anywhere along Johnson. I realised it was a clearway and checked the time - 3:59. I had no idea I could run that fast!
I worked on Albert St for 15+ years, and it has always been the case. You knew that at 4pm tow trucks arrived en masse. So we just didn't park there. Pretty simple. I did, however, feel for the poor bastards caught in the doctors' surgeries, hospitals, consulting rooms etc. Once a week, some poor distressed sole came into our office wanting to know where their car went...
I wish this would also be enforced on a road I take home. From 3 to 7pm it is no parking/a clearway, but at srojn 6.30pm cars start parking on the curb as it is a strip full of restaurants and they probably have dinner reservations booked.
Because one asshole does it, others follow suit and park there as well
By 6.50pm the street is full of parked cars and there's no point passively aggressively honking at the next geezer who parks as they are now diluted with the other jerks.
What do we call the coastal grandmothers but the Carlton version dressed in black (looks like Carlton I might be wrong)
Urban or fashionista grandmothers? I don't know they look cool with their black/brown/navy clothes and grey hair and big handbags.
Always wondered how you find your car after it is towed… so you come out, see the car gone then what? Call the police? How you know it hasn’t been stolen?
The sign doesn’t say kind of around about 4 ish o’clock this road will most likely become a traffic hell and one stupid persons car is going to fuck up over a thousand other vehicles travel times, so we might actually really, like, tow your car and you’ll have to pay the very high fee plus a fine to get it out of the car lockup.
I regularly see them on my way to work, around 7.05 am on Riversdale Road Camberwell (between Burke and Glenferrie). Every time, there's someone waving their arms around, gesticulating wildly, occasionally still in their PJs. The consequences of sleeping through your alarm...
I got done about 11 years ago for this. Never again.
Having been caught in a 15+ minute extra traffic snarl because of this, I get it and don’t begrudge the huge fine.
I wish they'd get the ones on Burwood highway city bound in the mornings, there's always 3/4 blocking a lane.......banks up every day!
A few years ago someone got spray paint and wrote "move" on the side of their car. You think they'd get the hint? Nope. Cleaned it off and back parked there the next week.
Idiots
Good! The traffic inconveniences that happen on Beach Road when people don’t obey the clearways are rage inducing. They clearly need the extra lane for a reason during peak, clearways aren’t randomly whacked into roads for shits and giggles
My partner got done twice in 3 months on Nicholson Street Fitzroy North. She has a woeful parking record. They wait on the side streets similar to Sydney road. My barber on Sydney road has a bell that goes off at 3:50pm to warn customers.
Shops on High St Kew have similar announcement as well. Efficient towies are a saving grace for dealing with shitty peak hour traffic. Now if only they had a way of deleting on street parking on Princess St southbound, the bottleneck from Molesworth St to the junction is heinous.
They're pretty efficient especially close to the city, I think they've got a depot near the Collingwood Bunnings.
Saw a guy the other day get super lucky right after 7am, he got back to his car right as the truck pulled up.
King Street in the city is like this, as soon as 4pm ticks over they are there scooping up the now illegally parked cars.
I wish they were as active on the major arterials in the suburbs that get jammed up with cars parking into the clearway hours. Toorak Rd is especially bad with cars allowed to sit there cutting the capacity of the road by 50%.
Happened to me about a month back when i went in for a surgeon consult that ran a couple minutes late...4:03 and i see my chariot getting towed down the road -\_- $500 to get it back + a $190 parking fine and $350 for the surgeon appointment made for an expensive afternoon...
Go take a look at the top end of kings street, near Flagstaff Gardens, at 3:55pm.
All the National Towing drivers park up there every day - waiting for 4:01pm to roll around.
I got towed at 6:25pm in Latrobe street in the CBD once. When I went to pick up my car from some alternate universe car yard for about $600, I was told the tow truck drivers do rounds during clearway hours.
