# You parked your car illegally and you are in it cause you're dead? TICKET FOR YOU! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 6, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-parked-your-car-illegally-and-you-are-in-it-cause-youre-dead-ticket-for-you/498933 "2009-06-06T16:33:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-parked-your-car-illegally-and-you-are-in-it-cause-youre-dead-ticket-for-you/498933/1 "2009-06-06T16:33:05Z")
[This](http://wcbstv.com/local/ny.vehicle.ticketed.2.1032503.html) story is making the news here. It seems the police ignored an illegally parked car for a month except to give it more and more parking tickets. Eventually they noticed the smell and found the owner’s body on the back seat, very badly decomposed. He’d been dead about a month. WTF were those oops thinking? They never thought to check the inside and see if anything was wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-parked-your-car-illegally-and-you-are-in-it-cause-youre-dead-ticket-for-you/498933/2 "2009-06-06T16:40:13Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > WTF were those **oops** thinking? Maybe the oops were thinking, ‘Cops!’ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-parked-your-car-illegally-and-you-are-in-it-cause-youre-dead-ticket-for-you/498933/3 "2009-06-06T16:47:57Z")
He should totally refuse to pay those. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-parked-your-car-illegally-and-you-are-in-it-cause-youre-dead-ticket-for-you/498933/4 "2009-06-06T16:54:43Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > He should totally refuse to pay those. I heard he made no comment on the issue. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-parked-your-car-illegally-and-you-are-in-it-cause-youre-dead-ticket-for-you/498933/5 "2009-06-06T17:01:17Z")
Being dead is _ **no** _ excuse for parking violations. 'Round here this stuff is serious business. ---
**Author:** ![mischievous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mischievous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mischievous)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-parked-your-car-illegally-and-you-are-in-it-cause-youre-dead-ticket-for-you/498933/6 "2009-06-06T17:12:48Z")
Fails to surprise me. The block I was on in NYC seemed to be a dumping ground for stolen cars for a while (this was in the East Village). We’d have a car show up with a flat tire and a broken window, then sit there collecting tickets for months on end. Then one day, there were three of these abandoned cars on the block taking up space and I had spent nearly a half hour trying to find a legal space for my car, and I totally lost my temper. I was watching a policewoman, bored out of her mind, stick yet another ticket on the huge pile of tickets on a car sitting in front of a hydrant, and I confronted her. I asked if she thought anyone in their right mind would leave a car to accumulate thousands of dollars in tickets and if she given a smidgen of a thought to checking out the car. She responded that when the tickets became more than four months overdue, a search would be run automatically. I asked her to indulge me and run the damn plates. She comes back out of the police car, looking totally shocked. “This car WAS STOLEN!” Yes, I reply, and probably that one over there, and that one down the block that also has thirty tickets on it. After that, the police started making regular scans of my block. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-parked-your-car-illegally-and-you-are-in-it-cause-youre-dead-ticket-for-you/498933/7 "2009-06-06T17:22:45Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Being dead is _ **no** _ excuse for parking violations. 'Round here this stuff is serious business. Yeah, he’s going to have a hard time fighting those tickets. I suppose he will get a pretty stiff fine. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-parked-your-car-illegally-and-you-are-in-it-cause-youre-dead-ticket-for-you/498933/8 "2009-06-06T17:24:07Z")
Well, he’d better pay them. Otherwise he’ll be in tuh-_rouble!_ ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-parked-your-car-illegally-and-you-are-in-it-cause-youre-dead-ticket-for-you/498933/9 "2009-06-06T17:29:02Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Well, he’d better pay them. Otherwise he’ll be in tuh-_rouble!_ Yeah, they might throw him in the cooler. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-parked-your-car-illegally-and-you-are-in-it-cause-youre-dead-ticket-for-you/498933/10 "2009-06-06T17:31:50Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Well, he’d better pay them. Otherwise he’ll be in tuh-_rouble!_ I hear the accumulated fines could bury him. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-parked-your-car-illegally-and-you-are-in-it-cause-youre-dead-ticket-for-you/498933/11 "2009-06-06T17:43:31Z")
> [@mischievous](#): > > Fails to surprise me. The block I was on in NYC seemed to be a dumping ground for stolen cars for a while (this was in the East Village). We’d have a car show up with a flat tire and a broken window, then sit there collecting tickets for months on end. > > Then one day, there were three of these abandoned cars on the block taking up space and I had spent nearly a half hour trying to find a legal space for my car, and I totally lost my temper. I was watching a policewoman, bored out of her mind, stick yet another ticket on the huge pile of tickets on a car sitting in front of a hydrant, and I confronted her. I asked if she thought anyone in their right mind would leave a car to accumulate thousands of dollars in tickets and if she given a smidgen of a thought to checking out the car. She responded that when the tickets became more than four months overdue, a search would be run automatically. I asked her to indulge me and run the damn plates. > > She comes back out of the police car, looking totally shocked. “This car WAS STOLEN!” Yes, I reply, and probably that one over there, and that one down the block that also has thirty tickets on it. > > After that, the police started making regular scans of my block. “Sir, we’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is, we found the car you reported stolen last month. The bad news is, we’ve impounded it for unpaid parking tickets.” ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-parked-your-car-illegally-and-you-are-in-it-cause-youre-dead-ticket-for-you/498933/12 "2009-06-06T17:43:51Z")
If it was me, I’d raise one hell of a stink about it. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-parked-your-car-illegally-and-you-are-in-it-cause-youre-dead-ticket-for-you/498933/13 "2009-06-06T17:56:58Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > If it was me, I’d raise one hell of a stink about it. He already did. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-parked-your-car-illegally-and-you-are-in-it-cause-youre-dead-ticket-for-you/498933/14 "2009-06-06T18:01:26Z")
Are there legals issues perhaps preventing them from searching the vehicle without a warrant until the smell eventually becomes probably cause? ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-parked-your-car-illegally-and-you-are-in-it-cause-youre-dead-ticket-for-you/498933/15 "2009-06-06T18:04:20Z")
They can look inside a car and act on anything in plain sight, IIRC. Pathetic. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-parked-your-car-illegally-and-you-are-in-it-cause-youre-dead-ticket-for-you/498933/16 "2009-06-06T18:06:38Z")
It never ceases to amaze me the lengths some people are prepared to go to to get out of paying a parking ticket,anti social scum like him should be shot and THEN made to pay up,bastard! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-parked-your-car-illegally-and-you-are-in-it-cause-youre-dead-ticket-for-you/498933/17 "2009-06-06T18:15:12Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > They can look inside a car and act on anything in plain sight, IIRC. > > Pathetic. Well, if he was in the back seat, presumably they just thought he was taking a nap. They just forgot the “dirt” part. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-parked-your-car-illegally-and-you-are-in-it-cause-youre-dead-ticket-for-you/498933/18 "2009-06-06T18:28:26Z")
“What, you’re dead? So’s my grandma. Cry me a freakin’ river.” _\_ ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-parked-your-car-illegally-and-you-are-in-it-cause-youre-dead-ticket-for-you/498933/19 "2009-06-06T18:34:36Z")
Under these circumstances, I guess booting the car would be kind of redundant. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-parked-your-car-illegally-and-you-are-in-it-cause-youre-dead-ticket-for-you/498933/20 "2009-06-06T18:54:51Z")
It’s obvious the cops were trying to carry out the burial – only with him in the car instead of a casket and using tickets instead of dirt. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-parked-your-car-illegally-and-you-are-in-it-cause-youre-dead-ticket-for-you/498933.md?page=2)