Blue zone parking, a resident permit and a delivery deadline
You drive a delivery van in an Austrian city and need to unload boxes at a shop. The kerb has a blue zone marking and a sign showing a parking disc requirement with a maximum stay of 90 minutes, Monday to Friday from 08:00 to 18:00. It is 16:45 on a Thursday. A resident permit sign is mounted below, showing that holders of the permit are exempt from the disc requirement. You do not hold the permit. The shop entrance is 30 metres away, and there is a loading bay 60 metres further on, marked with a loading symbol and a time restriction of 07:00 to 17:00. Your van is 2.1 metres high and the loading bay has a height bar of 2.0 metres.
1. Can you park in the blue zone with a disc, and how long may you stay?
Read the worked answer
Yes, you may park in the blue zone if you display a parking disc set to your arrival time, because you are not a permit holder and therefore do not benefit from the exemption. The maximum stay is 90 minutes, Monday to Friday 08:00 to 18:00. You arrive at 16:45, so 90 minutes would run to 18:15, but the restriction ends at 18:00. In practice the disc still governs your stay during the restricted period; you must not exceed the 90-minute maximum, and you should set the disc honestly to 16:45. Do not assume the approaching 18:00 end lets you overstay the disc time - the disc rule applies while the zone is in force. If your unloading takes longer than the permitted stay, you must move the van, and you cannot simply reset the disc to a later time to extend your stay, which would defeat the purpose of the zone.
2. The loading bay is closer to the shop's rear entrance. Should you use it instead, and what decides the answer?
Read the worked answer
Two things decide it. First, the loading bay's time restriction runs 07:00 to 17:00, and it is 16:45, so you are inside the permitted window - but only for 15 minutes, after which the bay is no longer available for loading. Second, the height bar is 2.0 metres and your van is 2.1 metres, so you cannot enter the bay at all without striking the bar. The height restriction is decisive: you must not attempt to enter. Therefore the blue zone with a correctly set disc is your lawful option, provided you can unload within the permitted stay. If the unloading needs longer, you should plan a second trip or use the blue zone only for the time allowed, moving the van afterwards rather than blocking the loading bay or overstaying the disc.