Slog
News & ArtsWednesday, January 4, 2012
City Another Heartwarming Story of Parking Ticket Justice
Posted by Eli Sanders on Wed, Jan 4, 2012 at 6:00 AM
- Aw, comment two!
In response to this, Slog tipper "a" writes:
Good morning, Eli -My car had been parked on the street in front of my apartment for the better part of a month with expired tabs.
Eventually, the meter maid (can we still call them meter maids?) decided to ticket me. I was out at the time but my neighbor saw that i was about to be ticketed and appealed to the meter maid's sense of humanity on my behalf, saying: "I know that guy and he's having a baby. i know that if there's anything you could do to give him a break, he'd really appreciate it."
when i got home, the attached ticket was on my windshield.
needless to say, i was stoked that i wasn't being fined and was glad that the parking enforcement officers in Wallingford have hearts (some of the time at least).
best,
a
Aw.
2
So, is the dipshit going to renew his registration now? Because I guarantee that won't happen a second time.
5
that's not leniency, it's injustice.
the law is clear.
asshole is flagrantly repeatedly breaking the law.
justice will be if the baby is born deformed.....
the law is clear.
asshole is flagrantly repeatedly breaking the law.
justice will be if the baby is born deformed.....
6
it's not totally clear to me - was he really out having a baby, or is the neighbor lying for him?
even if he was out having a baby...still seems assholish to elicit goodwill from parking enforcement if he'd been parked there for so long with expired tabs.
and btw, i've gotten ticketed for exactly the same thing - parking forever in front of my apt with expired tabs. i deserved it.
even if he was out having a baby...still seems assholish to elicit goodwill from parking enforcement if he'd been parked there for so long with expired tabs.
and btw, i've gotten ticketed for exactly the same thing - parking forever in front of my apt with expired tabs. i deserved it.
8
Did you delete the sentence that stated he was out "renewing his tags"? If not, it isn't justice.
Though it might be a passive agressive way for his neighbor to tell him to lose some weight.
Though it might be a passive agressive way for his neighbor to tell him to lose some weight.
9
leniency for some is injustice for all. the law must be applied without prejudice.
congrats on your new baby!
congrats on your new baby!
10
He deserves a ticket he wouldn't get if he had a garage where he could stow the car until he had a chance to get new tabs? Such big hearts...
11
I was 10 minutes over in a 3 minute loading zone and the guy cancelled out my ticket. I'm sure they are very aware they are considered heartless and have been given some leeway. It's nice to see.
12
regardless of the tabs, why even own a car if you're going to let it sit for a month on public property without using it?
13
So you can get a ticket for expired tabs on a parked car? Really? I didn't know that. I thought you only got ticketed if you were actually driving with expired tabs. What if you just stopped driving for a while for some reason? (Say, surgery on your hip and you couldn't drive for six months.) You have to license your car just to have it parked? That's fucked up.
14
@ 13, that's a strange attitude. Registration isn't dependent on how much you use it, and I say this as someone who has been ticketed twice for expired tabs on my parked car over the years. (One time the car was parked in my own driveway, in a residential zone with no meters, zones, or restrictions of any kind - I was left to wonder if a neighbor had ratted me out, or if they run reports for expired tabs and send them out on patrol...)
17
I once walked out to a cop ticketing cars and she was about to ticket mine for expired tabs. Instead, she said, "your tabs are expired and there's a place to renew them about 2 blocks away." You bet your ass I went straight there. The great part was that she had moved over by the licensing office area by the time I was done and saw me as I drove away with new tabs.
18
@13 After pointing out that the tabs on my car were expired and I responded that I wasn't driving it; it was parked, an officer explained that if the car is on public land (parked on a street) it needs to be registered. If I moved it onto the driveway, I wouldn't be responsible for registration until I chose to drive it.
20
@ 19, that was here in Denver. I don't know if I have that legal cover here (any thoughts, 5280?) but I'll keep it in mind if it ever happens again.
21
Hmmm... Not responsible enough to get car tabs, but somehow is ready to be a father. God I hate people.
23
@21 Yeah, but... I've killed every plant I've tried to grow, I've forgotten bills, I've lost [countless items] yet my kids are thriving (and I know where they are!!).
I don't think forgetting to pay for one's tabs dictates how well one will parent.
I don't think forgetting to pay for one's tabs dictates how well one will parent.
25
@13, if you aren't driving your car for an extended period of time, why should it be acceptable to leave it on public property AT ALL? Rent space for your own long term storage. Conversion of public property for private use is theft. My street always seemed critically short for parking spaces when I have guests. Then I took to calling parking enforcement once a week to tag cars parked over 72 hours. Now guests and delivery people can park on the street. I have zero sympathy for those ticketed, especially when I know their apartment buildings rent monthly spaces for less than the cost of a single ticket.
