Motorcycle Parking Laws in California

We receive a lot of emails and telephone calls from our clients and readers regarding motorcycle parking laws in California. Below is a summary of the relevant statutes.

Street Parking for Motorcycles

California Vehicle Code section 22503 governs parallel parking for cars and motorcycles. The portions of the statute dealing with motorcycle parking are quoted below. In short, the law states that a motorcycle must be parked with one wheel touching the right-hand curb, or, on a one-way street, one wheel must be touching either curb.

CVC § 22502
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, . . . a motorcycle shall be parked with at least one wheel or fender touching the right-hand curb . . .
(e) (1) Upon a one-way roadway, . . . a motorcycle, if parked on the left-hand side, shall have either one wheel or one fender touching the curb . . .
(2) This subdivision does not apply upon a roadway of a divided highway.

Can I park a motorcycle on the sidewalk?

The short answer is no. Under the California Vehicle Code section 22500, no motor vehicle may be parked on the sidewalk, including motorcycles. However, some jurisdictions do not enforce this rule. (San Francisco, for example, used to be very lax about this. They still are, we believe, but to a lesser degree than they were ten years ago. In other words, park on the sidewalk at your own risk!) Here's the relevant law:

CVC § 22500
No person shall stop, park, or leave standing any vehicle whether attended or unattended, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with the directions of a peace officer or official traffic control device, in any of the following places:
. . .
(f) On any portion of a sidewalk, or with the body of the vehicle extending over any portion of a sidewalk . . . . Lights, mirrors, or devices that are required to be mounted upon a vehicle under this code may extend from the body of the vehicle over the sidewalk to a distance of not more than 10 inches.

Is it legal to share a metered parking spot in California?

Again, the short answer is no. However, jurisdictions vary significantly in their enforcement of this rule. In some California towns, it is unheard of to receive a violation for parking between metered spaces. In many others, however, cops and parking enforcement officers will quickly cite you for doing this.

We've even heard of motorcyclists getting ticketed for sharing metered spaces with other motorcycles. This seems absurd (although the words "absurd" and "law enforcement" go together far more frequently than they should). If you aren't familiar with parking enforcement in a particular area, we recommend asking other riders -- or better yet, a meter maid, whether their policy is to ticket motorcycles for sharing a metered space. Beware, though, that if a cop tells you it's ok, and another cop gives you a ticket, you probably won't have much luck fighting the ticket in court. The safest policy is to avoid sharing spots altogether.

***

As always, if you have any questions about motorcycle parking laws or any other motorcycle topic, the motorcycle accident lawyers here at Riderz Law are here for you. Send us an email or call our toll-free hotline at 1-888-5-RIDERZ.

Our attorneys are available to assist you with your motorcycle accident case throughout California, including Los Angeles, Orange County, Long Beach, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Francisco, Fresno, Bakersfield, Visalia, and everywhere in between.