Name: How Close Can You Park To A Fire Hydrant? - The Hiking Authority
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How Close Can You Park To A Fire Hydrant? - The Hiking Authority

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When you park your car near a fire hydrant, it’s important to remember two things: first, always obey the posted restrictions; and second, never place your car directly in front of or next to the hydrant. Every city has laws regulating how far away you can park from a fire hydrant. The laws vary from one city/state to the next, but they usually fall within a small range. How many feet do you have to park away from a fire hydrant?In most cities, you need to park at least 15 feet away from a fire hydrant, unless otherwise indicated by signage. It’s easy to visualize the distance since the average car is 15ft long. So you need to be just over 1 car length away from the hydrant. Every driver knows that you can get a ticketed/towed for parking next to a fire hydrant, but it’s also an important safety issue. Firefighters need to access fire hydrants immediately in an emergency. A 2-3 minute delay to smash your windows and run a line through your car could mean the difference between life or death.It’s no secret that parking close to a fire hydrant can get you in trouble. Most people know that can’t park in front of a fire hydrant, but how close is too close? And what are the consequences if you’re wrong?Every city has laws regulating how far you need to park away from a fire hydrant. Most cities ban you from parking within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, but every city/state has different laws.There may be exceptions to that rule in congested areas where it would be hard to access the hydrant. Make sure you check the nearby signage to get a clear indication of where you’re allowed to park.We’ve all played the guessing game when thinking about parking next to a fire hydrant. What if I’m only parked there for a minute? Can I pull forward a few extra feet to squeeze in there? Will I get a ticket if I’m only a few feet inside the restricted area?It can be tempting to push your luck next to a fire hydrant, but we’re not just talking about a parking fine and possible tow. Do you really want to be the guy that slows down a firefighter in an emergency and gets his windows smashed out? Don’t be that guy! Make sure you give firefighters plenty of room to work in an emergency.Important Note: Some cities have different laws for commercial vehicles and tow trucks. Make sure you know the exact rules in your city before parking in restricted areas. Also, some fire hydrants are located underground and can’t be accessed from the street. Even if you can’t see the hydrant, you’ll still get a fine and they’ll have to tow your car away in an emergency.If you ever need to know how close you can park to a fire hydrant, there is a way to measure it. You can use a measuring tape, but most people don’t carry measuring tapes around in their car. So you will need to make a judgement call to figure out if you’re 15ft away from the hydrant.Some cities have clear markings on the ground to tell you how far you need to be away from the hydrant. They paint the curb red or yellow to give a clear guideline on where you can park. There may also be signs nearby further limiting where you’re allowed to park. That’s common in narrow roads where firefighters have limited access to the hydrant.Estimating your distance away from a fire hydrant is fairly simple. It might seem like 15ft is an arbitrary distance, but a lot of thought went into setting that length. That’s the average length of a car, so you can easily visualize how far away from the hydrant you need to be. Take a step away from your car and try to visualize if you can squeeze another car in the gap.Parking enforcement officers can be ruthless about certain laws, but they usually let 2-3 ft slide. They make a judgement call on whether or not you’re close enough to have purposely ignored the law. The only exception is when there’s a clearly painted street curb or “No Parking” sign nearby. You will definitely get a ticket in those situations.Parking too close to a fire hydrant can result in hefty fines. Contact your local fire department for more information. If you get caught parking in restricted areas, you’ll be towed and charged with a ticket. Plan on spending at least $500 to get your car back if it gets towed. $150-$250 for the ticket and a $200-$300 for the impound.There will be additional fees for every day your car stays at the impound lot. My car got towed on a street sweeping day when I was in college and I didn’t find out about it until I got home from class. The impound lot was closed by the time I realized my car was towed so I had to pay $150 more the following day.The fines can quickly add up if you can’t pay immediately. I had a friend in college that had to give up his car to the tow company, because