These are real emails from actual readers, along with my allegedly professional opinions. You can find previous mailbag entries here, here, and here.
My sister received an “Official Courtesy Notice Unpaid Parking Citation(s)” from [City 1] where we have never heard or been to and a good six to eight hours drive away. We orginially thought this notice is fake until a quick check on the web site found out there’re many small cities in [State] have actually using [website] to do city’s work. Anyway, what we don’t understand is how did she got a parking citation at [time] on [date]. She’s dumfounded because she hasn’t been to the [City 1] metropolitan area for the last seven or eight years and wasn’t anywere near [City 1] at the time of citation was made. Nor was the vehicle used or lend to by someone at the time. Obviously, she does not have the original parking ticket/citation and not knowing about the citation till this notice; nine months later. No, she have not moved since 1998 and live at the same address for the last eleven years. She’s going to appeal this unfounded citation against her.
How would you preside over this case? Will my sister be held liable even if she can prove she was working in [City 2] at the time of citation? Or will she needs additional evidence to prove otherwise?
IMHO, it’s either a genuine error by the city or this is a case a city that’s desperate to add extra revenues but this is just absolutely ridiculous. $45.00 is not a big amount but paying for something that she didn’t do is just unfair and wrong.
I have presided over this sort of case before, and I can assure you that there is no underlying scheme by the city to make extra revenue. There are generally two reasons for a mistake like this: either the traffic officer made a mistake in writing down the license plate he or she observed, or the vehicle that was ticketed possessed a phony license plate that is identical to your sister’s. Fortunately, this is a winnable case.
First, your sister should be able to prove that she was working in [City 2] at the time the ticket was issued. Official records from her employer should suffice. Second, you should use a printout from Google Maps or some similar mapping program to display just how far [City 1] is from [City 2]. Third, and this is very critical, ask for a copy of the ticket. On the ticket, the officer is required to write down the make of the vehicle, the vehicle type (passenger, pickup, van, etc.), and the registration month. There is a very good chance that all three of those fields will be different from your sister’s vehicle. But even on the chance that two of them are the same (for instance, there are a lot of Honda passenger cars out there), there is only a 1 in 12 chance that the two vehicles will have the same registration month. You must point out any discrepancies like this to the person presiding over your appeal.
If you can put those three points together when making your case, you can reasonably expect a refund. Good luck. Alright, let’s do another.
I live in [City] and we have 3-hr parking signs in [Area]. When I parked my car, I noticed the meter maid righting down my information on when I parked, etc. I went to an exhibit in the park and came back 15-minutes before expiration. I wanted to spend more time with my friend (just 30 minutes), so we decided to look for another parking spot, since my 3-hr space expired. I could not find any open spaces, so i returned to the original location. A space further back (2-3 cars back) from my original spot was open. I explained, “What should I do if there is no parking in [Area], except for my original location?”
The meter maid tickted me thinking I did not move my car after 3-hrs, but if she chalked my tires, she would have known I actually moved my car. I protested the ticket through Admin. Review. They responded saying that if I did not move my car 1-block away (after looking for another spot in [Area]), my car is deemed stationary. They suggested I park on a different block, if this ever happened to me again, so the meter maid won’t ticket me. Well, if I knew about this rule I would have not risked getting a ticket. Typically in [City], the meter maid chalk marks your tire to see if you moved your car.
My question is…should I request for an In-Person Administrative Hearing? In the past 10 years of driving, I have never read about this rule. So say I go shopping and I use a 1-hr meter. I return and notice an available “metered” parking spot 2 cars away. If I park there, the meter maid has a right to ticket me, because I didn’t park 1-block away from the original meter? (I’ve done this before and have never been ticketed.) It’s just irritating how there are codes they didn’t explain in driving school, but you receive a ticket for it. I’ve been taught about being fined for red, yellow and white zones, but never about this rule. Would it be worth seeing them in person and protesting, or should I just pay it and take it as a lesson for next time?
This was the ruling verbiage: Your vehilce ws cited for parking in excess of the posted time limit. The [City] Transportation Code 1002 (formerly TC 64) states “any vehicle moved a distance of not more than one block during the limited parking period shall be deemed to have remained stationary”. If you leave a restricted area and later return to it, you ar advised to park in a different block to avoid being citied for overtime parking.
If you request an administrative hearing, you’re going to lose, and here’s why. Section 1002 of the the [City] Transportation Code explicitly says that you have to move your vehicle at least one block away. This is not simply some policy the local department of transportation has cooked up; the law is literally on the books. Since driving is a privilege, and not a right, the burden is on you (the citizen) to learn and follow all traffic laws in any municipality where you will be driving. These laws are freely accessible on the internet, or in your local library. Ignorance is therefore no excuse.
What I’ve said above is exactly what the administrative hearing adjudicator would have told you. Chalk markings don’t seem to be required by the law, so the lack thereof won’t be a successful defense. Saying that you’ve done this before and haven’t been ticketed for it also won’t be successful, because inconsistent enforcement is not considered a valid defense either. Save yourself the time and trouble of a live hearing, and use this incident as a learning experience for next time.