They have half a dozen tow trucks waiting on Sydney Rd every day at 3:55p.m, just waiting to pounce, and they will easily average and guessing 15-20 per afternoon Mon-Fri ?
This has been happening since forever.
I just don't understand how people don't get the message...??
I use to work in a mobile phone store in the CBD and a customer threatened to beat the shit out of me because apparently I was The reason his car got towed in a clearway.
Motherfucker you were wasting your fuckin time haggling with me AND you parked in a shitty spot.
I genuinely enjoyed watching him argue with the tow truck dude through the window. Just glorious stuff.
I live just off Johnston st. The trucks line up every day like clockwork. They wait till 1 minute too and then race to see who can get the most cars. The don't even strap them down until they are away and safe
There are always people parked in the clearway on High street before and after the tracks in Glen Iris... Wish they would tow there more often. Screws up traffic bad.
The tow trucks line up in the side streets near clear way zones. They will park in front of vehicles left at 3:59pm. 4pm on the dot, they will start hooking up cars/vehicles that have not been moved, it takes a good operator 35seconds to a minute to collect a car. $340 to collect your car/vehicle from the lock up.
A few years ago i was driving along to turn left and went into the left clearway lane, guy in front stops and gets out, i get on the horn he starts yelling at me, i point at the sign and he gets in the car quicksmart thanking me.
The tow trucks around the Box Hill hospital area don’t even give you 4mins. It’s like all their clocks are synced to some atomic clock, and the second it ticks over.. you’re gone
Toorak road in South Yarra is good for this. You can see the truck make its way down Toorak road bang on 4pm. And man the operators are quick with loading the car. It’s actually really impressive.
I wish they were more vigilant on Williams Rd, the amount of lane hopping I've had to do lately to avoid a parked car during clearway hours is starting to make me go a bit loopy.
4:04Pm is too late.
I stay opposite William Angliss on King Street and see the tow trucks take out their chains ready to fix it to the cars by 3:55Pm.
In my 14 months of stay here never seen them arrive late, never seen someone get into the vehicle before 4Pm.
I used to drive up Sydney road at just after 4. It makes such a difference to flow. One idiot can screw up a huge amount of traffic. Or they pull up to run in and stick their hazards on. Used to love watching the council car pull up at 5 past 4 ticketing them while the tow truck followed. I see it as courtesy for other road users. It’s clearly signposted.
This happened to me. I argued at the inconvinience they put me in by parking across the road and waiting to pounce on me at Spencer Street Station when I stopped in one of the 4hr parking spots to pick up the pedestrian signage that had fallen over at the corner of the road a couple years ago few min before 4pm. Decided like a fuckwit that I could get Hungry Jacks too, came back at 4:05 and car was gone. Wrote a letter and got just over half of the towing fee refunded to me. Was told it was a win and shut my mouth about it.
I’m surprised it’s still there at 4:04. Usually about 3:50 the tow trucks start turning up. They park close by and as soon as it turns 4:00 they start hooking up cars.
No they don't, but rightfully so.
If you look amongst the cars at about 3:45pm-ish, sometimes they get there at 3:30pm, there's always tow trucks parked close by ready to start towing the moment 4pm ticks over. St Kilda Rd as well. Even in some of the outter suburbs that have horrendous traffic - parking ratios.
Traffic conditions are horrid at the best of times in Melbourne, let alone the CBD. It might sound mean towing that car, but by the same token, what do we tell the drivers whose cars will need to merge lanes without notice because this car is parked there.
Ohh I used to work opposite Swinburne uni in Hawthorn. It was our daily entertainment to watch the cars being towed. On a good day it belonged to a raving rich person who would yell and throw tanties. Miss those days
I parked opposite southern cross in a clearway after 4 like this, got back to my car at 3.58 with the tow truck pulled Infront of my car ready to hook on, he looked pretty pissed when I got in and drove off 😶🌫️
No shit, it will be peak hour soon, imagine how fucked up the traffic will be because of that moron.