26
Does WA not have penalties for late renewal? In CA the charge rapidly escalates beginning on Day 1.
You can get a Certificate of Planned Non-Operation at a greatly reduced price, but you have to do it before registration expires, and you can't park the vehicle anywhere but private property while registration is lapsed.
Also, you can't escape fees by hiding in a garage. You either have up-to-date registration, or the Certificate of Planned Non-Operation.
You can get a Certificate of Planned Non-Operation at a greatly reduced price, but you have to do it before registration expires, and you can't park the vehicle anywhere but private property while registration is lapsed.
Also, you can't escape fees by hiding in a garage. You either have up-to-date registration, or the Certificate of Planned Non-Operation.
28
@21: Oh come on. I have a heroin addiction, can't hold down a job, and have several warrants out for my arrest, but that doesn't make me a bad father.
30
And I bet he voted for the $20 tab fee which he had no business doing since it is now just money out of his kids mouth...but hey, enjoy carrying a folding stroller on a tram.
34
Our next-door-neighbor's tabs expired in August 2000. It's parked in her driveway and I very much doubt the motor would even turn over at this point.
On the beach in Mexico I saw a VW van with Washington plates, similarly expired close to a decade, that was very close to becoming part of the bush it was parked under.
On the beach in Mexico I saw a VW van with Washington plates, similarly expired close to a decade, that was very close to becoming part of the bush it was parked under.
35
Why is everyone so angry about one person's stroke of good fortune? I know it's early, but jesus, people.
36
what a fucking dick. he owns that spot of public street where he stores his belongings? fucking car squatter. other people need to use that space, get rid of your car if you just park it. also, fucking some people are so in love with babies you can tell them anything and they just melt, even fucking meter maids apparently.
38
I'm questioning the wisdom of printing the photo with the address showing. I fully expect a mob of Sloggers running over there and smashing the lights and windshield out of whatever car is parked in front of that house, even if it's some random guy's.
40
@21 Whoa buddy. Pretty big step from "forgot to renew car tabs" to "unfit to parent". Actually, it's not even a pretty big step, it's flat-out ridiculous.
41
Nice for him and all, but my dad came to visit and got a ticket for expired tags WHEN HIS TAGS WEREN'T EVEN EXPIRED. He ended up just paying the ticket because it would cost him more to take the day off work to go to court than to just pay it.
43
25 and anyone who concurs w 25-
i think in residential areas, 72 hrs is too short. there are plenty of people who own cars, but are doing good things for the environment and good things for the traffic that you must sit in every day by NOT DRIVING THEIR CARS every day. i was a grad student in seattle for 6 years. i had a car, rented apartments, and parked it on the street. 4-5 days a week, I TOOK THE BUS. i often rode my bike to get groceries. i often only drove my car 3 days a week and sometimes less. the 72 hr rule was a pain in the ass.
so here's a question: why does any random neighbor of mine who also rents, and who stuffs CO2 into the air EVERY DAY by driving EVERY DAY get priority to parking?
i can see the point of having a limit. but i'd like to see the limit bumped up to 4 or 5 days. or hell, a week.
downtown, sure, different story. but in residential areas? can't we lighten up a little? for the low carbon footprint renters?
i think in residential areas, 72 hrs is too short. there are plenty of people who own cars, but are doing good things for the environment and good things for the traffic that you must sit in every day by NOT DRIVING THEIR CARS every day. i was a grad student in seattle for 6 years. i had a car, rented apartments, and parked it on the street. 4-5 days a week, I TOOK THE BUS. i often rode my bike to get groceries. i often only drove my car 3 days a week and sometimes less. the 72 hr rule was a pain in the ass.
so here's a question: why does any random neighbor of mine who also rents, and who stuffs CO2 into the air EVERY DAY by driving EVERY DAY get priority to parking?
i can see the point of having a limit. but i'd like to see the limit bumped up to 4 or 5 days. or hell, a week.
downtown, sure, different story. but in residential areas? can't we lighten up a little? for the low carbon footprint renters?
44
I mean, I would have more sympathy if it said "December." It's only January 4, so that's a forgivable oversight...but NOVEMBER? I once didn't get my registration renewed for 31 days after it expired (not in DC, so none of the stuff below applies)...I was a full-time grad student working full-time and my father had just died in probate so I was driving the 3 hours (each way) to/from my hometown once a week to handle paperwork. I'm sure having a baby (that has not already arrived) is a lot more stressful than that month was for me.
