fight a parking ticket

[nn2000]

I stopped my car shortly in a commerical loading zone. I left soon enough before the Berkeley Parking Enforcement stuff in the golf cart behind my car could walk out to leave the parking ticket on my windshield. However I still received the ticket in the mail. Any chance to win the ticket fighting?

 

[KLin]

Are you going to lie and say you didn't park in a commercial loading zone as your defense?

 

[nn2000]

Originally posted by: KLin
Are you going to lie and say you didn't park in a commercial loading zone as your defense?

FYI, such defendant statement loses the ticket fighting for sure.

 

[KLin]

Originally posted by: nn2000

Originally posted by: KLin
Are you going to lie and say you didn't park in a commercial loading zone as your defense?

FYI, such defendant statement loses the ticket fighting for sure.

I agree. I don't see how you could win. You got caught, but they couldn't leave the ticket physically on your car. So they looked up your home address from your license plate and mailed the ticket.

Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.

 

[shortylickens]

I got nailed once. I put in plenty of money. Ran around downtown. Knew I was running short on time, so I went back with more pocket change.
Ticket was already on the window. Looked at my watch and realized I was only one minute late. In order for there to be a ticket on the windshield and the meter maid to be nowhere in sight, she would have had to been standing there with the ticket already written up, WATCHING THE METER, and then signed it and slapped it on the second it expired. Either that or the timers on those meters are not very accurate and I actually got hit several minutes earlier.
Actually, I wouldnt be suprised if that were the case. I'm sure it generates all kinds of extra income for the city.

I didnt fight it. The 60 dollars enraged me no end, but I knew I couldnt win in court unless I brought a bull-shit lawyer, and those cost money.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: shortylickens
I got nailed once. I put in plenty of money. Ran around downtown. Knew I was running short on time, so I went back with more pocket change.
Ticket was already on the window. Looked at my watch and realized I was only one minute late. In order for there to be a ticket on the windshield and the meter maid to be nowhere in sight, she would have had to been standing there with the ticket already written up, WATCHING THE METER, and then signed it and slapped it on the second it expired. Either that or the timers on those meters are not very accurate and I actually got hit several minutes earlier.
Actually, I wouldnt be suprised if that were the case. I'm sure it generates all kinds of extra income for the city.

I didnt fight it. The 60 dollars enraged me no end, but I knew I couldnt win in court unless I brought a bull-shit lawyer, and those cost money.

If the meter may be off, then drop a couple of coins in and time it. Photo timed evidence should allow you to fight it.

 

[AstroManLuca]

One time I put in two quarters. Meter ate one. Ran to the closest bank to get more change, ran back to my car, time had just barely expired. Tried to fight it. Kept getting sent in circles by people until I paid it.

At least it was only $30.

 

[Sea Moose]

when i was in high school, my dad parked his truck on the side of the road, across from the school. Some parking nazi ninja popped out from behind a tree and fined him. My old man is a veteran and can be quite scary at times, and scared the life out of the parking nazi ninja. We found out that the school engaged this guy to book parents that parked in an illegal zone further down the street.

So my old man parked in the head masters spot to pick me up from school from then on.

Head master too much of a pussy to approach my old man about it.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

pay for your mistake

 

[Safeway]

Same thing happened with my parking meter. I put in the max time limit and set my phone alarm to ding 5 minutes early so I could feed the meter.

I get outside 2 minutes early, and the meter still has two minutes, but I have a parking ticket. WHAT THE FUCK. There was no way that I could prove that I had two minutes left. Some piece of shit meter maid fucktard assumed that I wouldn't return in time, and wrote a ticket. Now tell me how THAT can be legal. I paid the $15 ticket.

 

[Aharami]

Originally posted by: Sea Moose
when i was in high school, my dad parked his truck on the side of the road, across from the school. Some parking nazi ninja popped out from behind a tree and fined him. My old man is a veteran and can be quite scary at times, and scared the life out of the parking nazi ninja. We found out that the school engaged this guy to book parents that parked in an illegal zone further down the street.

So my old man parked in the head masters spot to pick me up from school from then on.

Head master too much of a pussy to approach my old man about it.

:thumbsup:

 

[effowe]

Originally posted by: Safeway
Same thing happened with my parking meter. I put in the max time limit and set my phone alarm to ding 5 minutes early so I could feed the meter.

I get outside 2 minutes early, and the meter still has two minutes, but I have a parking ticket. WHAT THE FUCK. There was no way that I could prove that I had two minutes left. Some piece of shit meter maid fucktard assumed that I wouldn't return in time, and wrote a ticket. Now tell me how THAT can be legal. I paid the $15 ticket.