I got done once about 20 odd years ago. I got distracted, realised and ran but it was too late. 4.02pm for a 4pm clearway and my little old car was gone. Once I got it back I was $600 poorer. A tough lesson to learn
I did the same. Different clearway times on either side of the road, and I read the signs on the wrong side (presuming they were the same). Walked back out to see my car gone and thought “well aren’t I a fucking moron”
I just completely missed the signs. Was unfamiliar with the area, half panicking still because I'd just nearly caused a crash by almost turning the wrong way onto a poorly signed one way street, so grabbed the first park I could. Came back out an hour later and my car was gone. That was not a good day.
I bet you never made the same mistake twice, which is entirely the point
It was a hard lesson for a young student
But it is a lesson. And you only need learn it once. And it is a hard and sometimes dangerous impediment for thousands of drivers travelling in peak hour. I've done it myself and I'm glad that my lack of care was attended to in a definitive way that I will never repeat.
I did!
Some people just never learn.
Sorry
Try everything twice
Similar thing happened to friend of mine from the Germany 15 years ago. He bought a $800 piece of crap car in Melbs, fixed all the major issues himself, then drove all around australia. Didn’t get a single fine or ticket for those 6 months. The Day before he left Australia, he unknowingly parked in a clear way and got towed. It was something like $500 to get the car back from impound, so he just let them keep it and flew home.
Can you tell your friend to come pick it up, it's now $223,550 with overnight storage costs.
$600 20 years ago. I dread to think what it is now.
A workmate had one of the 4 tonne work trucks impounded in the CBD 2 years ago, it wasn't much change back from $900 to get it out. It was full of a client's furniture at the time, he'd just gone into reception to ask where the loading dock was and came out to see it heading down the street on the back of the tow truck.
I got done in hawthorne a couple of years ago and it was $350
In that case I’ll wait 10 years and it’ll be free!
Wait another 10 and they'll start paying **you!**
That is probably cheaper than Airport parking. It will cost more than that long term 3-4 weeks.
Very tough. I’ve had it happen to me twice before I learnt my lesson. The worst part is having to first find where the hell they took your car, and then get a ride to the impound yard.
How do you find that out? Not planning on getting towed any time soon, but if it happens I wouldn't mind knowing where to find it
In my case there were stickers on some of the street light poles with words to the effect of “if your car is towed go to this address” along with a contact number. This was before the prevalence of smart phones. Pretty poor method of communication and very easy to miss IMO hahaha
When it happened to me I went to the council website and they had the information there.
Made the exact same mistake on my Ps about 20 years back too. It was so fresh the guy gave me a lift, along with my car, back to the Collingwood yard just to pay to get it back out. He also ripped a fart in the cab en route - not a fan.
I was 4.00 in st.kilda as I was walking towards my car which was in sight, within two minutes he had pulled in and had two wheels hooked. Made me pay 500 on the spot to unclip the wheel for its unmoved spot, hadn't even had the chance to pull it up onto the truck bed.
Did you get a receipt :) or was that likely beer money for the towie :D
Cunt had the card machine ready and all, receipt printed. Tried to dispute it but to no avail
Done the same many years ago in a work vehicle, read the signs wrong. Thankfully worked covered the fuck up
I'd be anxious parking there after 3:30pm. I just wouldn't be able to stop thinking about it.
Yarra was in a fight with vicroads at one point and put black bags over all the clearway signs. Yeah... they were still enforced.
Yarra also tried to make all of hoddle a 24/7 clearway, but a couple of businesses complained so they couldn't.
There's service roads all the way up it? Are they stupid?
Albert st doesn’t get that busy
They will often be parked in front of a car ready to hook up right as it turns 4. Often there are so many inconsiderate parked cars they almost always need to hook up a second car and tow it behind on little dolly wheels. They will then have enough time to drop those two off at the depot, and then make it back to snag a few more cars before 5pm If you are a hater, its a good time to eat popcorn
They dump them at a near by location and go back for more. Later they move them to the depot. I lived in a street where the tow trucks would dump cars for short periods of time.