it wasn’t worth getting it out of the lot. It was an old beat up Chevy Cavalier and 2 days of fines was worth more than the car. Once the fines were worth more than the value of the car the police confiscated the vehicle to sell at a Sherrifs auction.If you live in a city and see a fire truck speeding down the street, you can be sure that firefighters are rushing to extinguish a blaze. What you may not know is that they’re also racing to find a working fire hydrant. If you’re parked in front of a hydrant, they’ll break your car windows so they can run a hose through your car.It may seem like an excessive measure, but it’s faster for firefighters to smash a window than try to locate and open a fire hydrant that’s further away. And since minutes count when fighting a fire, this extra step can mean the difference between life and death.In non-emergency situations, they usually call in a tow truck to have your car ticketed and impounded. They have the rite to smash your window, but it’s not worth the bad PR of smashing a window for no reason.You can be the nicest, most obedient person in the world, but nobodies perfect. Even if you try your best to follow every rule, it’s easy to get confused when searching for street parking. Laws vary from one city to the next and you can easily overlook important parking regulations. Here are the 5 most common fire hydrant mistakes that you need to avoid.Trusting A Poorly Written Sign: Don’t blindly trust every street sign that you see. Not following the signs will get you ticketed/towed, but you still need to follow laws that aren’t written on the sign. Just because a sign has an arrow indicating you can park past a certain point doesn’t, mean you can park close to a hydrant (stay 15ft away). These are extremely common near fire hydrants located at the ends of streets and near bus stops.Nearby Signs With Different Regulations: Every city has a set law in place regulating the distance you need to park away from a hydrant, but there’s always the stipulation unless otherwise indicated by signs. These signs are usually found near difficult to access a hydrants.Quickly Jumping Out Of Your Car: Most hydrant laws are written in simple terms. You need to be able to immediately get away from the hydrant in an emergency. That means your car needs to be running and there has to be somebody in the drivers seat. Jumping out of your car to run inside for a minute will result in a ticket. There may be an exception to that rule (depends on the city) if you’re assisting a disabled passenger exiting the vehicle.Underground Hydrants: It can be hard to spot an underground fire hydrant. These are common in older cities that haven’t upgraded their infrastructure to install modern above ground hydrants. They look like a typical round manhole cover (sometimes square) with a sign posted nearby.Broken Hydrants: It’s not your job to declare whether a fire hydrant is working or not. You can still get a ticket by parking next to a hydrant that’s clearly not functioning. Parking next to a hydrant that’s pulled out of the ground and laying on its side is exactly the same as parking next to a functioning hydrant. When looking for a backpack, the first thing you need to consider is the material it’s made from. With so many materials available on the…&nbsp;Read More » Does your backpack have small rings shaped like the “Capital Letter D”? D Loops are commonly found on outdoor camping, climbing, and hiking packs, but…&nbsp;Read More » Merino wool is often considered one of the most comfortable fabrics. It’s warm, soft, moisture-wicking, breathes well, and has antimicrobial properties. However, some people are…&nbsp;Read More »Hi, I’m Justin the owner, content manager and primary writer on TheHikingAuthority. I grew up in a small Ohio town just outside of Cleveland.&nbsp; My parents started me off right and I’ve been camping/backpacking since before I could walk.Throughout the years I’ve spent countless hours researching gear and perfecting my backpacking setup.&nbsp; &nbsp;Now I want to share what I’ve learned with you. Feel free to ask me questions by following the contact us page below.“We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.” Terms and ConditionsPrivacy Policy

When you park your car near a fire hydrant, it’s important to remember two things: first, always obey the posted restrictions; and second, never place your car directly in front of or next to the hydrant. Every city has laws regulating how far away you can park from a fire hydrant. The laws vary from one city/state to the next, but they usually fall within a small range. How many feet do you have to park away from a fire hydrant?In most cities, you need to park at least 15 feet away from a fire hydrant, unless otherwise indicated by signage. It’s easy to visualize the distance since the...

How Close Can You Park To A Fire Hydrant? - The Hiking Authority

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