Parking ticket reminders are good things to stick on your dashboard
[alert type=”info” icon-size=”hide-icon”]”I always have trouble remembering three things: faces, names, and – I can’t remember what the third thing is”…Fred Allen[/alert]
Is the third thing you can’t remember to remember, NYC parking rules? There are a few parking ticket reminders that should always be stuck in your brain. For example, how long is a bus stop? How far from a fire hydrant must we park? Can you unload your groceries in a no standing zone?
Here are some important NYC parking ticket rules to remember.
Tow Away Zone
In 1959, the NY State Legislature in its infinite wisdom declared forever and ever, or until the Legislature changes its collective mind, all New York City is a tow away zone. It bears repeating, all of NYC is a tow away zone, no notice required.
This means if a warrior places an orange pox on your motor vehicle, you are eligible for a tow. Your admission to the ticket and tow club is only one parking ticket. It can be an overtime meter parking ticket. A no standing NYC parking ticket. Whatever. If it’s orange, you are tow bait. Beware and be warned.
Hopefully, the NYC driving public will have some good news in the next few weeks. There is a wonderful piece of legislation awaiting Governor Paterson’s signature which will hurt the Darth Vaders of tow. Here’s a blog post on the Good Bill
No Standing and No Parking Zones
Here are some tips to remember:
- You can’t leave a buddy in your car while you run across the street for just an NY minute (even if she is sitting behind the wheel). You may as well turn yourself into the nearest warrior and fall on your wallet. You are guilty of violating a no standing or no parking rule
- You can’t stop, drop, and wait for your passenger to finish his/her errand. Guilty as charged…Next case
- Here’s one we hear a lot…I can prove I wasn’t parked in a no standing zone when I was issued a NYC parking ticket. Did you take a photograph of your vehicle in the parking space when you were issued the ticket? Well…not exactly. But, I’ll just tell the judge exactly where I parked. Off with your head! Please I beg you, take a photograph of your car in the spot where you allegedly committed your parking crime, before you move your car
Alternate Side Parking
How about this one, “It is legal to double park in my neighborhood on street cleaning days because the warriors and police never hand out parking tickets.” All I can say is the sleeping street cleaning crocodile will eventually wake up and bite you in the pocketbook. Trust me on this.
Double parking is NEVER, EVER legal in any neighborhood on street cleaning days in NYC. If you double park and do not receive a parking ticket, believe me, the crocodile is just sleeping.
Have you been bitten by a street cleaning crocodile when it wakes up and is hungry? Have you suffered through an NYC cocktail, i.e., ticket and tow? Have you dodged a parking ticket for stopping, dropping and waiting? Share your parking experiences with us. Live and learn!
Commentary
If you do get a stupid parking ticket, here’s how Larry (that’s me) fights it.
Do you find yourself making parking mistakes that cost you a bunch of money? Here are 10 common mistakes in Parking Ticket Land, and how to fix ’em.
Here’s the section of NY VTL that empowers NYC to tow vehicles without notice
VTL Article 32 1204. Officers authorized to remove illegally stopped vehicles. (a) Whenever any police officer, or in a city having a population in excess of one million any person designated by the commissioner of traffic of such city or on highways under the jurisdiction of the New York state thruway authority, the office of parks and recreation, a county park commission, a parkway authority, a bridge authority or a bridge and tunnel authority any person designated by such office, commission or authority, finds a vehicle standing upon a highway in violation of any of the foregoing provisions of this article such officer is hereby authorized to move such vehicle, or require the driver or other person in charge of the vehicle to move the same to a position off the paved or main-traveled part of such highway. (b) 1. Whenever any police officer, or in a city having a population in excess of one million any person designated by the commissioner of traffic of such city or on highways under the jurisdiction of the New York state thruway authority, the office of parks and recreation, a county park commission, a parkway authority, a bridge authority or a bridge and tunnel authority any person designated by such office, commission or authority finds a vehicle unattended where it constitutes an obstruction to traffic, or any place where stopping, standing or parking is prohibited, such officer is hereby authorized to provide for the removal of such vehicle, semitrailer or trailer to a garage, automobile pound or other place of safety. 2. In any city with a population of one million or more, whenever any police officer, or any person designated by the commissioner of traffic, finds a semitrailer or trailer without a tractor or towing vehicle attached, parked or unattended on any city street, such officer or person designated by the commissioner of traffic is hereby authorized to provide for the removal of such semitrailer or trailer to a garage, automobile pound or other place of safety. (c) The owner or other person lawfully entitled to the possession of such vehicle may be charged with a reasonable cost for removal and storage, payable before the vehicle is released. (d) No police officer or other public, state or municipal employee shall release a motor vehicle impounded because of any traffic or parking violation to any person who does not have a currently valid driver's license and an insurance identification card or other acceptable evidence indicating current insurance coverage on such vehicle. The provisions of this subdivision with respect to insurance coverage shall not apply to a motor vehicle which will not be moved under its own power but will be transported by a tow truck or upon another vehicle, provided that the registration for such impounded vehicle has been surrendered to the commissioner and proof of such surrender is presented to the police officer or other public, state or municipal employee.
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