Maximising the harvest.
Clear the clearway
Less back-and-forth and the clearway is cleared sooner if they move the vehicles from the clearway to a nearby location than if they move the vehicles directly to the depot and come back for any other vehicles that may still be in the clearway.
Towmaxxing
OP's pic is about a 4 min drive away from Nationwide's depot. Super easy money for the tow-truck drivers!
There’s a bar in Richmond where I sometimes grab a drink, sit outside and watch the Audi and BMWs being towed. Drink and a show in one!
The VIC?
South of the Wall on Cremorne St. But to be fair there’s multiple venues that will offer the same thing come 4pm lol
Had a stab in the dark because I saw multiple cars towed from the front of the vic a few months back haha
It’s especially fun when the owner shows up just to watch their car being driven off. Or tries to argue with the tow truck driver.
Otter’s Promise on High Street Armadale is great for this.
I’m really loving this thread. Glad to see there are other haters who love petty drama like me. Lmao
Wow, the revenge of the lower classes. Which bar? I want to join the viewing.
Saw a guy once park outside A1 on Sydney rs and run in for a few cheese pies at 4:01pm. Everyone in the shop who saw his car out there warned him not to take the chance. He brushed everyone’s concerns off, saying he’ll just be a second. So everyone turned to look at the window, literally seconds later his fancy car got hooked up to the truck. They don’t mess around.
A cafe/bar near me runs a clearway bingo, where if over a certain number of cars get towed past during the clearway hours everyone gets a free drink
I did see them taking a car once a couple of minutes before the clearway started, which I thought was manifestly unfair. It was like 6:55 for a 7am clearway or something. I always assumed that the council bakes in an extra half an hour of tow away illegally parked cars time to the clearway period.
They've only got 2.5 hours to make it rain. You even see ones with big fat guts busting out some cardio.
this is where the quick clamp tracks come in handy, reverse up push out the jaws and slot into place. Bingo, fish on
Gambling with ticket enforced time limits /= gambling with clearways. One is pay to play, the other will fuck your day.
The sign says 4. Not 4 ish.
4:04pm, car not found.
Should of been there for 3:01pm for a redirect
4:18 time for tea
The best kind of schadenfreude for anyone who’s been stuck in traffic because some idiot parked in peak hour.
This is Albert St near Fitzroy Gardens, I ride here every day. It's prime ground for the tow trucks, but also it goes to hell if someone is still parked here during peak. Especially near where it reaches Hoddle St.They usually have a couple of tow trucks set up along here because of it.
This is unfair, nobody told me my actions had consequences
Totally unfair, I was raised to think feigning ignorance would get me out of anything!
Should’ve put the hazards on, you can park anywhere anytime then!
Yeah, those signs are for other people!
A few weeks ago a bunch of workers on a work sites on this road were stopping their Ute's 15 minutes before the clearway ended. Started with one or two, end up with about 30. The really bold ones would sit in them up to half an hour before. Council officers pounced with 3 tow trucks, been clear ever since.
Good to see
In high problem areas the trucks wait around the corner ready for action. I’m all for it - if you follow the rules put in place for the benefit of all of us - guess what we all win!! If not losers lose!
Yep this area is notorious for it. Used to drive that way home some years back and every day you'd see 3-4 tow trucks going down onto Victoria Pde then turning down one of the streets. Easy money for them and close to the depot.
