These are real emails from real readers.
I was inside a Cafe in [city] and I had put in 1/2 on the meter that was parked right out front. The cafe I was at has full windows so I could clearly see the meter and my car from where I was sitting. As time rolled by my meter ran out so I went to ask the waitress for some change. She changed out my dollar and I went outside to pay just as the parking enforcement officer rolled up. He got out of his vehicle and I hustled and got the quarter into my meter. I thought I was good. He then proceeded to start typing something and I said I just paid the meter. He then said to me “okay, well I’m giving you a ticket anyways, I already started typing your license.” He then proceeded to finish whatever he was typing, put the ticket on my windshield and drove off without another word. My question is: Can I contest this ticket and win? I have witnesses inside the Cafe that said it may be worth fighting.
You were watching your parking meter, and you let it expire. That’s a pretty silly mistake, don’t you think? Most jurisdictions have very, very simple parking meter statutes that say something along the lines of, “It shall be unlawful for any person to park a vehicle in any parking meter space without immediately making a lawful payment at an applicable parking meter.” Your vehicle was parked at an expired meter; although it may have been for a brief period of time, that does not excuse the violation. You only get leniency for those few moments between initially parking your vehicle at an expired meter, and then getting out of your vehicle to put change into the meter. Next.
I got a parking ticket for street cleaning. I admit that I shouldn’t have been parked there (unintentional mistake). My question: the officer wrote down my correct license plate #, but he/she wrote the wrong STATE and MONTH of my license plate (wrote [state 1] instead of [state 2]). Ticket issued in [state 2]. They also left the YEAR blank, and wrote “Can not read” for the VIN. Am I off the hook?
The registration month/year and the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) are usually not required to be accurate for a parking ticket to be upheld. Fortunately for you, however, the license plate state usually IS required to be accurate. Since the officer incorrectly recorded your license plate’s state, this is probably grounds for a dismissal by itself. If you contest this ticket, be sure to bring/send in copies of your [state 2] registration records, as well as photographs of the correct license plate on the ticketed vehicle. Good luck.
That’s all for now. Feel free to comment.
March 23, 2010 at 12:28 pm
The inequity – admitted cleaning day violater gets off the hook on a technicality, girl diligently monitoring her meter gets the shaft.
March 23, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Henchman,
It is odd that you assume gender where I have not mentioned it.
April 5, 2010 at 8:52 am
Isn’t it a violation to sit and plug a meter anyway? I’ve never received a ticket, but always heard (in my fair city) that it is illegal to have a car parked at a meter longer than the stated time. For example, I park my car at an hour meter, pay for the hour and have lunch for 45 minutes, then run back to my car and buy 45 more minutes of time, then go shopping for another half hour, wouldn’t I be in violation despite the fact the meter never ran out. It seems a petty reason for a ticket and I very well may be wrong, but I’ve always wondered if that’s true.
April 5, 2010 at 9:10 am
Tronner,
It actually depends on the jurisdiction. In my jurisdiction, for example, one can continue feeding the meters legally unless there is signage posted to indicate a time limit on parking. For instance, if you are parked at a meter that accepts payment for up to two hours, you can feed the meter every two hours unless there is also a sign on that block that says it is also a two-hour parking zone.