Home Crime and SafetySouth Carolina Parking Laws (referenced)
South Carolina Parking Laws (referenced)

South Carolina Parking Laws (referenced)

The following is taken from https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t56c005.php

This page is a reference only. Please verify the information officially before taking action based upon what you read here.

SECTION 56-5-2510. Stopping, standing, or parking outside of business or residential district.

(A) No person shall stop, park, or leave standing a vehicle, whether attended or unattended, upon the roadway outside a business or residential district when it is practicable to stop, park, or leave the vehicle off the roadway. An unobstructed width of the highway opposite a standing vehicle must be left for the free passage of other vehicles and a clear view of the stopped vehicle must be available from a distance of two hundred feet in each direction upon the highway.

(B) This section and Sections 56-5-2530 and 56-5-2560 do not apply to the driver of a vehicle which is disabled making it impossible to avoid stopping and temporarily leaving the vehicle in the roadway.

(C) Notwithstanding another provision of law, a vehicle used solely for the purpose of collecting municipal solid waste as defined in Section 44-96-40(46) or recovered materials as defined in Section 44-96-40(34) may stop or stand on the road, street, or highway for the purpose of collecting solid waste or recovered materials. The vehicle shall maintain flashing hazard lights when engaged in stopping or standing to collect solid waste or recovered materials.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 46-481; 1952 Code Section 46-481; 1949 (46) 466; 1979 Act No. 105 Section 1; 1996 Act No. 298, Section 1.

SECTION 56-5-2520. Officers authorized to remove vehicles.

(a) Whenever any police officer finds a vehicle in violation of any of the provisions of Section 56-5-2510 he may move the vehicle or require the driver or other person in charge of the vehicle to move it to a position off the roadway.

(b) Any police officer may remove or cause to be removed to a place of safety any unattended vehicle illegally left standing upon any highway, bridge, causeway or in any tunnel in such position or under such circumstances as to obstruct the normal movement of traffic.

(c) Any police officer may remove or cause to be removed to the nearest garage or other place of safety any vehicle found upon a highway when:

(1) A report has been made that the vehicle has been stolen or taken without the consent of its owner.

(2) The person in charge of the vehicle is unable to provide for its custody or removal.

(3) The person driving or in control of the vehicle is arrested for an alleged offense for which the officer is required by law to take such person before a magistrate or other judicial official without unnecessary delay.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 46-482; 1952 Code Section 46-482; 1949 (46) 466; 1979 Act No. 105 Section 2.

SECTION 56-5-2525. Notice to authorities of towing and storing of motor vehicle without person’s knowledge; exceptions; return of vehicle.

(A) For purposes of this section, ” vehicle” means a motor vehicle, trailer, mobile home, watercraft, or any other item that is subject to towing and storage, and applies to any vehicle in custody at the time of the enactment of this section. “Vehicle” includes:

(1) items that are towed and left in the possession of a towing, storage, garage, or repair facility;

(2) contents contained in the vehicle; and

(3) personal property affixed to the vehicle.

(B) A towing company which tows and stores a person’s vehicle without the person’s knowledge must immediately notify the police department of the municipality where the vehicle was parked, or the sheriff of the county, if the vehicle was parked outside the limits of a municipality, of the location from which the vehicle was towed, the name of the company which towed the vehicle and the place where the vehicle is stored.

(C) A towing company failing to give this notice within one hour of the time the vehicle was towed is not entitled to any compensation for the towing and storing operations. The provisions of this section must be posted in a conspicuous place in all public areas on the premises of the towing company. The law enforcement agency that receives this notice must draft a towing report and furnish the towing company with the report’s document number within a reasonable time. Notification to the law enforcement agency is not required when the towing is performed at the direction of a law enforcement officer.

(D) A towing company that tows away a person’s vehicle without his knowledge and stores it is not required to return the vehicle to the person after the company’s normal business hours.

HISTORY: 1981 Act No. 73, Section 1; 2004 Act No. 269, Section 2.

SECTION 56-5-2530. Stopping, standing, or parking prohibited in specified places; exceptions.

(A) Except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic, or in compliance with law or the directions of a police officer or official traffic-control device, no person shall:

(1) Stop, stand or park a vehicle:

(a) On the roadway side of any vehicle stopped or parked at the edge or curb of a street.

(b) On a sidewalk.

(c) Within an intersection.

(d) On a crosswalk.

(e) Between a safety zone and the adjacent curb or within thirty feet of points on the curb immediately opposite the ends of a safety zone, unless a different length is indicated by signs or markings.

(f) Alongside or opposite any street excavation or obstruction when stopping, standing or parking would obstruct traffic.

(g) Upon any bridge or other elevated structure upon a highway or within a highway tunnel.

(h) On any railroad tracks.

(i) On any controlled-access highway.

(j) In the area between roadways of a divided highway, including crossovers.

(k) At any place where official traffic-control devices prohibit stopping.

(2) Stand or park a vehicle, whether occupied or not, except momentarily to pick up or discharge passengers:

(a) In front of a public or private driveway.

(b) Within fifteen feet of a fire hydrant.

(c) Within twenty feet of a crosswalk at an intersection.

(d) Within thirty feet upon the approach to any flashing signal, stop sign, yield sign or traffic-control signal located at the side of a roadway.

(e) Within twenty feet of the driveway entrance to any fire station and on the side of a street opposite to any fire station within seventy-five feet of the entrance when properly signposted.