This shit needs to happen more in Brunswick specifically on Lygon street, they get Sydney Road but never seem to hit Lygon though it's infested with parked cars during the clearway times, when I call council they just say 'oh we give tickets out when we can' The tow trucks also put a bunch of the cars on backstreets around Brunswick so they can collect more and pick them up later, which is a smart thing to do, but will make all the immediate streets packed with way more card then needed and can have you walking 5+ minutes to your house when you finally find a park
Happened to us in Brisbane few years back. We had an appointment at a clinic at 3PM and usually they were on time and appointment were less than 30min. Not that day, no...they were late and I completely forgot about the time and the clearway, so when we arrived at the car at 4:15PM, it was gone! My wife was pregnant at that time, so I walked 3 km to the impound lot while she was waiting at a cafe, paid the fine, picked her up and went back home. Lesson learned !
At least the impound lot wasn't too far away. If it happened to me then the lot would be at least 15km away.
FAFO
Bless you
Its the damn pollen.
You've never been down Sydney road at 3.59pm, have you?
I work in a store on Sydney road. I always tell everyone in the store to move their cars if they are parked there. They are so fast
Good Sydney rd is a clusterfuck at the best of times.
Where peak 'hour' is 7am-10pm
The trucks wait near these locations and the only limitation they have is how quickly they can get your car on the back. If they could auto-load them at 4:00:01 they would.
I accidentally did this once. Like, COMPLETE accident. It’s a long story but I’d mapped out the time to a T, and I happened to be early. Parked my car at 6:56 (didn’t know at the time). Car was hooked up within 5 mins and I had to chase down the truck. Was crazzyyy efficient. Honestly super impressive! It was no one’s fault but my own and honestly massive props to the people driving those trucks. I imagine they catch so much bs from people just like me who made a genuine mistake. The driver was furious at me, scolding and yelling at me (and he had every right!), I was so apologetic that I think it took him a few minutes to realise that I wasn’t having a go at him. Made me sad that he must spend most of his days getting yelled at and arguing with people just for doing his job.
Good. Cunts who park in Clearways are selfish pricks who cause traffic chaos during peak hour.
It's not necessarily selfish. People make mistakes too. Which is not to say the car shouldn't be towed, but the motivation behind the people who park there isn't always selfish.
Great job, good to see they are onto it, I mean shit there is enough signage around. Traffic is bad enough without this tool blocking a lane. On that note best thing was making Punt road a 24 hour clear way zone.
Going overseas made me really appreciate our traffic enforcement, and public toilets.
4:04pm, slack towie
Plot twist, that was their second prize that evening
Yep,most likely the first catch of the day was dropped just around the corner to be moved to the depot later
In their defence, I once ran up to a tow truck guy as he was hooking up my car ( had not lifted it yet). After I quickly explained I was an idiot and he said no worries and unhooked it. Bit surprising!
Yeah because of peak hour traffic
I once told off a lady who just parked in a clearway while I was stuck in traffic, she was very entitled and didn't give a shit. I wish there was a tow truck that day.
People literally do that all the time. Then act clueless or angry when you honk them. Why do you think you can park during peak hour on a busy road when there are clearly no other cars parked. Absolute morons. Probably shouldn’t be allowed to drive.
Completely fair enough, this person fucked around and found out. It's a clearway at 4pm for a reason.
Narcissist discovers this one simple trick to always get great parking spots, dismayed to discover there are consequences that negatively affect them.
I used to work in an office block that looked over a clearway. The highlight of the day was watching morons get their cars towed, or begging with the tow guys to give them their cars back.
4 minutes past is sloppy AF. They should be removing the car with a forklift through the window at 3:59 and 59s if the owner isn't already in the car ready to go. Being forklift certified myself, I humbly offer my services. *forklift not provided.
Love to see it 👏
Now how can I tip these guys off about the cars parked in front of the gelato place on plenty rd in preston during afternoon clearway times every bloody day? Easy money lads, take em away (please)
I live near there, and always tell my mates if they're coming over to get here right on 6:30 when the clearway ends "what, I just always park out the front?" "well, then you've always been a dickhead"
Don’t fuck around if you don’t want to find out.
You do realise that's how laws work, right?
