A parking violation is the act of parking

Parking

Parking is the act of stopping a vehicle and leaving it unoccupied for more than a brief time. Parking on one or both sides of a road is commonly permitted, though often with restrictions...

 a motor vehicle in a restricted place or for parking in an unauthorized manner. It is against the law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

 virtually everywhere to park a vehicle in the middle of a highway

Highway

A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...

 or road

Road

A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...

; parking on one or both sides of a road, however, is commonly permitted. However, restrictions apply to such parking, and may result in an offense being committed. Such offenses are usually cited by a police officer or other government official in the form of a traffic ticket

Traffic ticket

A traffic ticket is a notice issued by a law enforcement official to a motorist or other road user, accusing violation of traffic laws. Traffic tickets generally come in two forms, citing a moving violation, such as exceeding the speed limit, or a non-moving violation, such as a parking violation,...

.
Parking violations include, but are not limited to:

• Parking in a prohibited space such as a bus stop
  Bus stop
  A bus stop is a designated place where buses stop for passengers to board or leave a bus. These are normally positioned on the highway and are distinct from off-highway facilities such as bus stations. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage...
  
   or in front of a fire hydrant
  Fire hydrant
  A fire hydrant , is an active fire protection measure, and a source of water provided in most urban, suburban and rural areas with municipal water service to enable firefighters to tap into the municipal water...
  
   or a driveway or a garage entrance.
• Parking on a sidewalk
  Sidewalk
  A sidewalk, or pavement, footpath, footway, and sometimes platform, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb...
  
   (unless specifically allowed by signs)
• Parking in or too close to or within a street crossing, railroad crossing or crosswalk.
• Double parking
  Double parking
  -Parking parallel to a car already parked at the curb:"Double parking" can refer to the usually illegal practice of parking a vehicle to the side of a row of vehicles that is already parked next to the curb...
  
  
• Parking at a parking meter
  Parking meter
  A parking meter is a device used to collect money in exchange for the right to park a vehicle in a particular place for a limited amount of time. Parking meters can be used by municipalities as a tool for enforcing their integrated on-street parking policy, usually related to their traffic and...
  
   without paying, or for longer than the paid time.
• Parking in a handicapped
  Disability
  A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
  
   zone without an appropriate permit.
• Many vehicle codes define it to be an infraction to park on the public byway without the vehicle being properly licensed and registered, with expired or missing license plates or license plate 'tabs', without proper safety vehicle inspection
  Vehicle inspection
  Vehicle inspection is a procedure mandated by national or subnational governments in many countries, in which a vehicle is inspected to ensure that it conforms to regulations governing safety, emissions, or both. Inspection can be required at various times, e.g., periodically or on transfer of...
  
   decal, etc.
• Parking without a zone permit in places where parking is severely impacted (such as a residential zone permit, issued to help preserve parking availability for those who live in the permit zone).
• Parking without special permit, where one is needed (like a parking for employees of a company)
• Parking with the parking permit or payment receipt not visible in the prescribed way, like upside down.
• Parking on certain streets in a snow emergency
  Snow emergency
  A Snow Emergency is the term used to indicate the active response plan when a snow storm severely impacts a city, county or town in the United States or Canada. Schools, universities, government offices, airports and public buildings may close during a Snow Emergency. The precise meaning of "snow...
  
   when streets need to be plowed of snow.
• Parking at curb locations designated (usually through signage and/or curb or pavement painting) for special purpose such as passenger zones (for loading and discharge), commercial vehicle zones (for freight or service trucks and vans), police or government vehicle zones, etc.
• Parking at locations during scheduled street sweeping.
• Parking at locations during posted construction or maintenance operations.
• Parking for longer than the maximum time, often that is 24 hours.
• Parking facing against the direction of traffic (considered confusing to moving drivers, especially at night)
• Parking outside marked squares, for example angle parking where only parallel parking
  Parallel parking
  thumb|250px|right|Parallel-parked cars in [[Washington, D.C.]]thumb|250px|right|A motorist gets assistance parallel-parkingParallel parking is a method of parking a vehicle in line with other parked cars. Cars parked in parallel are in one line, parallel to the curb, with the front bumper of each...
  
   is allowed.

In 1926 American merchants listed downtown traffic congestion as their most serious difficulty.