(f) At any place where official traffic-control devices prohibit standing.

(3) Park a vehicle, whether occupied or not, except temporarily for the purpose of and while actually engaged in loading or unloading property or passengers:

(a) Within fifty feet of the nearest rail of a railroad crossing.

(b) At any place where official traffic-control devices prohibit parking.

(B) No person shall move a vehicle not lawfully under his control into any such prohibited area or away from a curb such a distance as is unlawful.

(C) This section does not prohibit a federal postal service carrier from stopping, standing, or parking along a rural roadway for frequent short intervals during delivery of mail, parcels, or packages. As used in this section, “rural” means an area outside the incorporated areas of the county.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 46-483; 1952 Code Section 46-483; 1949 (46) 466; 1979 Act No. 105 Section 3; 1994 Act No. 511, Section 1.

SECTION 56-5-2540. Stopping, standing, or parking may be prohibited on state highways.

The Department of Transportation with respect to state highways may place signs prohibiting or restricting the stopping, standing or parking of vehicles on any highway where, in its judgment, such stopping, standing or parking is deemed by the Department of Transportation to be hazardous to those using the highway or where the stopping, standing or parking of vehicles would unduly interfere with the free movement of traffic thereon. Such signs shall be official signs and no person shall stop, stand or park any vehicle in violation of the restrictions stated on such signs.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 46-486; 1952 Code Section 46-486; 1949 (46) 466; 1993 Act No. 181, Section 1414.

SECTION 56-5-2550. Left curb and angle parking may be permitted.

The Department of Transportation with respect to state highways and local authorities with respect to highways under their jurisdiction may permit parking of vehicles with the left-hand wheels adjacent to and within eighteen inches of the left-hand curb on one-way roadways and may permit angle parking on any roadway of sufficient width to permit angle parking without interfering with the free movement of traffic. But local authorities shall not permit such left-hand parking on one-way roadways nor angle parking on state highways except upon written approval of the Department of Transportation.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 46-485; 1952 Code Section 46-485; 1949 (46) 466; 1993 Act No. 181, Section 1415.

SECTION 56-5-2560. Parking at right-hand curb not more than 18 inches from curb.

Except as otherwise provided in Sections 56-5-2540 and 56-5-2550, every vehicle stopped or parked upon a roadway where there are adjacent curbs shall be so stopped or parked with the right-hand wheels of such vehicle parallel to and within eighteen inches of the right-hand curb.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 46-484; 1952 Code Section 46-484; 1949 (46) 466.

SECTION 56-5-2570. Parking of unattended motor vehicle.

No person driving or in charge of a motor vehicle shall permit it to stand unattended without first stopping the engine, locking the ignition, removing the key and effectively setting the brake thereon and, when standing upon any grade, turning the front wheels to the curb or side of the highway.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 46-491; 1952 Code Section 46-491; 1949 (46) 466.

SECTION 56-5-2580. Certain jurors exempt from municipal parking meters and time regulations; exceptions.

Jurors subpoenaed and in attendance at federal court or subpoenaed and in attendance at circuit or county court in this State in a municipality which has parking meters or parking regulations from the standpoint of continuous time of parking are allowed to use parking spaces without depositing coins in the meters and are not subject to these parking regulations; however, if parking is provided otherwise for jurors, this exemption does not apply.

In order to avail himself of the privilege conferred by this section, the juror shall place in or about his vehicle, so that it can be easily seen and read, the subpoena requiring his attendance or some statement in writing signed by the officer issuing it, or some agent of his thereunto authorized, to the effect that the juror has been subpoenaed and is attendant upon such court.

The privilege granted shall be effective only during the particular week in which the court is being held, unless for some reason the attendance of the juror under special circumstances is continued into the succeeding week, and only during the days on which the court is in session and at which the attendance of the juror is required. In determining the duration of the privilege conferred by this section, a part of a day shall be construed as a whole day.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 46-487; 1956 (49) 1812; 1992 Act No. 341, Section 1.

SECTION 56-5-2585. Disabled veterans and Purple Heart recipients exempt from parking meter fees.

Disabled veterans and recipients of the Purple Heart are exempt from the payment of municipal parking meter fees when their vehicles bear a disabled veteran’s or Purple Heart license plate issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles.

HISTORY: 1976 Act No. 564; 1993 Act No. 181, Section 1416; 1996 Act No. 459, Section 184; 2000 Act No. 242, Section 1.

SECTION 56-5-2590. Unlawful for certain cities to place meters or time limit on streets abutting county property.

It shall be unlawful for any municipality of this State, having a population of between six thousand three hundred and fifty and six thousand eight hundred inhabitants according to the last official United States census, to require any person to pay a fee of any kind for parking an automobile or other vehicle on the abutting side of any street abutting and adjacent to property owned by the county in which such municipality is situate or located and used in connection with the county courthouse or county office building or on the abutting side of any street abutting or adjacent to any sidewalk which is adjacent to or abutting on such property owned by such county by the use of any device known as a parking meter or otherwise or to place a time limit on parking in such areas except such as may be authorized by the governing body of the county.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 46-488; 1955 (49) 598.

SECTION 56-5-2600. Parking violations; grace period.

A local governing authority that has issued a citation to a person who violates a provision that regulates the parking of vehicles shall allow the person thirty days to pay the original fine assessed before the local governing authority may increase the fine by any amount.

HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 283, Section 4, eff June 11, 2008.

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