Last Updated on August 3, 2017 by Lawrence Berezin
How to beat NYC parking tickets
To successfully beat NYC parking tickets, I suggest you:
- Get to bed early the night before the big fight
- Eat plenty of carbs
- Stretch before you start fighting
Nah, just kidding. (You knew that).
Here are five time-proven ways to defeat that nasty, orange, epistle.
1. Required elements are your “get-out-of-jail-free” cards
Required elements are bite size bits of information that a parking ticket warrior is required to enter on a parking ticket to establish a case against a car. You win upon application, if any of the required elements are omitted, misdescribed, or illegible. Required elements are the antidote to expensive parking fines. Find one or more, and beat NYC parking tickets.
For example, the easiest one of all is finding a misdescribed plate number. Fight it, you’ll win. How about the wrong plate type (commercial instead of passenger). Fight it, you’ll win. What if the body type is wrong and your car is registered in NY State? I had one where the warrior entered “boat” as the body type for an RV. Honest, true story.
- Did the parking rule displayed on the sign match the parking rule entered on your parking ticket? How about the days/hours?
- Is the place of occurrence correct?
Before you crumple up your parking ticket, please check for inaccurate required elements.
2. Match the parking violation with a winning defense
Oftentimes, our emotions get the best of us when we get an NYC parking ticket. I urge you to wait until your blood pressure returns to normal before making any rash parking ticket decisions, such as:
- Immediately traveling to an Evil Empire business office and giving the judge a piece of your mind
- Searching for the parking ticket warrior who issued the ridiculous parking ticket and gives the warrior a piece of your mind
- Return home and rage at your spouse, child, and kick the cat
These churlish behaviors are not winning defenses. Do your homework and come up with a defense that eliminates the parking ticket.
For example, did you stop temporarily and drop off your Aunt Tilly in a no standing zone, and immediately leave? If so, you uncovered a winning defense.
3. Present the proper proof, properly
A parking ticket judge will dismiss your parking ticket if you present the proper certifications and exhibits. If not, you lose…even if you were right (sad but true).
Learn how to take the right pictures to win your case. You must lay a foundation with your images that tell the judge where your car was located when ticketed.
4. When you’re right-Fight!
I think it’s a major waste of your valuable time to fight when you’re wrong and don’t have a winning defense. For example, you may have illegally parked in a no parking zone, but if the warrior misdescribed a required element, you win upon application. But, if you parked illegally and there are no mistakes on the front of your parking ticket, pay the man. Why waste your time, vent on a piece of paper to a judge who could care less, wait a few months, and then lose?
5. Practice parking ticket prevention
The best way to beat the Evil Empire at its own game is to avoid getting a NYC parking ticket in the first place. Arm yourself with the knowledge of basic parking rules for bus stop, fire hydrant, no standing, and no parking. Try your best not to enter an intersection when there isn’t sufficient space on the opposite side of the box for your car to fit. Learn the difference between a legal and illegal pedestrian ramp, and fight if you get a scam pedestrian ramp parking ticket.
Commentary
But…If you get an unjust parking ticket. Fight and win!
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