Last Updated on February 14, 2022 by Lawrence Berezin
Costly parking ticket mistakes will take the “fun” out of parking
For sure, parking in NYC is not “fun.” But, what’s worse? A driver spending 25 minutes searching for a vacant parking space? Or finding a space, parking, and getting a costly parking ticket?
A $115 parking ticket adds insult to injury. And extracts hard-earned dough from your wallet. But, how do you eliminate this expensive parking pain?
Here are some recommendations.
Table of contents
- Costly parking ticket mistakes will take the “fun” out of parking
- Defective required elements defeat costly parking tickets
- Keep reading. More required elements to follow
- My favorite defective element is a misdescribed place of occurrence
- Don’t you hate fire hydrant tickets?
- Standing illegally in a safety zone
- Commentary
- Related Posts
- Free Download
Defective required elements defeat costly parking tickets
The moment you see an orange parking ticket on your windshield, start thinking about your defense. Likewise, your first thought should be, “Is the ticket defective?” In other words, can you find any omitted, misdescribed, or illegible required elements?
Required Elements
A required element is a bite-size bit of information that a warrior or cop must enter on the evil parking ticket. If you find an omitted, misdescribed, or illegible required element and present the proper proof properly, a judge must dismiss the parking ticket. Here are some examples:
- Plate-Your plate number must be entered accurately. If not, you win. Ticket dismissed upon application and proof.
- Name of the operator-A warrior is required to enter the name of the operator if she is seated behind the wheel when he issues the parking ticket. This rule is honored in the breach. Here’s how to secure the proper proof to win this defense
- Expiration Date-The expiration date of your registration must be entered correctly if it is on the windshield or license plate of your chariot. If not, your ticket will be dismissed upon application and proof (a tad more complicated than you would expect)
Keep reading. More required elements to follow
- State-State of registration must be entered correctly
- Plate Type-This is an easy element for NY State charioteer, but not so easy for out-of-towners. The plate type must be an exact match for vehicles registered in NY State. However, a warrior is permitted to enter “N/S” if your plate type is not displayed on the plate. For example, New Jersey doesn’t display plate type so technically, “N/S” will suffice…Arrgh!
- Make-The make of your vehicle must be described correctly
- Body Type-It is much easier for NY State chariots to beat their ticket when it’s omitted, misdescribed or illegible than out-of-state chariots. The standard of proof for out-of-staters is “reasonably accurate.” Judges are reluctant to gift the benefit of the doubt to out-of-state drivers
My favorite defective element is a misdescribed place of occurrence
- Place of occurrence-This is a description of the location of your parking space. Always check it for accuracy because if it is misdescribed, you win upon presenting the proper proof
- Rule-Warriors must enter the correct reference to Rule 4-08 or else your ticket is dismissable upon application. For example, in the above parking ticket, the warrior referenced the correct rule for a fire hydrant violation, R. 4-08(e)(2). Please note that the violation code number is not a required element
- Date/Time: Easy to check, not so easy to win a dismissal. Make sure you check when you see 12A (that denotes midnight) and when your parking space is subject to the 5-minute grace period.
Here’s a blog post about how to beat a parking ticket when the rule is wrong.
Don’t you hate fire hydrant tickets?
I know I do. However, I’m not too fond of worse is hearing that a client parked more than 15 feet from the fire hydrant but drove away without taking photos. C’mon, man or woman, you just got a costly parking ticket ($115), and you let your anger trump developing a winning defense.
Please take photos of your car showing the distance it parked from the hydrant. Please be sure to include landmarks or buildings in the background with street numbers. This way, you can return to the scene of the parking ticket and measure the distance from the parking space (confirmed by the landmark in the background of the photo) and the fire hydrant and take pictures of the distance displayed on the tape. The more photos, the merrier.
Better yet, put a tape measure in your car so you can take photos of the tape extending from the front bumper to the fire hydrant right after getting the evil fire hydrant ticket.
Please remember that all photos must persuade a judge that you took them at the place of occurrence entered on the parking ticket, without moving your car.
Here are five fire hydrant mistakes to avoid at all costs
Standing illegally in a safety zone
Standing illegally in a safety zone is one of the NYC Parking Ticket Land’s seven deadly sins. However, the rule and its application are very confusing. So, here it goes.
4-08(f) General no standing zones (standing and parking prohibited in specified places).
No person shall stand or park a vehicle in any of the following places unless otherwise indicated by
posted signs, markings, or other traffic control devices, or at the direction of a law enforcement
officer:
(6) Safety zones. In a safety zone, between a safety zone and the adjacent curb or within thirty
feet of points on the curb immediately opposite the ends of a safety zone.
My 7th grade English teacher taught me never to use the word I’m defining in the definition. In other words, don’t say a safety zone is…” a safety zone.” To add to the confusion, what the heck is, “…within thirty feet of points on the curb immediately opposite the ends of a safety zone?”
On the other hand, the no-standing rule seems to say that you can’t stand in a safety zone, “…unless otherwise indicated by posted signs…” Yikes! But, as we learned under current rules, a safety zone trumps a parking sign.
A picture is worth 1000 words, so here’s a link to a blog post that will show you what a safety zone looks like.
In conclusion, my advice is when you see something that quacks like a safety zone, has diagonal lines like a safety zone, or otherwise looks like it may be a safety zone, don’t park there. Find another parking space, even if the parking sign seems to say that parking is legal. It’s not.
Commentary
I will keep repeating my mantra until I’m orange in the face. Do not pay an NYC parking ticket, “No questions asked.” You may have made a mistake by getting the evil ticket, but that doesn’t mean you can’t beat it.
A driver must park according to the rules. But likewise, it is a warrior or cop’s duty to enter the correct information correctly on the parking ticket.
Meanwhile, many parking tickets come with at least one winning defense. However, you have to learn to identify and prepare the winning defense that matches your parking ticket.
Moreover, you cannot beat most parking tickets with only your vehicle registration. You must have heart, a pinch of patience, and the passion for preparing the correct evidence that beats that particular parking rule violation. If it were that easy, everyone would beat every ticket.
For example, if your chariot has an out of state plate, and:
- The state of registration requires you to display on the plate,
- A month and year regsitration expiration sticker and,
- Your car displayed the sticker(s), but
- The warrior or cop did not enter the month and year of expiration on the ticket, and
- Incorrectly entered, “N/S” or “N/A”
- Fight this ticket!
- Present the proper proof, properly
However, only offering your registration as evidence is not a winning defense. To clarify, a couple of clicks on a smartphone is generally not enough to beat most tickets.
In this example, I would submit evidence that included:
- Photos of the front and rear of my car
- A close-up photo of the sticker(s)
- A screen grab from the DMV of the state of registration stating that the registration expiration sticker(s) must be displayed on the plate
- A certified statement testifying that the stickers were displayed on the plate on the date and time the parking ticket was issued
But, don’t pay it, “No questions asked,” because it may take 15 minutes to prepare and submit the proper defense. When you’re right_FIGHT!
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