Parking ticket traps are springing up everywhere
Sue recently brought this parking ticket trap to my attention after being hit with a $115 no stopping violation. My first thought was why would an experienced member of the driving public park her chariot in a no stopping zone?
My second thought was to check out the scene of the no stopping crime (via Google Maps and a photograph from Sue).
My third thought was to alert the driving public about the latest parking ticket trap.
The evolution of a parking ticket trap
I feel like I participated in an archeological dig. Once upon a time, a long, long time ago in Parking Ticket Land…
There was bumpy, broken roadway and sidewalk in front of the Essential Spa on Grand Street. There was a no stopping sign and a fire hydrant regulating the curb space (what curb space?) in front of the Essential Spa.
The NYC DOT decided to bestow a benefit on the business owners and frequent sidewalk and roadway travelers by repairing the mess.
During the construction period, the DOT changed the parking sign to a No Standing (temporary construction) sign.
Wow. A new bicycle lane with safety zones and bright white lines clearly delineating the legal parking spaces. Right? Nope. Let’s check out the parking sign that regulates the bright white parking lines in front of Essential Spa. Below you’ll find a photograph of the current landscape on Grand Street.
Oops…I see what I mean. There’s a:
- Red sign that prohibits stopping
- Green bike lane
- White safety zone
- fire hydrantf
- Bright white lines delineating “legal” parking spaces (be careful. It’s a trap)
Parking sign versus parking lines. Who wins?
The parking sign wins. No, contest. Parking signs that prohibit parking (the arrow points to what appear to be legal parking spaces) trump white lines on the roadway.
Let me refresh your memory. Here’s another trap. Same hierarchy of rules apply:
- No trumps yes
- Signs trump lines
Commentary
I wish the Evil Empire and its colleague, the NYC DOT, would make these confusing parking areas clear. I wish this was a legal parking space. I wish don’t get a parking ticket…and so on and so on.
“If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.”
Knowledge is power.
Park safely.
Extra credit: Does the fire hydrant’s 15 foot “no park zone” control the parking spaces in the white bright lines?
Lawrence Berezin
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Larry walks you through the same process he follows to fight NYC parking tickets and win. Plus, you'll receive a winning defense certification and exhibits.
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You say signs trump lines, but in the case of safety zones don’t the striped lines trump signs?
Dear Kenneth,
Good afternoon.
I love when our readers pose these types of questions…
Yes. Absolutely. The lines in a safety zone trump a parking sign
that seems to permit parking.
However, in today’s blog post the lines in question are the parallel lines
that usually delineate legal parking spaces on the roadway side of bike lanes
(adjacent to tiny little safety zone lines).
Safety zones are the mighty rulers of Parking Ticket Land. You can never, ever park in a safety zone, regardless of what you think a parking sign says or parking lines delineate.
Thanks for your astute comment, Kenneth.
Best,
Larry
Hi Larry ,
Was reading your great site and noticed you said if you receive a ticket for plastic over license plate ( why do they sell these things if they are illegal?) there must be a reason listed for why it’s violation. Would the statement on the ticket ” front and back plate cover plastic. Plastic cover on plate” fall into this category? Is it only tinted plastic? As mine is completely visible.
Much appreciated if I can get some advice.
Dear Scott,
Thanks for posting an excellent question.
Please provide me with the violation code you were charged with.
Looking forward to your reply.
Regards,
Larry
If VC is the code it is 74. The car was parked . It also says in violation of nyc traffic rules, section -4-06(j)(2) although the 6 might be an 8 as it’s hard to read. Thanks Larry. Taking the time out to respond to this is really a big help.
Thanks, Scott.
4-08(j) Standing or parking vehicles that violate registration and inspection rules are covered or
have the VIN obscured.
(2) Valid plates must be properly displayed. No person shall stand or park a vehicle unless it properly displays the current plate or plates issued to it. For the purposes of this paragraph (j)(2), New York plates shall not be deemed properly displayed unless they are conspicuously
displayed, one on the front and one on the rear of the vehicle, each securely fastened so as to prevent the same from swinging and placed, whenever reasonably possible, not higher than 48 inches and not lower than 12 inches from the ground, and they are kept clean and in a condition so as to be readable and shall not be covered by glass or any plastic material, and the view thereof shall not be obstructed by any part of the vehicle or by anything carried thereon. New York dealer or transporter plates issued pursuant to §415 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law shall be deemed properly displayed if the one plate issued is placed on the rear of the vehicle asdescribed above. New York motorcycle plates and plates from other states shall be deemed properly displayed if at least one plate is fastened on the rear of the vehicle.