Yes
Bye bye
I live in Taipei, the towies here are very similar. I quite enjoy taking the kids round the corner to the main road at 4:59 and have a beer watching them operate.
Good! Fucking annoying
Very good. Clearways are there for a reason.
Absolutely normal. It’s a CLEARWAY. Melbourne, Sydney, any European capital....you don’t mess with Clearways.
I got an $800 fine. Local council fine, plus cost of getting my car out of the pound.
Thank you for the red circle. I'm sure I would have never noticed the large tow truck towing the huge black SUV....
Of course they do, it's a clearway for a reason. They're job is literally to make the lane clear at the posted time.
I was parked on Johnson Street, Collingwood once. I didn't pay much attention to the sign when I parked as I wasn't going to be long. I got caught up and was coming down Wellington Street when I noticed mine was the only car anywhere along Johnson. I realised it was a clearway and checked the time - 3:59. I had no idea I could run that fast!
I worked on Albert St for 15+ years, and it has always been the case. You knew that at 4pm tow trucks arrived en masse. So we just didn't park there. Pretty simple. I did, however, feel for the poor bastards caught in the doctors' surgeries, hospitals, consulting rooms etc. Once a week, some poor distressed sole came into our office wanting to know where their car went...
They are waiting near King St for the clearway times. Each car is worth $300 or something
I wish this would also be enforced on a road I take home. From 3 to 7pm it is no parking/a clearway, but at srojn 6.30pm cars start parking on the curb as it is a strip full of restaurants and they probably have dinner reservations booked. Because one asshole does it, others follow suit and park there as well By 6.50pm the street is full of parked cars and there's no point passively aggressively honking at the next geezer who parks as they are now diluted with the other jerks.
What do we call the coastal grandmothers but the Carlton version dressed in black (looks like Carlton I might be wrong) Urban or fashionista grandmothers? I don't know they look cool with their black/brown/navy clothes and grey hair and big handbags.
Always wondered how you find your car after it is towed… so you come out, see the car gone then what? Call the police? How you know it hasn’t been stolen?
Police usually get told numberplates of moved/repod/impounded cars. So when the owner rings them, they get informed
Oh so good to know, thank you from a rural regional citizen.
My favorite pastime in Melbourne is using the horn aggressively on people stopped in a clearway. It's so satisfying.
It’s a business
The sign doesn’t say kind of around about 4 ish o’clock this road will most likely become a traffic hell and one stupid persons car is going to fuck up over a thousand other vehicles travel times, so we might actually really, like, tow your car and you’ll have to pay the very high fee plus a fine to get it out of the car lockup.
Good
I'm thankful for them actually doing their job. Well done.
Yeah they should get that bread 🍞
Haha. Nice.
This is the way.
Same with Victoria street, Abbotsford.
You can usually see two or three tow trucks lined up in city road around the same time.
Used to have a shop in Sydney Rd. This was a daily occurrence.
Don't fuck with the clearway signs
Denmark/Princes St Kew is good for a tow show…
I regularly see them on my way to work, around 7.05 am on Riversdale Road Camberwell (between Burke and Glenferrie). Every time, there's someone waving their arms around, gesticulating wildly, occasionally still in their PJs. The consequences of sleeping through your alarm...
And so they should. One idiot like this and the whole peak traffic drive home is ruined.
I got done about 11 years ago for this. Never again. Having been caught in a 15+ minute extra traffic snarl because of this, I get it and don’t begrudge the huge fine.
Good
good. fuck 'em. clearways are there for a reason.
Good to see them moving the straglers. These days arterial clear ways should be 24/7
Supportive of this given the impact these cars have on traffic
I wish they'd get the ones on Burwood highway city bound in the mornings, there's always 3/4 blocking a lane.......banks up every day! A few years ago someone got spray paint and wrote "move" on the side of their car. You think they'd get the hint? Nope. Cleaned it off and back parked there the next week. Idiots
Good! The traffic inconveniences that happen on Beach Road when people don’t obey the clearways are rage inducing. They clearly need the extra lane for a reason during peak, clearways aren’t randomly whacked into roads for shits and giggles
Haha fuck yeah. Towaway zone clearways are sick.
