The DC meter maids are ruthless. Yesterday I got a parking ticket for obstructing a crosswalk – my bumper was basically right over the line of the crosswalk.
I am basically willing to concede that this may be a valid parking infraction - I can’t tell at this point if my bumper is supposed to be one foot, two feet, three feet, or any specific distance from the line of the crosswalk.
However, there is something wrong with the ticket. It notes the position of my car as being on the north side of the street, when my car was actually on the south side.
Is this technicality sufficient to get the ticket thrown out if I were to contest it?
I am basically willing to concede that this may be a valid parking infraction …QUOTE]
So, by your own admission, there’s a good chance the ticket is legit? Here’s an idea: don’t park so close to the line.
Can you get out of it on a technicality? I dunno. I’m not a lawyer. When I was a teenager, it was common knowledge that if ANYTHING is incorrect on the ticket, you can get out of it. I got a parking ticket and guess what? The dumbass cop wrote down that my vehicle was a Ford F-150 pickup. What a moron! It says F-250 right on the side, plain as day! Woohoo! Boy did I feel like a dumbass when I mentioned that to the judge. :rolleyes:
Just pay your damned ticket and chalk it up as a lesson learned.
If it was just your bumper that was over the crosswalk, then your car probably didn’t block it. I believe you have a good probability of having that fine dropped.
My city’s municipal code uniformly describes “blocking” as being within x feet. You can’t park within 5 feet of a driveway or within 15 feet of a fire hydrant without being ticketed for blocking it. I don’t remember the statute for a crosswalk offhand, but I’m sure that even if you’re only a foot away from one you’ll get ticketed, and even the tiniest part of a bumper over the line is a no-brainer offense.
Each city has its own system, of course, but I’d be surprised if this practice weren’t well nigh universal.
Because as we all know, car bumpers are insubstantial and pedestrians can walk right through them. :rolleyes:
AFAIK, the rules are the same everywhere: if any part of your vehicle protrudes into any part of a “No Parking” area, you can get a ticket. Some jurisdictions are more eager to write that ticket, though.
Everyone seems to be missing the factual question being asked by the OP. Is a technicality in writing up a ticket, specifically writing down the wrong side of the street, enough to have the ticket dismissed?
If DC is anything like Boston, then here’s a useful tip: Parking tickets are about raising money. Things like keeping roads and crosswalks clear are all very well, but rank a distant second behind the prime directive.
So when you go to traffic court and say “Well, I was sort of blocking the crosswalk, but not completely” the judge concludes that the ticket is legally valid, that you basically agree, and that the city is entitled to its money. It’s awfully easy for the judge to get past the north side/south side issue, simply by pointing out that the rule is the same on both sides.
For the record, I have not decided whether I intend to contest the $50 ticket or not. I’m still trying to find the DC code on how far one is supposed to park from a crosswalk (there was no “No Parking” sign designating exactly how far the no parking zone extends from the crosswalk), and if I have a case there, that would be the only reason I’d fight it. I might also mention that over the past two years, I’ve parked in the same space probably two or three dozen times with no problem, up till now.
But I am asking a factual question to relieve me of my ignorance on the subject of technicalities of parking ticket. I don’t think it has any bearing on whether I’ll fight the ticket.
(And for those who suggest that I not park so close to the line, I’ll thank you for the smart suggestion and note that my neighborhood is very crowded. The choice in parking is often between squeezing into a space that an overzealous meter maid might have a problem with, or circling the neighborhood for a long time. My personal record for time spent looking for a parking space is around 50 minutes. What would you do… What would you do?)
FIFTY minutes looking for a parking spot!!! Here’s what I would do: Find another way to work. That fifty minutes is gone forever. Is it possible to park a couple of blocks away and walk the rest of the way? Can you park at a bus stop and ride the rest of the way? Ride share?? There has got to be a better answer. Life is too short to spend that much time just looking for a parking spot.
I don’t know if DC has a “contest by mail” option like they do here in Chicago but if they do, I’d say it’s definitely worth your time. Having availed myself of the option on a number of occasions, I’ve found them to be surprisingly fair-minded in what they will overturn.
Having parked on the street while living in Chicago for 5 years, I will be the last to cast stones at you.
Do they have temporary, put-up-the-night-before street cleaning no parking signs in DC? Those damn orange paper things were truly the bane of my existence.
As a veteran NYC ticket fighter I can tell you that without doubt the north/south error is sufficient to invalidate the ticket here in NYC.
There is (or was) a book called How to Beat Parking Tickets – DC Edition that could probably be helpful to you. The NYC edition was written by Joel S. Peskoff and published by J.F. Caroll Publishing; I assume the DC edition is the same. It’s a rather sloppy and cobbled-together book (I found a reference book at the NYC Municipal library far more complete and helpful) but seems to have the basic facts straight.
In Massachusetts and Georgia it is definitely enough. This is based on own personal experience of having tickets thrown out in both for similar technicalities. (Actually they were speeding tickets, but I can’t see why it would matter.