Nothing is worse than fighting for a parking spot, only to return to one’s vehicle and spot a ticket tucked behind the windshield wiper. Yet it can be easy to make mistakes. Street-cleaning schedules may require frequent moves, and simply failing to make it back to the meter in time may result in a hefty fine.
Unfortunately, municipalities across New York State may have a financial incentive in aggressive ticketing. In the specific case of New York City, a new report states that parking ticket revenue totaled around $565 million in the last fiscal year. That total is reportedly a record, and reflects a 3.5 percent increase from the previous year.
Yet insult is added to injury when authorities give multiple tickets for the same offense, such a parked car whose owner is away for several hours or even several days. It seems that technology apparently has not provided authorities with a way of electronically notifying vehicle owners of tickets as they are issued.
Even worse may be receiving a ticket for a spot that seemed perfectly safe, only to discover one’s ignorance of an obscure offense. One commentator shared his story about receiving a parking ticket in a spot where there were no signs, no yellow paint on the curb, and no visible indication that the area was a pedestrian ramp, save for a slight dip in the sidewalk’s curb.
The good news is that traffic violations and/or parking tickets can be contested. In the above example, the vehicle owner discovered a change in local law, providing certain exceptions, including that tickets should not be issued for unmarked pedestrian ramps not located at crosswalks. Had the owner simply paid the tickets, he would have never have discovered that the tickets were wrongfully issued. Local laws change all the time. A law firm that focuses on traffic violations can help you investigate your options.
Source: Yahoo, “I got six NYC parking tickets in one week—and beat them all,” Daniel Roberts, March 24, 2016
