17 April 2013 Last updated at 11:10

7 questions on double yellow lines

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Double yellow lines have been painted along an alleyway too narrow for a car to drive down. Test your knowledge of the infamous parking restrictions.

1.) Multiple Choice Question

Double yellow lines were introduced by Transport Minister Ernest Marples in 1960. What else did he bequeath to drivers?

1. Traffic wardens
   
2. Seat belts
   
3. Parking meters
   
4. All of the above
   

2.) Multiple Choice Question

Road markings range from single yellow lines to double red lines. So what do double yellow lines actually mean?

1. No stopping at any time
   
2. No loading at any time
   
3. No waiting at times shown
   
4. No waiting at any time
   

3.) Multiple Choice Question

The UK is not the only country to use double yellow lines. But which of the following prefers a broken yellow line to indicate no stopping?

1. New Zealand
   
2. Singapore
   
3. United States
   
4. India
   

4.) Multiple Choice Question

Double yellow lines 33cm (13in) long on a Cambridge street are the shortest in the UK. How did the council explain them?

1. They mark out disabled parking bays
   
2. It was a joke by residents
   
3. They stop motorbikes squeezing between cars
   

5.) Multiple Choice Question

A keen-eyed pensioner took on traffic wardens who did which of the following to issue fines?

1. Cleared snow to make hidden lines visible again
   
2. Painted lines around a car
   
3. Painted lines under a car
   

6.) Missing Word Question

Squashed * painted with double yellow lines

1. seal pup
   
2. shark
   
3. hedgehog
   

7.) Multiple Choice Question

Double yellow lines were extended from the roadside, to form a flower on the side of a London house. Why?

1. The council wanted to cheer up fined motorists
   
2. The artist Banksy was behind the image
   
3. Protesters wanted to make the lines invalid
   

Answers

1. It was all of the above. Ernest Marples backed all of the above as a member of the Conservative government, between 1959 and 1964.
2. It's no waiting at any time.
3. It's New Zealand. Like the UK, Singapore uses double yellow lines to indicate no parking. In the US and India they appear in the centre of the road when no passing is allowed.
4. They mark out disabled parking bays and prevent other drivers from encroaching on them.
5. It's cleared snow to make hidden lines visible again. Anthony Wilkinson of Nottingham filmed the wardens as they dished out the tickets.
6. It was a squashed hedgehog. The painted animal was found in Hartlepool. A seal pup was found alive and well on lines in Devon and a dead shark next to some in Aberystwyth.
7. Banksy was behind the image, which was painted on the side of a building in Tower Hamlets in 2007.

Your Score

0 - 3 : Towed away

4 - 6 : Clamped

7 - 7 : Parking permit

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