NYC parking ticket school is now in session
“School days, school days
Dear old golden rule days
Readin’ and ‘ritin’ and ‘rithmetic
Taught to the tune of the hickory stick
You were my queen in calico
I was your bashful barefoot beau
And you wrote on my slate, “I love you, Joe”
When we were a couple of kids…”
Who amongst us hasn’t heard this simple song with beautiful lyrics that make us nostalgic to go on line to find our 6th grade girl/boy friend? Now, fast forward to the chaotic heavy metal sounds of rush hour traffic in the city that never sleeps with a dizzying number of parking signs on gotcha poles.
A pro quarterback has 4 seconds to get rid of a ball before the pocket collapses and he is crushed by a relentless pass rush. How much time does the driving public have to read 3 parking signs on a gotcha pole and decide whether parking is legal before being zapped by a warriors scanner?
Here are some of the recent results from our parking ticket polls
| Question | Answer | Correct |
| If you owe $350 in parking ticket judgments, your chariot can be booted in parts of Brooklyn? | TRUE | 86% |
| It is legal to double park on the unrestricted side of the street on ASP days? | FALSE | 73% |
| The NYC Parking Ticket Settlement Program ended on Jan. 31, 2012? | TRUE | 67% |
| A bus stop ends at the next parking sign in the direction of the arrow on the bus stop sign; Or if no parking sign, the end of the block? | TRUE | 88% |
| You can stop temporarily to pick-up a passenger and her luggage in a “No Parking” zone? | TRUE | 80% |
| You can park within 10 feet of a NYC fire hydrant? | FALSE | 74% |
| It is NOT legal to park in front of a mid-block pedestrian ramp, with no parking signs, traffic control devices, and marked crosswalk? | FALSE | 52% |
Commentary
The test scores of our driving community have been significantly improving throughout the year. Hooray! (Would I be granted teacher tenure in NJ?). Still, I’d love to see the day when every, single, solitary member of the NYC driving public knows that you and your chariot are prohibited from parking within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, unless…
And, it is absolutely, positively legal to park in front of a pedestrian ramp, with no parking signs, traffic control devices and marked crosswalks.
I love this school song…How about you?
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