Be Careful Where You Park: Stopping Over a Manhole Cover Is a Medium Violation, Leads to a Fine, and the Tow Truck Will Take Your Car Away

Written by Carla Teles

Published on 21/09/2025 at 20:01

Muitos ignoram, mas parar sobre bueiro é infração média. Entenda por que o CTB prevê multa de R$ 130,16, 4 pontos e até a remoção (guincho) do carro.

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Many Drivers Ignore, But Stopping on Manhole Covers Is a Medium Offense That Costs R$ 130.16 and Can End with the Car Towed.

The routine of searching for parking in large cities hides traps that can weigh on your wallet. One of them, often ignored, is parking over manhole covers (access pits). According to the Brazilian Traffic Code (CTB), this practice is classified as medium offense, resulting in penalties that go beyond a simple fine. The information, confirmed by portals such as CNN, highlights a common risk on public roads.

The driver caught in this situation not only receives 4 points on their driver’s license (CNH) and a fine of R$ 130.16, but is also subject to vehicle removal. The tow truck, in this case, adds extra towing and storage fees, turning a simple oversight into a considerable loss.

What Does the Traffic Code Say Exactly?

The prohibition is clearly described in Article 181 of the CTB, item VI. The text states that it is prohibited to park the vehicle “next to or over fire hydrants, water meters or manhole covers of underground galleries“, as long as they are properly identified. CNN reminds us that “manholes” is the technical term for the commonly called sewer covers.

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How Much Does This Medium Offense Cost in Practice?

The classification as a medium offense defines the base amount of the penalty. As stipulated by the CTB, the fine for this category is R$ 130.16. In addition to the immediate financial impact, the cited driver also receives 4 (four) points on their driver’s license (CNH), bringing them closer to the limit that could lead to suspension of their driving rights.

The biggest problem, however, is the administrative measure provided: vehicle removal. As highlighted by CNN, if the driver is not present to retrieve the car at the time of the infraction, the traffic agent will call for a tow truck. The driver will have to bear the towing fees and the storage charges for where the vehicle is taken, costs that often exceed, by far, the original fine amount.

Other Prohibited Stops That Also Result in Towing

Article 181 of the CTB is extensive and details various other irregular parking situations that many drivers are unaware of or neglect. For example, stopping at intersections and less than five meters from crossways is also a medium offense, with the same fine of R$ 130.16 and vehicle removal. Parking against the flow of traffic, although it does not foresee towing, also falls under the same category of infraction and fine.

The situation worsens in high-risk locations or where traffic flow is severely obstructed. Parking on overpasses, bridges, and tunnels is considered a serious offense, with a fine of R$ 195.23, 5 points on the driver’s license (CNH), and vehicle removal. Another common serious offense, which also leads to towing, is parking more than one meter away from the curb, dangerously obstructing the circulation of other vehicles.

It is clear that the cost of what seems to be an innocuous spot over a manhole is not worth the risk. The combination of fine, points on the license, and especially the possibility of having the car towed, turns oversight into a severe inconvenience. The legislation aims to ensure quick access to essential services, and knowledge of the CTB is the best tool for drivers to avoid losses.

The enforcement of this type of infraction seems to be stricter. Have you ever been fined for stopping over a manhole or in another similar situation under Article 181? Do you think the towing penalty is fair for this type of stop? We want to know your real experience: leave your opinion in the comments.

Be Careful Where You Park: Stopping Over a Manhole Cover Is a Medium Violation, Leads to a Fine, and the Tow Truck Will Take Your Car Away

Many Drivers Ignore, But Stopping on Manhole Covers Is a Medium Offense That Costs R$ 130.16 and Can End with the Car Towed.

What Does the Traffic Code Say Exactly?

How Much Does This Medium Offense Cost in Practice?

Other Prohibited Stops That Also Result in Towing

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Be Careful Where You Park: Stopping Over a Manhole Cover Is a Medium Violation, Leads to a Fine, and the Tow Truck Will Take Your Car Away

Many Drivers Ignore, But Stopping on Manhole Covers Is a Medium Offense That Costs R$ 130.16 and Can End with the Car Towed.

What Does the Traffic Code Say Exactly?

How Much Does This Medium Offense Cost in Practice?

Other Prohibited Stops That Also Result in Towing

The Soviet Union spent 22 years drilling into the Earth’s crust and reached a depth of 12,262 meters — they found water where it was thought impossible, hydrogen bubbling from the rock, granite that is 2.7 billion years old, and temperatures of 180 degrees that melted the drill bits.

Egypt wants to draw 10 million cubic meters of water from the Nile per day into the desert, irrigate a new agricultural frontier, and build a city where there is currently only sand.

BRICS is preparing a payment system inspired by the Brazilian PIX that will allow direct transactions between countries using national digital currencies without relying on the dollar or Western banks as intermediaries.

Ethiopia has banned gasoline and diesel cars, placed over a hundred silent electric buses on the streets of Addis Ababa, and now aims for half a million electric vehicles by 2030, all powered by Africa’s largest dam and a courage that few countries have shown.

A view from space, an image made by NASA shows the impressive Richat Structure, a geological formation located in the Sahara Desert, also known as the “Eye of the Sahara.”

A brand that has been manufacturing motorcycles since 1901 launches its first electric model, and the price shocked the world: $3,000, weighing only 124 kg and accelerating from 0 to 60 km/h in 3.7 seconds…

Giant turbines on the seabed of Scotland have been generating clean energy for nearly a decade without interruption, and now the big promise is that tidal power could solve the biggest problem of solar and wind energy: the unpredictability that no one has been able to overcome until today.

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