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Any luck with contesting parking tickets?

beaglesandbass

beaglesandbass

Anti-Tort Activist
Staff member
Gold Supporting Member
Supporting Member
Aug 14, 2001
14,773
19,431
Philly Suburbs
#1
Here is the story, I was in Philly today and I knew time was running low on the meter, so I hurried back to the car. There is a parking ticket on my windsheild. I was pretty pissed. I looked at the meter, it was flashing zero.

Now here's the interesting part. The time on the ticket said 7:11PM, but when I looked at my phone, it only said 7:10!!

Any possibility that parking attendant was there close to 7:11, thought i was going to be late and just wrote the ticket? If so, how well do you think that will stand up in traffic court?
 
#2
Weird. Maybe the clock was wrong for the parking attendant. Perhaps you could get it dismissed on faulty equipment. That would be the defense I would use. Did you take a time stamped photo of the discrepancy?

-Mik
 
#3
I know it's pretty bad that this kind of thing happens, but it does. I'm sure the cop is thinking "He won't contest it".

Now it's up to you, is it really worth your time to contest this?
The cops are bettin' it's not.
 
#4
MJ5150 said:
Weird. Maybe the clock was wrong for the parking attendant. Perhaps you could get it dismissed on faulty equipment. That would be the defense I would use. Did you take a time stamped photo of the discrepancy?

-Mik
Click to expand...
i didn't have a camera on me, so no proof.
 
#5
Bob Clayton said:
i didn't have a camera on me, so no proof.
Click to expand...

If the price of the ticket is worth your time to go to court, then go for it. Without any proof, I don't see how you will win. Just saying that it was not written accurately won't win you the case.

-Mike
 
#6
MJ5150 said:
If the price of the ticket is worth your time to go to court, then go for it. Without any proof, I don't see how you will win. Just saying that it was not written accurately won't win you the case.

-Mike
Click to expand...

Yeah, around here, a parking ticket is 5 dollars... My friend got one, because we just didn't have quite enough change. Well, we got a ticket, so we just paid it... In change. We stuffed that little envelope FULL with change and mailing taped it all up like 3 times. It took us about 2 minutes to get it into on of those little yellow boxes they have around town to pay tickets...
 
#11
I would just pay it. Even if you win and not have to pay the $26.00, more than likely it will be time away from work. Assuming you have a day job.

The meter maids are a lovely bunch and live to write you up. You would have to be there and catch'em in the act in order to get away with that one. I don't think the time stamp on the ticket would hold much water, unless of course you happen to synchronized your watches beforehand.

Anything else is your word against theirs, and lets face it, you should have been there before it expired, not when it's about to expire. Stuff happens.
 
#12
Pay the $26. Eat cheap for a few days. It's much easier than contesting that ticket.

My parents got a $50 parking ticket when visiting me at school. My parents and grandparents went inside to use the bathroom, left the car parked outside for seven minutes, and were ticketed for not displaying a permit in permit parking. They disputed on the grounds that my 73 year old grandmother tripped walking to the building on a crooked sidewalk, and instead of opting to sue my college, she just chose to park closer to relieve herself. All and all, the president of the college forgave them of the offense, but six weeks later, I'm still being bothered by campus safety about paying it.
 
#13
I have a buddy who has an uncle that is a supreme court judge in British Columbia...

I learnt the in's and out's of fighting tickets :). Throwing your ticket out of court is cheaper than paying a cop overtime. If the US's are similar to Canada's atleast.

Edit: I've only had to fight one ticket... and they didnt even take it to court, they just dropped it. But I took pictures.
 
#14
I was issued a ticket for parking facing east on the west-bound side of the street. A valid reason to issue a ticket. But what made me angry about it and contest it was that my hazard lights were on, and my truck was still running. That should have told the meter maid that I was going to be right back. I was running one document in to our lead partner (I'm a runner for a law firm). When I took the ticket in to pick up a form for appeal, they assumed that it was for one of the attorneys, and they would be happy to appeal it. After I turned in the form, they read it and realized it was for me, and told me that I would have to pay the fine plus late fees. This was the same day the ticket was issued.
 
#15
I just got a parking ticket today. I was parked on a side of a street which was apperently prohibited to park on. There was a no-parking sign but it was right next to a fire hydrant. In the area, all the other no-parking sings were right next to the fire hydrants too, so I assumed that the signs were there for the hydrants only. I parked a good 15meters from the fire hydrant. That is why I think if I contest it, I should be able to win.

Is it worth it to contest it if the ticket is only 42 Canadian Dollars? That's about 37 USD.

edit: there was also yellow paint on the curb of the sidewalk near the firehydrant. In Montreal, this yellow paint on curbs means we cannot park there. Why would they put yellow paint where we cannot park if one apperently cannot park on the entire length of the street, not just where the yellow paint is. That was my logic when I parked away from the yellow paint.
 
#17
Jazzin' said:
I just got a parking ticket today. I was parked on a side of a street which was apperently prohibited to park on. There was a no-parking sign but it was right next to a fire hydrant. In the area, all the other no-parking sings were right next to the fire hydrants too, so I assumed that the signs were there for the hydrants only. I parked a good 15meters from the fire hydrant. That is why I think if I contest it, I should be able to win.

Is it worth it to contest it if the ticket is only 42 Canadian Dollars? That's about 37 USD.
Click to expand...

That sucks. Around here the no parking signs have these little arrows on them indicating which direction no parking is in and on each end of the no parking zone there is a no parking sign with the arrow pointing in only one direction so you can tell where the zone ends.

Something like this:
Link Removed
 
#18
Last time I went to Croatia on holiday, they had these meters where you use your mobile phone to pay for parking, you just SMS your rego and they charge your phone bill. Five minutes before it expires you get a warning SMS and an option to extend it. I thought that was pretty cool.
Sorry for the derailment:)
 
#20
Take a good look at your ticket and make sure it is for your car.

Around here people like to take a parking ticket and put it on someone else's car .


A lot of people have paid parking tickets that never belonged to them in the first place
 

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