• In the state of Virginia, there are many different parking regulations administered at county and municipal levels of government. Some parking rules, however, are written into state statutes and apply throughout the state. These include rules governing vehicle parking for people with disabilities, regulations concerning parking in commuter parking lots and rules regarding certain locations where parking is not permitted.
  
  

Places Where Parking Is Not Permitted

• You are not allowed to park on the highway in front of a driveway. This applies to any driveway entrance, including the driveways of private residences and driveways leading onto public property, such as parks and municipal properties. Parking in front of a fire station entrance is not allowed, according to Virginia Statute 46.2-1239, and you cannot park within 15 feet of any fire hydrant. The entrances to buildings where rescue equipment is stored must be kept clear, and you cannot park in front of the entrance to an ambulance station. Where highways intersect each other, you must not park within 20 feet of the intersection if the intersection is marked by curb lines, or within 15 feet of the intersection if there are no curb lines.
  
  

Commuter Parking Lots

• The Virginia Department of Transportation owns and operates various parking lots allowing commuters to drive to places on public transport routes and park their vehicles while making use of public transport to complete their journeys. Parking lots have signs, notices and pavement markings indicating how and where vehicles should park, and it is an offense for drivers to park in a way that disregards the parking lot instructions, such as parking a vehicle so that it occupies two parking bays. Virginia Statute 46.2-1219.2 states that there is a presumption that the registered owner, renter or lessee of the vehicle at the time that the offense occurred, is the person who committed the offense. A defendant can testify under oath, in court, and state that he or she was not the operator of the vehicle at the time of the offense, and therefore not responsible for the violation of the parking rules. A certified police report, which demonstrates that the vehicle had been reported stolen at the time of the offense, is also a valid defense.
  
  

Parking Spaces For Persons With Disabilities

• Certain parking spaces are reserved for persons with disabilities. Only vehicles with disabled-parking license plates, or those displaying removable windshield cards issued by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles to disabled drivers, may legally park in reserved parking spaces. Virginia Statute 46.2-1242 further states that even if a vehicle does have a removable windshield card, or disabled-parking license plates, it may not park in reserved parking spaces if it is being operated by a person without a disability, unless that person is carrying a person with a disability as a passenger in the vehicle. Any person caught parking in a reserved parking space, without authority to do so, may face a fine ranging from $100 to $500.