I’m sad to say that the parking rule prohibits covering a plate “by glass or any plastic material.” it doesn’t talk about tinting, or degree of plastic material. It simply prohibits covering a plate with plastic material. Here’s a link to the rules (section 1 and section 8 are the relevant sections). http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/trafrule.pdf
Good luck, Scott.
Regards,
Larry
When DOT does change the sign to say “temporary construction” and you get a ticket when otherwise you wouldn’t how do you fight that? For example we received a summons with violation 4-08 (c) no standing but the sign said no standing except trucks loading & unloading (which we were doing being that we are a moving company and were there for a contracted job) from 7 am to 7 pm except sunday, but underneath DOT placed an orange sign that said temporary construction regulation. Can I fight this?
Hi Joanne,
Good morning.
You can fight this parking ticket, but the proof is a little bit tricky.
A commercial vehicle is obviously permitted to make a delivery or service call in no standing trucks loading and unloading zone.
However, you were charged with a violation of the general no standing rule. In a general no standing zone a commercial vehicle is
not permitted to make a delivery.
Your first challenge is to prove that the parking space (place of occurrence) was regulated by a truck loading and unloading sign and not a general no standing sign.
Next, you have to prove you were actively engaged in making a delivery (generally an invoice with proper information will do) plus
a defense certification setting forth the defense.
(PS…My understanding of the facts is that the temporary construction sign was a truck loading and unloading sign and NOT a general no standing sign).
Good luck.
Best,
Larry
Thanks so much for your input!!
Hi Larry,
my brother just got a no parking ticket and the plate type was described as “Not Shown” being that he has a regular PAS plate could this be a basis for a defense even though there is no indication on the plate that it is PAS but since this is the standard plate is it considered “Shown”.
thanks
What an awesome website! I like the phrase “When you’re right – fight!” I had an experience with this that unfortunately didn’t go my way…
Upon receiving the plates for a new car I bought and affixing the 10 day registration extension to obtain testing certificate to the lower driver side window as it instructs…. over the next two days I received 3 tickets for registration sticker missing. Two of the tickets happened to be issued within 1 minute of each other.
I challenged all three myself via online on the basis that I was well within the 10 day extension period and provided documentation. I had a solid claim and I figured any reasonable review would be in my favor. I received notification from the court for all at the same time: one was found not guilty, one was found guilty and one was adjourned.
I challenged the guilty finding again and the decision was affirmed with a photocopied generic form. Since I didn’t receive an explanation I have this awful feeling of irresolution.
Expensive lessons learned with fighting tickets: Sometimes its not how strong the case is its how information is stated. Your website certainly helps with that and I’m frustrated I didn’t find it sooner.
Carrie,
Good morning.
Your kind words mean a lot to me.
Thank you.
Thanks for sharing your perceptive perceptions.
The easy part is formulating a defense to a parking violation.
The bigger challenge, as you so aptly stated, is presenting
the proper proof properly.
I love your statement, “Sometimes it’s not how strong the case is it’s how information is stated.”
Oftentimes that is what separates a guilty from a dismissal.
Park safely.
Regards,
Larry
I received a decision that said it was adjourned also and they gave me 30 days (I don’t remember the time frame exactly) to resubmit my proof. When I did they still said it was denied and I still had to pay the fine. Why do they do that and what does it mean when it is adjourned? Also I have been trying to find a list of the body type codes. I have gotten quite a few summonses that say van when it really should say delivery, freight or truck, can you help me with that?
Joanne,
I am sad to report (after dedicating 6 years, 7-days-per-week, with two months off for my heart attack) that I will no longer be answering questions on Larry’s Blog. You’ll find a treasure trove of information in the 746 Blog Posts and growing, F.A.Q.’s, and comments.
If you need help, you may wish to check out of service offerings. Here’s a link
https://newyorkparkingticket.com/passenger-vehicles/