Well in this case, I would've immediately grabbed the ticket, and took a picture of it next to the meter with time still on it. You may not have had a camera phone or something on you at the time, but that could've been good evidence. Whenever I pull up to a meter that's out of order I will take a picture of the meter, with the error code visible (takes a few times because it's usually blinking.) I do this just in case I get a ticket, I can have some evidence that shows I didn't deserve it.

 

[dainthomas]

I used to drive my GF's car to school, which was registered to her dad who lived in Reno (because the bank wouldn't put it in her name even though she made the payments). Anyway I never bothered buying a parking pass so I had probably dozens of tickets littering the back seat. I'm sure they sent him bills all the time, and I'm sure he never paid them a cent since he never paid his child support either.

Also just last week I got out of a $400 photo-radar ticket here in Beaverton because the cop had the wrong wording on the warning sign ahead of the van. I can thank the guy who talked to the judge before me for that one, as soon as I heard the judge dismiss his case I knew I was golden.

 

[comphollic]

Originally posted by: shortylickens
I got nailed once. I put in plenty of money. Ran around downtown. Knew I was running short on time, so I went back with more pocket change.
Ticket was already on the window. Looked at my watch and realized I was only one minute late. In order for there to be a ticket on the windshield and the meter maid to be nowhere in sight, she would have had to been standing there with the ticket already written up, WATCHING THE METER, and then signed it and slapped it on the second it expired. Either that or the timers on those meters are not very accurate and I actually got hit several minutes earlier.
Actually, I wouldnt be suprised if that were the case. I'm sure it generates all kinds of extra income for the city.

I didnt fight it. The 60 dollars enraged me no end, but I knew I couldnt win in court unless I brought a bull-shit lawyer, and those cost money.

:shocked: ... $60 ticket for that?? Damn, and I thought $25 that we get here was a lot.

 

[TallBill]

I got a $75 ticket for my tire being on the curb when I parked. I didn't get the notice in time and it went up to $125. If I fought it and lost it went up to $250.

 

[jamesbond007]

Originally posted by: AstroManLuca
One time I put in two quarters. Meter ate one. Ran to the closest bank to get more change, ran back to my car, time had just barely expired. Tried to fight it. Kept getting sent in circles by people until I paid it.

At least it was only $30.

No way would I settle for that crap. That meter would have ended up through a metermaid's chest, pinning them to the ground.

 

[Safeway]

Someone that uses parking meters regularly should time it. Put in a dime, immediately start a stopwatch. See what happens.

 

[comphollic]

i wish the meters here would accept other coins besides quarters ... i have a ton of change in my car, but not enough quarters..

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: jamesbond007

Originally posted by: AstroManLuca
One time I put in two quarters. Meter ate one. Ran to the closest bank to get more change, ran back to my car, time had just barely expired. Tried to fight it. Kept getting sent in circles by people until I paid it.

At least it was only $30.

No way would I settle for that crap. That meter would have ended up through a metermaid's chest, pinning them to the ground.

No it wouldn't have.

 

[MrDudeMan]

Originally posted by: Safeway
Someone that uses parking meters regularly should time it. Put in a dime, immediately start a stopwatch. See what happens.

Unless the people making the meters screwed up REALLY, REALLY badly, you won't notice the time difference or it won't be enough to help you at all.

Most quartz oscillators are accurate within +/- 30ppm (usually better, but this is the upper limit of normal operation), which is roughly 2.59 seconds per day or 0.027 seconds per fifteen minute interval of variation.

Even if it was horribly designed and operated within +/-200ppm (absolutely horrible), that's still only +/- 17.28 seconds per day, or +/- 0.18 seconds per fifteen minute interval.

Edit: Actually, even if they were using a badly designed RC oscillator instead of a quartz crystal, they could still be getting +/- 1000ppm, which would still provide a reasonable timing device for this system. That's +/- 86.4 seconds per day or +/- 0.9 seconds per fifteen minute interval.

 

[shortylickens]

Originally posted by: comphollic

Originally posted by: shortylickens
I got nailed once. I put in plenty of money. Ran around downtown. Knew I was running short on time, so I went back with more pocket change.
Ticket was already on the window. Looked at my watch and realized I was only one minute late. In order for there to be a ticket on the windshield and the meter maid to be nowhere in sight, she would have had to been standing there with the ticket already written up, WATCHING THE METER, and then signed it and slapped it on the second it expired. Either that or the timers on those meters are not very accurate and I actually got hit several minutes earlier.
Actually, I wouldnt be suprised if that were the case. I'm sure it generates all kinds of extra income for the city.

I didnt fight it. The 60 dollars enraged me no end, but I knew I couldnt win in court unless I brought a bull-shit lawyer, and those cost money.

:shocked: ... $60 ticket for that?? Damn, and I thought $25 that we get here was a lot.

Oregon has no sales tax. They live off their traffic tickets.

Ask dainthomas. Assuming he's talking about the Beaverton in OR, he knows exactly what I'm saying.