A MOTORCYCLIST says a motorist scratched his bike at Mount Coot-Tha before abusing riders even though they were parked legally and the motorist parked illegally.

Adam Killbey said he and his daughter noticed a scratch on one of their bikes after a female motorist parked illegally between two legally parked motorcycles.

“It was a case of her saying we were taking up too much room and I was trying to tell her that we can’t park except for one bike per parking spot,” he said.

“We could’ve had four bikes in one spot because we all knew each other, but you can’t do that. It’s illegal.”

Mr Killbey said when they returned to their bikes, they noticed a new scratch on his bike, but the female motorist denied being responsible for it.

“She basically said we were taking up too much room, I’m allowed to do this,” he said of the way she parked.

“I’ve never had anyone park between bikes like that before. It shocked us all.”

media_camera Motorcyclist Adam Killbey and his daughter Kayla were abused by a motorist for parking lawfully in a parking bay at the Botanic Gardens. Picture: John Gass

Mr Killbey said it wasn’t the first time parking in a single parking space had raised the ire of motorists.

“Have I been abused? Yes. Have I had people try and push my bike over? Yes. I’ve been spat at, I’ve had things thrown at me — all simply because one bike, one spot.”

He said he’d also received a parking fine in the past after another bike parked in the spot he’d taken first.

“When I complained about it, they said I had to prove I was the first one. How do I prove that?” he said.

Mr Killbey said motorists need to be aware of the law, that motorcyclists were acting legally by taking up a single spot.

“It’s illegal (not to) and we get fined for doing it any other way,” he said.

“I think it’s a silly law personally. If we all know each other, we can get six bikes in one spot. And if we don’t, we can get three. I personally think they need to change the laws because it’s detrimental to the bike riders and the car drivers.”

Mr Killbey said other motorists were also angry at motorcyclists in his group on the day of the incident, where nine spaces were taken up by bikes.

“That’s ludicrous because you could’ve had seven more parking spots because we all knew each other and we could’ve parked really close,” he said.

A Brisbane City Council spokesman said State Government road rules specify that a parking bay is for use by a single vehicle, regardless of whether that vehicle is a motorbike or a car.

“Parking of multiple motorcycles within the one metered parking bay is an offence under State Government road rules, with a possible fine of $91,” he said.

“There are close to 300 parking spaces available at the Botanic Gardens car park.”