I, too, am surprised that y'all haven't gotten around to mandatory late fees upon renewal/inspection. DC will bust you for $20 for every 30-day period you fail to get your renewal inspection, and our inspections/registrations expire on a specific DAY rather than the end of the MONTH. So you could just space on the DAY...say think it was due on the 21 when it was actually the 12th...and get hit with a $20 penalty, which is not far-fetched when you consider that most people don't drive their cars a lot in the city, so forgetting the exact day plastered on your windshield is easy. They also make your life miserable in the sense that, if your registration is expired, you have to go to a DMV and sit and wait to be issued a temporary registration to get your inspection, and then get your car inspected, and then return to the DMV to register your car...taking approximately 4-5 hours longer than the non-expired method: go to inspection station, pull through line (takes about 1 hour or less, even when swamped), get certificate, renew registration online. Also also, if your registration expires, and you live in most neighborhoods in the city, your street parking pass also expires, so your car can be ticketed and/or towed for an additional offense. We're kinda serious about people renewing their registration on time, I guess.
More...
I, too, am surprised that y'all haven't gotten around to mandatory late fees upon renewal/inspection. DC will bust you for $20 for every 30-day period you fail to get your renewal inspection, and our inspections/registrations expire on a specific DAY rather than the end of the MONTH. So you could just space on the DAY...say think it was due on the 21 when it was actually the 12th...and get hit with a $20 penalty, which is not far-fetched when you consider that most people don't drive their cars a lot in the city, so forgetting the exact day plastered on your windshield is easy. They also make your life miserable in the sense that, if your registration is expired, you have to go to a DMV and sit and wait to be issued a temporary registration to get your inspection, and then get your car inspected, and then return to the DMV to register your car...taking approximately 4-5 hours longer than the non-expired method: go to inspection station, pull through line (takes about 1 hour or less, even when swamped), get certificate, renew registration online. Also also, if your registration expires, and you live in most neighborhoods in the city, your street parking pass also expires, so your car can be ticketed and/or towed for an additional offense. We're kinda serious about people renewing their registration on time, I guess.
45
and the crazy thing is - one can get around the 72 hr law by just moving the car across the street. so it doesn't seem to be about how long i'm actually parked overall. it is just about the space. and the stupid thing is, by moving my car across the street from my apartments (usually a unit in a house), i'm parking in front of SOMEONE ELSE'S property. so instead of parking in front of my own residence, i'm parking in front of someone else's. that sure makes sense.
46
Wow. You guys can seriously bitch about ANYTHING. Something tells me that if anyone here got out of a parking ticket, you sure as hell would be singing a different tune.
47
@43: In reality, the limit in residential areas is sometimes shortened to just 1 day. SMC 11.72.440 states, in part, "A. Official signs, including temporary signs, that prohibit stopping, standing or parking shall be enforceable according to their terms twenty-four hours after posting." The City of Seattle 72-Hour On-Street Parking Ordinance page on the city's site explains further: "Sometimes the ordinary parking restrictions on a street may change, such as to allow street cleaning, construction activity, special events or other unusual circumstances that require that the street be cleared of parked vehicles." That page goes on to state, "When a car is parked on a public street, drivers are encouraged to check their car at least once a day, even if their car is on a street where they are allowed to park up to the citywide 72-hour maximum."
@45: Technically, one cannot get around the 72-hour ordinance, or any other parking time limit, by just moving one's car across the street. Doing so would be in violation of SMC 11.72.240, which states, "No person shall move and repark a vehicle on either side of a street within the same block in order to avoid a parking time limit regulation specified for either side of the street in that particular block."
@45: Technically, one cannot get around the 72-hour ordinance, or any other parking time limit, by just moving one's car across the street. Doing so would be in violation of SMC 11.72.240, which states, "No person shall move and repark a vehicle on either side of a street within the same block in order to avoid a parking time limit regulation specified for either side of the street in that particular block."
48
@43,
I've never seen a car tagged with a "move or else" sticker that wasn't sitting in the same spot for more than a month, certainly not in neighborhoods where parking isn't at a premium.
I've never seen a car tagged with a "move or else" sticker that wasn't sitting in the same spot for more than a month, certainly not in neighborhoods where parking isn't at a premium.
49
@25/@43: I mean... it seems absurd that we spend half our time on SLOG talking about the importance of density and lauding people who use public transit and then the other half the time as angry suburbanites enraged by the idea of some RENTERS car taking up PUBLIC SPACE on their STREET. Just think of how ugly it makes the cul de sac!
I don't live there anymore. I should probably stop reading this and remember this attitude is one of the many reasons I left.
I don't live there anymore. I should probably stop reading this and remember this attitude is one of the many reasons I left.
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