{"id":7676,"date":"2015-05-05T10:09:36","date_gmt":"2015-05-05T14:09:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsignblog.com\/blog\/?p=7676"},"modified":"2025-02-24T06:37:28","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T11:37:28","slug":"difference-between-no-parking-and-no-stopping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/difference-between-no-parking-and-no-stopping\/","title":{"rendered":"The difference between “no parking” and “no stopping”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some drivers just don\u2019t know when to stop. And who can blame them? All drivers have been directed by \u201cNo parking\u201d signs and \u201cNo stopping\u201d signs, but how many have stopped, er, paused to consider the difference between these two dictates? At least one California-based Press Enterprise<\/em> has, and, while the answer to the reader\u2019s question may or may not apply in your particular region, the implications to the question are relevant wherever you happen to drive.<\/p>\n

\"no<\/a>

The difference between stopping and parking depends on where you are. Image from Nick Fisher<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201c\u2018No parking\u2019 is less restrictive\u2026 It means somebody simply can\u2019t park his car where there is such a sign. But he can stop there for 20 seconds or whatever, then move on. Or maybe the difference isn\u2019t so obvious? Do the traffic laws on this get real technical?\u201d inquired the reader. Columnist Rick Davis investigated, finding that, according to California Vehicle Code, there is <\/em>a difference between stopping and parking your car.<\/p>\n

Stopping, in California, is defined as \u201cany cessation of movement of a vehicle, whether occupied or not — except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or when in compliance with the direction of a police officer or official traffic control device or signal.\u201d Parking, on the other hand, is \u201cthe standing of a vehicle, whether occupied or not — and other than temporarily — for the purpose of, and while actually engaged in, loading or unloading of merchandise or passengers.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the law doesn’t define “temporarily,” it does imply that a vehicle is parked only if it’s there permanently (though, as Davis points out, “permanently” isn’t used in the law either). The law would suggest that if a certain area of the road is \u201cdesignated and posted\u2026 as a \u2018no stopping\u2019 zone,\u201d vehicles traveling on that road can\u2019t stop completely within that area, no matter how short the potential pit stop is.<\/p>\n

The rules are perhaps the clearest in New York State, where the\u00a0DMV<\/a>\u00a0clearly defines stopping, standing, and parking. \u201cA \u2018No parking\u2019 sign means you can make a temporary stop to load or discharge merchandise or passengers. A \u2018No standing\u2019 sign means you can make a temporary stop to load or discharge passengers. A \u2018No stopping\u2019 sign means you can stop only to obey a traffic sign, signal or officer or to prevent conflicts with other vehicles.\u201d You can learn more about New York’s guidelines\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania parking rules are a bit more opaque. State code<\/a> says that “Stopping, standing or parking may be restricted along the curb or edge of a roadway [is illegal] when one or more of the following conditions exist,” with nine different conditions listed. Florida has comparable guidelines<\/a>, expressly forbidding what many drivers would consider a brief stop: standing or parking \u201cexcept momentarily to pick up or discharge a passenger or passengers\u201d under conditions like in front of a driveway, within 15 feet of a fire hydrant or 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection, within 30 feet upon the approach to any flashing signal, stop sign, or traffic control signal located at the side of a roadway, and a number of other conditions.<\/p>\n

Texas\u2019s guidelines and Illinois\u2019s\u00a0guidelines<\/a> are similar to both Pennsylvania and Florida\u2019s. Tired of Parking Tickets, Inc. makes the unclear guidelines a bit easier to understand for Chicagoans in particular. For one, \u201c\u2018No parking\u2019 means that you can\u2019t park your car and walk away, but you can stand in your car\u2026 You can wait as long as you like while standing as long as you\u2019re not asked to move by a police officer or traffic enforcement agent (you must move if asked).\u201d As for the difference between \u201cNo stopping\u201d and \u201cNo parking,\u201d the site explains, \u201cNo stopping means exactly what it says\u2014you can\u2019t stop there at all, not even for one second!\u201d<\/p>\n

Consult your state\u2019s DMV for more details on deciphering these signs in your neck of the woods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some drivers just don\u2019t know when to stop. And who can blame them? All drivers have been directed by \u201cNo parking\u201d signs and \u201cNo stopping\u201d signs, but how many have stopped, er, paused to consider the difference between these two dictates? At least one California-based Press Enterprise has, and, while the answer to the reader\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-regulations"],"yoast_head":"\nThe difference between "no parking" and "no stopping" - MyParkingSign Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Some drivers just don\u2019t know when to stop. And who can blame them? 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