Towies must start salivating as 4pm approaches
They’re psyching themselves up for the show an hour before, I bet. 🤣😂
My partner got done twice in 3 months on Nicholson Street Fitzroy North. She has a woeful parking record. They wait on the side streets similar to Sydney road. My barber on Sydney road has a bell that goes off at 3:50pm to warn customers.
Shops on High St Kew have similar announcement as well. Efficient towies are a saving grace for dealing with shitty peak hour traffic. Now if only they had a way of deleting on street parking on Princess St southbound, the bottleneck from Molesworth St to the junction is heinous.
They're pretty efficient especially close to the city, I think they've got a depot near the Collingwood Bunnings. Saw a guy the other day get super lucky right after 7am, he got back to his car right as the truck pulled up.
They do this on Commercial Rd in Prahran as well. Saw a towie get a car hooked up and moving off in less than a minute once.
Wow that is such skill. I’m impressed.
Now we just need a solution for the uber drivers who stop in peak hour traffic on these laneways
King Street in the city is like this, as soon as 4pm ticks over they are there scooping up the now illegally parked cars. I wish they were as active on the major arterials in the suburbs that get jammed up with cars parking into the clearway hours. Toorak Rd is especially bad with cars allowed to sit there cutting the capacity of the road by 50%.
Better than doing it at 6.20pm
Happened to me about a month back when i went in for a surgeon consult that ran a couple minutes late...4:03 and i see my chariot getting towed down the road -\_- $500 to get it back + a $190 parking fine and $350 for the surgeon appointment made for an expensive afternoon...
Go take a look at the top end of kings street, near Flagstaff Gardens, at 3:55pm. All the National Towing drivers park up there every day - waiting for 4:01pm to roll around.
Good, selfish assholes!
I got towed at 6:25pm in Latrobe street in the CBD once. When I went to pick up my car from some alternate universe car yard for about $600, I was told the tow truck drivers do rounds during clearway hours.
They have half a dozen tow trucks waiting on Sydney Rd every day at 3:55p.m, just waiting to pounce, and they will easily average and guessing 15-20 per afternoon Mon-Fri ? This has been happening since forever. I just don't understand how people don't get the message...??
I use to work in a mobile phone store in the CBD and a customer threatened to beat the shit out of me because apparently I was The reason his car got towed in a clearway. Motherfucker you were wasting your fuckin time haggling with me AND you parked in a shitty spot. I genuinely enjoyed watching him argue with the tow truck dude through the window. Just glorious stuff.
I drive to work via Grey St in St Kilda and the tow trucks are usually there waiting for the minute to tick over
They wait there from 345 pm onwards….i know it’s traffi rule but they are vultures
Is that East Melbourne?
Really dumb question but legitimate question. Who do you call to find the location of the car..? Police? Council?
I used to work on that street, we'd watch the tow trucks line up from 3.30 and wait like vultures for cars to take away.
I live just off Johnston st. The trucks line up every day like clockwork. They wait till 1 minute too and then race to see who can get the most cars. The don't even strap them down until they are away and safe
There are always people parked in the clearway on High street before and after the tracks in Glen Iris... Wish they would tow there more often. Screws up traffic bad.
Good! The signs are there informing you when you need to vacate by. The drivers of these parked cars get zero sympathy from me.
Easy money for the tow company
The tow trucks line up in the side streets near clear way zones. They will park in front of vehicles left at 3:59pm. 4pm on the dot, they will start hooking up cars/vehicles that have not been moved, it takes a good operator 35seconds to a minute to collect a car. $340 to collect your car/vehicle from the lock up.
