Parking Violation...help? :(

[weezergirl]

Hey guys,

This weekend I was moving out of my apartment and I rented a U-Haul. Anyways, right in front of our apartment complex is a handicapped spot. We decided to park there because: 1. I Live in Westwood, it's practically impossible to find a parking spot on the street 2. I didn't want to park too far from my complex because I had to carry a lot of heavy stuff like couches/beds/desks. So yes, I naturally parked there. It wasn't for too long...we were continually moving stuff in and out. If somebody needed the spot they could have easily asked us to move but of course that doesn't matter I guess.

Anyways, the ticket was for $330, issued by the wonderful city of Los Angeles. Well, I'm a college student and 330 bucks is a LOT of money I'm going to try and contest it because we were also only partially on the blue line and it was a biiig truck. I don't really know where else we could have parked it. Like are there really NO exceptions for moving trucks? Anyways, what do you guys think? Is it worth contesting? Are there any tricks I should know before doing this? Please help!!!

 

[d33pt]

that sucks.. you could plead with the judge or magistrate presiding over the case and hopefully they will have a heart.. next time instead of parking in handicap, just double park it somewhere or block a driveway or something.. that ticket is alot cheaper.. good luck.. remember that those damn pigs are out to make money, so don't give them the chance..

 

[diskop]

Ouch, yeah try and plead the "only partially on the handicap" spot. What you should have done is just double park it. I don't think they give it a second thought when a moving truck is double parked and unloading something.

 

[weezergirl]

Originally posted by: d33pt
that sucks.. you could plead with the judge or magistrate presiding over the case and hopefully they will have a heart.. next time instead of parking in handicap, just double park it somewhere or block a driveway or something.. that ticket is alot cheaper.. good luck.. remember that those damn pigs are out to make money, so don't give them the chance..

Thanks for the advice. yes i will definitely remember to park somewhere else illegal. i never knew it was so expensive to park on the blue! geez, hardly anyone ever uses that spot either. I wonder how much it is to park on RED?

guh, this ticket totally ruined my weekend.

 

[weezergirl]

Originally posted by: diskop
Ouch, yeah try and plead the "only partially on the handicap" spot. What you should have done is just double park it. I don't think they give it a second thought when a moving truck is double parked and unloading something.

argh ok. I wish they gave us "rules for moving trucks" when we rented it. Speaking of, since we rented the U-Haul, if we don't pay the ticket does U-haul check our records to find out who was renting the truck at that time and track us down? or what? cuz really, the truck was not ours hehe. I wonder how U-haul handles parking violations?

 

[Conflict]

For it to be a handicap spot, must have the blue lines, picture and a visible sign. Check for that

 

[ddwbi0]

You parked in a handicapped space and you are not handicapped.

 

[The Stigenator]

use the warning flashers next time..

that's what we did at my friends place.. parked and put the hazards on.

 

[weezergirl]

Originally posted by: Conflict
For it to be a handicap spot, must have the blue lines, picture and a visible sign. Check for that

hmm, I don't recall a sign. Does it have to have the sign? I'll have to go back and check.

 

[BigPotato]

sucks to be u.

i used to go to ucla, and i know how harsh the ticket people are there.

u parked in the blue, so u gotta pay the consequence. try and plead w/the judge and see what u can get. usually they are very strict on handicapped tickets tho.

 

[IcemanJer]

Originally posted by: weezergirl
Speaking of, since we rented the U-Haul, if we don't pay the ticket does U-haul check our records to find out who was renting the truck at that time and track us down? or what? cuz really, the truck was not ours hehe. I wonder how U-haul handles parking violations?

Yeah, sounds like a reasonable thing that U-Haul would do. Since you probably have to have a credit card to rent the truck, they'll probably just charge it to the credit card.

 

[Conflict]

Originally posted by: weezergirl

Originally posted by: Conflict
For it to be a handicap spot, must have the blue lines, picture and a visible sign. Check for that

hmm, I don't recall a sign. Does it have to have the sign? I'll have to go back and check.

I learned that in Drivers ed, that was almost 2yrs ago, but I remeber that, and it must have those three things or anyone can park there.

 

[MacBaine]

Originally posted by: Conflict

Originally posted by: weezergirl

Originally posted by: Conflict
For it to be a handicap spot, must have the blue lines, picture and a visible sign. Check for that

hmm, I don't recall a sign. Does it have to have the sign? I'll have to go back and check.

I learned that in Drivers ed, that was almost 2yrs ago, but I remeber that, and it must have those three things or anyone can park there.

Let me point out that the above is false, at least where I live (Illinois). All it has to have is a sign. It can be missing the picture on the ground, or blue lines, but all it has to have is a sign clearly marking the area. Don't try to fight your ticket using the defesen stated above, because the judge will ask if you knew it was a handicap spot, you'll say yes, and you'll lose right there.

Edit: Like I said, this is where I live... it may be true in California. However, like I said, if you tell the judge that you knew it was a HC spot, you'll lose right there. I would just try to explain your case to him, how you were with the vehicle at all times, how you could move it. If he is nice, he'll probably throw it out for you.

 

[weezergirl]

Originally posted by: MacBaine

Originally posted by: Conflict

Originally posted by: weezergirl

Originally posted by: Conflict
For it to be a handicap spot, must have the blue lines, picture and a visible sign. Check for that

hmm, I don't recall a sign. Does it have to have the sign? I'll have to go back and check.

I learned that in Drivers ed, that was almost 2yrs ago, but I remeber that, and it must have those three things or anyone can park there.

Let me point out that the above is false, at least where I live (Illinois). All it has to have is a sign. It can be missing the picture on the ground, or blue lines, but all it has to have is a sign clearly marking the area. Don't try to fight your ticket using the defesen stated above, because the judge will ask if you knew it was a handicap spot, you'll say yes, and you'll lose right there.

Edit: Like I said, this is where I live... it may be true in California. However, like I said, if you tell the judge that you knew it was a HC spot, you'll lose right there. I would just try to explain your case to him, how you were with the vehicle at all times, how you could move it. If he is nice, he'll probably throw it out for you.

yeah that's true, i'm definitley not going to try for that angle then because i've lived there for 2 years and it's pretty easy to tell it's a HC spot. i guess i will just tell them i was partially parked on the blue since the truck was so big and maybe they will at least reduce the fine.