3 No Standing Parking Ticket Mistakes to Avoid in NYC

No standing

Those two little words have caused a lot of pain and heartache in Parking Ticket Land. If you violate a no standing rule, it will cost you $115, and possibly a boot and tow. Yikes!

It doesn’t matter if your car was occupied or empty. Or, the motor was on or off. You are still standing when you stop in a no standing zone. Ca-Ching.

Who among us hasn’t offered this vintage, unwinnable defense to a no standing parking ticket, “I was parking not standing because the car was unoccupied. Only to learn that occupied or unoccupied doesn’t make a difference. It will still cost you $115?”

Does no standing anytime trump no parking Monday-Friday, 7 am to 4 pm? Yes. More strict beats less strict in the rock paper scissors world of parking tickets NYC.

Hopefully, these tips will save you some dough when parking in NYC.

How many different no standing violations are there?

There are actually 14 different no standing tickets. Can you name all 14?

What is a “dedicated use” no standing sign?

Mistake number 1 is not to learn the meaning and application of the newish rule covering “dedicated use” signs.

You’ll find it at RNYC 4-08(a):

(3) Standing prohibited. When standing is prohibited by signs or rules, no person shall stop a vehicle, attended or unattended, except temporarily for the purpose of and while actually engaged in expeditiously receiving or discharging passengers.

(i) Dedicated use signs. Standing is prohibited when a dedicated use is specified by a sign, including but not limited to the following curb regulations:

• Commercial Vehicles Only,
• Truck Loading Only,
• Taxi Stand, Taxi Relief Stand,
• Authorized Vehicles Only,
• NYP License Plates Only,
• Doctor License Plates Only,
• For-Hire Vehicles Only,
• Ambulance Only, Ambulette Only,
• Medical Facility Only,
• Bus Layover Only,
• NYS Road Test Only,
• Flea Market Loading Only,
• Farmers Market Only,
• Waiting Line,
• Carshare Parking Only,
• Electric Vehicle Charging Only, or Parking Permitted.

If a parking sign didn’t display certain words that were required by the applicable rule or law, the parking ticket was not enforceable.

I beat a significant number of parking tickets because the rule displayed on the parking sign did not match the written rule in 4-08.

For example, the old “No standing except trucks loading and unloading” sign was replaced by a “Truck Loading Only” sign. It was easier to read. But, the new sign did not comply with the language in the old Rule, 4-08(k)(2), which stated in part:

“Where a posted sign reads ‘No Standing Except trucks Loading or Unloading,’ no vehicle except a commercial vehicle or a service vehicle…may stand or park in that area…”

Why? Because the new, redesigned Truck Loading Only sign did not display the words mandated by the Rule, “No Standing Except trucks Loading or Unloading,”

The Evil Empire was faced with a conundrum

How do they fix this gaping loophole? Well, they were not going to re-do all the bad signs.

So, they simply invented a new set of rules. For example, in the case of the Truck Loading Only sign, the Evil Empire added four new words to the old rule, “or Truck Loading Only.” Voila! The new sign matched the new, amended rule.

Rule 4-08(k)(2) now states in part, “Where a posted sign reads, ‘No Standing Except Trucks Loading and Unloading’ ‘or Truck Loading Only’

The takeaway here is to always, every time read the rule behind the sign. You will be happy you did.

Mistake number 2 is not to learn the meaning of standing and how it is applied in Parking Ticket Land. Let’s start with the definition of standing:

“Standing” means the stopping of a vehicle, whether occupied or not, otherwise than temporarily for the purpose of and while actually engaged in receiving or discharging passengers.Stopping whether your chariot is occupied or not

Unless you stopped temporarily

For the purpose of and actually engaged in

Receiving or discharging passengers

(To or from the curb)

(And not property)

So, it is a big mistake to think it is permissible to stop in a no standing zone, turn off your engine, and wait behind the wheel for your Aunt Tillie to exit her apartment building, walk to your car and get in. What it means is you’re going to owe the Evil Empire $115 for the no standing ticket you’ll surely get.

It is a huge mistake to think you can double park (a no standing violation), activate your blinkers, and leave a beautiful epistle on your dashboard alerting the Warrior or Cop that you ran into the Starbucks to get a cup of java and will be back in a minute. Ca-Ching!

Mistake number 3 is to wait for a passenger to arrive at your chariot in a no standing zone.

You can stop temporarily to expeditiously pick up a passenger as long as you leave the no standing area immediately. But, you can never, ever wait for the passenger’s arrival at your car door.

For example, I encourage you to avoid stopping in a bus stop zone. Your intentions may be honorable, but when a Warrior or Cop stumbles by and sees your car in a bus stop zone, you will get a parking ticket. They can’t intuit how long you stopped in the bus stop zone and will err on the side of collecting $115.

Please stay out of bus stop zones unless you are boarding a bus.

Commentary

If you park in NYC, you gotta figure out the nuances of the no standing rules. Learn the rule and apply it correctly.

For example, how do you apply the 5-Minute Grace Period Rule in a no standing zone? Let’s say the no standing rule starts at 7 am and ends at 4 pm. You parked your car overnight and you want to move it before you get a ticket.

A Warrior or Cop cannot issue a no standing ticket until 7:06 am.

Park safely.