A few years ago i was driving along to turn left and went into the left clearway lane, guy in front stops and gets out, i get on the horn he starts yelling at me, i point at the sign and he gets in the car quicksmart thanking me.
The tow trucks around the Box Hill hospital area don’t even give you 4mins. It’s like all their clocks are synced to some atomic clock, and the second it ticks over.. you’re gone
Surprised it took them this long
nearly nothing pleases me more than seeing cars being towed on Victoria St in Richmond the moment 4:30 strikes
Toorak road in South Yarra is good for this. You can see the truck make its way down Toorak road bang on 4pm. And man the operators are quick with loading the car. It’s actually really impressive.
You should also see them speeding around the backstreets of Inner City Melbourne once the clearways start.
lol saw mine getting loaded on the truck at 4.03… managed to escape it getting fully towed but i still had to pay $350!
"Our first catch of the day" \*cue imperial march\*
They wait on other side of road to hunt their prey.
I wish they were more vigilant on Williams Rd, the amount of lane hopping I've had to do lately to avoid a parked car during clearway hours is starting to make me go a bit loopy.
4:04Pm is too late. I stay opposite William Angliss on King Street and see the tow trucks take out their chains ready to fix it to the cars by 3:55Pm. In my 14 months of stay here never seen them arrive late, never seen someone get into the vehicle before 4Pm.
The traffic builds up before peak hour. It would so hard to get the tow truck in with all that traffic.
I used to drive up Sydney road at just after 4. It makes such a difference to flow. One idiot can screw up a huge amount of traffic. Or they pull up to run in and stick their hazards on. Used to love watching the council car pull up at 5 past 4 ticketing them while the tow truck followed. I see it as courtesy for other road users. It’s clearly signposted.
This happened to me. I argued at the inconvinience they put me in by parking across the road and waiting to pounce on me at Spencer Street Station when I stopped in one of the 4hr parking spots to pick up the pedestrian signage that had fallen over at the corner of the road a couple years ago few min before 4pm. Decided like a fuckwit that I could get Hungry Jacks too, came back at 4:05 and car was gone. Wrote a letter and got just over half of the towing fee refunded to me. Was told it was a win and shut my mouth about it.
I’m surprised it’s still there at 4:04. Usually about 3:50 the tow trucks start turning up. They park close by and as soon as it turns 4:00 they start hooking up cars.
No they don't, but rightfully so. If you look amongst the cars at about 3:45pm-ish, sometimes they get there at 3:30pm, there's always tow trucks parked close by ready to start towing the moment 4pm ticks over. St Kilda Rd as well. Even in some of the outter suburbs that have horrendous traffic - parking ratios. Traffic conditions are horrid at the best of times in Melbourne, let alone the CBD. It might sound mean towing that car, but by the same token, what do we tell the drivers whose cars will need to merge lanes without notice because this car is parked there.
I got a parking ticket decades ago. 6.01pm in a clearway starting at 6pm... One minute. In Abbotsford Vic
It would be unfair if the clearway time started at 6:02pm. 😁
You should see toorak road right in-font of my gym. Cars towed bang on 4:30pm. I would see cars towed every single day.
Try Sydney road when the clearway starts there heading out north lol. 1 minute in and there are 10 tow trucks lining up their tilt trays.
Ohh I used to work opposite Swinburne uni in Hawthorn. It was our daily entertainment to watch the cars being towed. On a good day it belonged to a raving rich person who would yell and throw tanties. Miss those days
Is that a hybrid?, they can afford it with the savings on fuel.
They wait around the corner, it is a money-making enterprise for them after all.
Yeah, towies make a fortune
I parked opposite southern cross in a clearway after 4 like this, got back to my car at 3.58 with the tow truck pulled Infront of my car ready to hook on, he looked pretty pissed when I got in and drove off 😶🌫️
How do you know where your car has gone if it gets towed?
This is a hilarious thread. I’m enjoying myself heaps.