Pay or ignore the ticket? - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

mplafleur · #16 01-25-2007, 09:52 PM

Well I wrote the appeal letter today and it is ready to ship out, except for the check. This is really going to hurt writing this check. I'm sure I'll be turned down again. Once they have the money, why would they ever overturn the first hearing?

It just kills me though. I looked at the parking signs. There was nothing anywhere about the special rush hour thing. Now because of their lack of proper signage for tourists, I'm out $100. It's really the principle. I'm the stuborn type that would end up dying some day for a principle.

mgburg · #17 01-25-2007, 10:33 PM

Went to renew my DL a few years back...WI. DMV told me that IL. had me listed as not having paid a parking ticket that was issued to my vehicle, in the city of Chicago, back in '85. (WT????)

During the spring/summer of '85, I was in Chicago, doing a job interview. Since on-street parking in Chicago is at a premium, and the most time a meter gives anyone, that I can remember, is about 60 minutes, I have never, nor will I ever, park on the street. What was I suppose to do during the interview? "Excuse me for a few minutes. I need to feed your town's meter so I don't get a ticket." Smart play in any job-interview. Having already figured that my interview was going to, probably, be more than two hours, minimum, I parked, and will ALWAYS park, in an off-street ramp or parking lot.

The only thing I can think of is this: (GOD help me that this is correct!) While I had my car parked in one of the few parking lots near the area of the interview (Paid a flat rate of something like $8.00-$9.00.), I'm guessing that a beat-cop saw a "cheese-head" FIAT wagon (with a personalized plate) parked. He (or she) just copied my plate and gave it a meter # for a locator. Their thought may have been, "He'll just pay it. It'll cost more than the ticket to come back to town to argue it and besides, he's driving one of them foreign things anyways."

Meet your quota, get that promotion, all with the swipe of a pen. A completely victimless crime...yeah, right!

Somehow, WI. & IL. don't have reciprocity on parking tickets and such. But, I was informed that if I should get pulled over in IL., my @$$ is theirs.

Now, how am I suppose to defend myself against a ticket, that I know I was in no position to recieve, over 21 years ago?

And, to top it all off - this ticket was supposedly issued during the infamous "phantom ticket scandal" that was pervasive in the Chicago area during the mid-to-later 80's.

Who wants to try figuring fact from fiction on this one?

I'm forever screwed south of Beloit!

EricSilver · #18 01-25-2007, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mplafleur

I looked at the parking signs. There was nothing anywhere about the special rush hour thing. Now because of their lack of proper signage for tourists, I'm out $100. It's really the principle. I'm the stuborn type that would end up dying some day for a principle.

Hmmm....

I am not saying that you did not see the parking signs, but they are definitely there. Anyone who lives or travels into DC, particulalrly those of us who got tickets in the past (when they were only $50.00), know not to park on Constitution Ave. -- or certain other streets in DC -- after 4:00.

By the way, the tow truck would only have hauled your car onto the sidewalk. After he finished with the one ahead of you, yours would have been next.

sfloriII · #19 01-25-2007, 11:11 PM

I actually tried to fight a ticket in DC once by appearing in court. I was given a speeding ticket for doing 65 mph in a 45 mph zone. Thing was, I was in my beloved 240-D and the car simply couldn't go that fast in that section of the highway.

The judge was pretty quick about making me pay everything, including court costs, as soon as I finished with my explaination.......

I've got two unpaid tickets in DC right now. Guess I should pay up.

I hate that city.

Jim B. · #20 01-25-2007, 11:35 PM

My opinion: Just pay it. Those things don't go away. They come back at you in the most unpleasant ways and at bad times. I learned the hard way living in San Francisco, to read the signs before locking the parked car and walking away.
The tourists are especially hard hit. I'm sorry. this isn't worth falling on your sword for.

EricSilver · #21 01-25-2007, 11:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sfloriII

I've got two unpaid tickets in DC right now. Guess I should pay up. I hate that city.

Probably a good idea. Two tickets could earn you a boot on your front wheel the next time you park there.

At the very least, they should use all parking enforcement revenue to repair the dreadful roads. I hate driving into DC, and rarely do so, because it is a quick and certain way to destroy a suspension. Every time I travel there, some new rattle or weird behavior appears in my car. :fork_off:

wbain5280 · #22 01-26-2007, 02:05 AM

PArking signs in DC can be confusing but generally, there is no parking during the commuting hours, and there are a lot of signs, everywhere. You cannot go to court to contest the ticket because it's an administrative summons. Pay or be prepeared to spend hours at traffic adjutication, not court. Be glad you car wasn't towed because they are towed to a parking impound lot in SE DC and you have to have cash, or a credit card, but definately cash. Your can can get ransacked as well and/or stripped.

Fines double after a certain amount of time. Personally, I don't drive into DC because of parking.

Pay it.

mplafleur · #23 01-26-2007, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wbain5280

PArking signs in DC can be confusing but generally, there is no parking during the commuting hours, and there are a lot of signs, everywhere. You cannot go to court to contest the ticket because it's an administrative summons. Pay or be prepeared to spend hours at traffic adjutication, not court. Be glad you car wasn't towed because they are towed to a parking impound lot in SE DC and you have to have cash, or a credit card, but definately cash. Your can can get ransacked as well and/or stripped.

Fines double after a certain amount of time. Personally, I don't drive into DC because of parking.

Pay it.

Well I tried to look for signs. I did my due diligence. I found one (actually only about 20 feet from the M-class), and read the whole thing and tried to understand how it impacted my parking. Am I supposed to do more?

A friend of mine in San Jose got a parking ticket for a Triumph TR3A he had. License plate numbers were correct and everything. The only problem was his car was in boxes in the garage. Had been for years.