Parking
After almost 3 years of living in Stavanger, I got my first parking ticket! It was for parking my car less than 5 metres away from an intersection. It wasn’t even a busy intersection, it was one between a minor road and a small parking lot. And the car was not in anyone’s way. Coming from a land of multi-storey parking lots, I figured I’d better check out the parking rules here. And share them with you!
First things first, traffic rules from Stavanger Parkering:
1. It is prohibited to stop
a) On bends where visibility is inadequate, in tunnels, at the crest of a hill, or at any other place where visibility is reduced.
b) in intersections or less than 5 meters from an intersection. This distance is to be measured from the point at which the edge of the pavement, the edge marking or the edge of the road begins to curve.
c) partly or wholly in pedestrian lanes on pavements, footpaths, bicycle paths or bicycle lanes.
d) on pedestrian or cycle crossings or less than 5 meters in front of such areas.
e) on motorways or on acceleration or deacceleration lanes to or from motorways.
f) less than 5 meters from a level railway crossing.
g) in bus, tram and taxi lanes, except for buses or trams at stops.
h) at the widening of a road for bus, taxi or tram stop, or at a distance of less than 20 meters from a sign indicating such a stop. Exceptions are stops to pick up or discharge passengers, when this does not inconvenience buses, taxis or trams.
2. It is prohibited to park
a) in front of vehicle entrances or exits.
b)at passing points, on any part of a road where the carriageway is widened.
c) on pedestrian streets.
d) in pedestrian precincts other than in specially marked places.
3. Parking in the carriageway is prohibited on priority roads with a speed limit greater than 50 kph
Each individual must pay attention to public traffic signposts, signals and markings and must comply with the restrictions indicated on these.
You’ll get a 300NOK traffic ticket for:
a)Not paying for parking.
b)Not paying sufficiently for parking.
c) A parking ticket which cannot be easily seen. (think of icy and foggy windshields – what do we do then?)
d) Parking for more than the allotted time. (for e.g. parking for 3 hours in a parking lot where the sign states you can only park for 1)
d) Wrong date and time on the parking ticket.
e) Unverifiable parking ticket.
f)) Not having the correct zone parking permit when you park in a zone.
You’ll get a 500NOK ticket for:
a) Parking where the sign states that stopping is not allowed.
b) Stopping/parking on bends where visibility is inadequate, in tunnels, at the crest of a hill, or at any other place where visibility is reduced.
c) Stopping/parking in intersections or less than 5 meters from an intersection. This distance is to be measured from the point at which the edge of the pavement, the edge marking or the edge of the road begins to curve.
d) Stopping/parking partly or wholly in pedestrian lanes on pavements, footpaths, bicycle paths or bicycle lanes.
e) Stopping/parking on pedestrian or cycle crossings or less than 5 meters in front of such areas.
f)Parking where the sign states that parking is not allowed.
g) Stopping/parking on motorways or on acceleration or deacceleration lanes to or from motorways.
h) Stopping/parking less than 5 meters from a level railway crossing.
i) Stopping/parking in bus, tram and taxi lanes, except for buses or trams at stops.
j) Stopping/parking at the widening of a road for bus, taxi or tram stop, or at a distance of less than 20 meters from a sign indicating such a stop. Exceptions are stops to pick up or discharge passengers, when this does not inconvenience buses, taxis or trams.
k) Parking in front of vehicle entrances or exits.
l) Parking without a zone ticket in a parking zone.
m) Parking at passing points, on any part of a road where the carriageway is widened.
n) Parking on pedestrian streets.
o) Parking in pedestrian precincts other than in specially marked places.
p) Parking on priority roads with a speed limit greater than 50 kph.
q) Parking in a lot which is not for your type of vehicle (there are lots specially for electric cars, be sure not to park in them!).
r) Parking with a non-clearly visible/invalid/unverifiable parking permit.
s) Parking in a designated handicapped lot without a permit.
Of course, if you are unhappy with the parking ticket and you have a valid reason to challenge it, you have between 14 days to 3 weeks from the day you received the ticket to send in a written 
complaint to argue your case. The information can be found on the parking ticket you received.
Please note that the parking ticket fines I mentioned above are for Stavanger Parkering. Apparently the private parking companies charge way more.
Speeding
Speeding fines are extremely steep here in Norway, do not even risk it!
On roads with a speed limit of 60 km/h or lower:
* up to 5 km/h over the limit: 600NOK
* up to 10 km/h over the limit: 1600NOK
* up to 15 km/h over the limit: 2900NOK
* up to 20 km/h over the limit: 4200NOK
* up to 25 km/h over the limit: 6500NOK
On roads with a speed limit of 70 km/h or higher:
* up to 5 km/h over the limit: 600NOK
* up to 10 km/h over the limit: 1600NOK
* up to 15 km/h over the limit: 2600NOK
* up to 20 km/h over the limit: 3600NOK
* up to 25 km/h over the limit: 4900NOK
* up to 30 km/h over the limit: 6500NOK
* up to 35 km/h over the limit: 7800NOK
Other fines
If you drive on the bus/taxi lane, in the wrong direction on a one-way street or on a pedestrian street, it costs 4200 NOK.
If you have an extra passenger (above your car’s passenger capacity), drive without headlights on, the fine will set you back by 2000NOK.
It will cost you 1300NOK if you get caught talking on your mobile, 500NOK for driving without your driver’s license or vehicle registration card (vognkort) and 750NOK for driving without a seatbelt.
Good luck and hope this article will help you to avoid traffic fines!
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About Cynthia Myrnes
Cynthia is a Singaporean who has been living in Stavanger since Feb 2008 with her Norwegian husband. She works as a physiotherapist here and also owns her own petsitting service, Stavanger Petsitter, for the residents of Stavanger. In addition, she manages the Stavanger International Moms group. She loves hanging out with friends, spending time with animals, travelling and watersports such as scuba diving and wake boarding. Most of all, she is enjoying the experience of being a first time mom!
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1 comment
Lani Cantor
Dec 7, 2010
Good to know Cynthia! Thanks for this article. Parking can be confusing here.
FYI to the ladies out there, did you know some parking garages have “women only” (kvinne) parking spots near the handicap spots? There are for women driving alone at night so you don’t have to walk around the garage alone in the dark.