NYC Parking Ticket: A Blocking the Box Solution

Yes, Aunt Tilly, there is a Blocking the Box Solution

Colonel Walter E. Kurtz in Apocalypse Now uttered these chilling words right before his death, “The horror…the horror.” Was he referring to the war, or the daily drama unfolding during rush hour at congested intersections across NYC; while parking ticket warriors enforce Code 9: Obstructing Traffic at an Intersection?

The Evil Box Blockers

Manhattan Borough President, Scott M. Stringer, sponsored a study of the evils created by the driving public’s bad behavior of obstructing an intersection. They are:

• Preventing the free, unobstructed flow of traffic
• Clogging up NYC streets
• Pollution
• Noise
• Danger to pedestrians

Who among the driving public doesn’t agree that blocking the box causes these nasty problems?

The Study Recommends:

• Increase the number of parking ticket warriors at busy intersections
• Increase the amount of fine
• Increase the number of tickets issued
• Increase the blocking the box signs
• Paint clear lines outlining the box
• Educate the driving public

Who among the driving public doesn’t agree that the first three recommendations were vigorously enacted and relentlessly executed?

The NYC Parking Rule: 34 RCNY, Section 4-08(e)(12)

“When vehicular traffic is stopped on the opposite side of an intersection, no person shall drive a vehicle into such intersection, except for the purpose of making a turn, unless there is sufficient unobstructed space beyond the opposite side of the intersection to accommodate the vehicle in the lane in which the vehicle is being driven, notwithstanding the indication of a traffic control signal which would otherwise permit the vehicle to proceed”

My Recommendations:

• According to the plain language of the NYC parking rule, the driving public can enter an intersection when traffic is moving on the opposite side of the box and comply with VC 9
• A better approach is when you are about to enter an intersection, make sure that traffic is moving on the opposite side of the box AND there is unobstructed space on the opposite side of the intersection to accommodate your vehicle. During the horror of rush hour traffic, it’s next to impossible to stop your vehicle when traffic on the opposite side of the box is moving.
• The NYC parking rule infers that the driving public is required to make an observation right before entering the box whether the traffic is moving on the opposite side of the intersection. This is the tipping point.

Educating the Driving Public

Here’s a quote from the President’s Study:

“…We need a renewed education campaign to remind drivers to avoid blocking intersections, especially during television traffic newscasts in the morning and on the radio during peak driving times.  Drivers should also be made well aware of the penalties associated with block the box”

Commentary

• Who among the driving public is not aware of the evils of blocking the box, and the $115 price tag that goes with the NYC parking ticket? This is not the education we need. Show us how to navigate through a busy intersection during rush hour with horns blaring and tempers flaring. How about spending a few bucks on an educational video?

• Instead of having traffic reports reminding us that the sky is blue and the oceans of the world contain water; why not run an educational video demonstrating how the driving public is required to behave at a jammed intersection when the light turns green?

• Let’s end the bad behavior of parking ticket warriors in stopping a vehicle in the intersection to issue a parking ticket which promotes the evil the parking ticket is supposed to end.

• Let’s show some recognition that the parking ticket warriors of NYC are after the directives of the powers to be. They have a nasty, stressful job. Direct your anger and energy instead at obtaining the evidence you need to beat the parking ticket.

• We welcome the opportunity to post any instructional video created by the DOT, DOF or any NYC agency showing the driving public how to properly pass through the box during rush hour.