Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with ticket

Traffic Attorney in Arlington, VA?

missjenny — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 09:03:54 -0800

Good traffic attorney in Arlington, Va / Fairfax county? My husband got a ticket for reckless driving over the holiday (54 in a 25 or something like that). We live in NC, so would prefer to hire a lawyer instead of coming back up here to appear in court. A search brings up an unmanageably high number of options. Any recommendations?

How much of your ticket is my responsibility?

princeoftheair — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 18:30:46 -0800

Who owes what to whom for a plane ticket? In short, my (now ex) gf and I bought flight tickets for an international trip over Christmas. Since then I broke up with her (no big drama, it just wasn't working out) and she is no longer interested in traveling with me despite the fact that we are on decent terms. She asked me to pay her for the unused ticket, which I was ok with at first, but I have discovered that it is not only non-refundable (and possible to reschedule for another international flight in the next year) but non-transferable as well, which means she is the only person who can use the ticket or reschedule another flight.

The way I see it is this: yes, I take some blame for this since I initiated the break up, but at the same time she purchased the ticket and has some responsibility for the cost. Since she is the only person who can use the ticket (or credit), me paying her back in full is just throwing the ticket (and cost) in the garbage. I would be happy to eat the difference if she decides to reschedule and travel somewhere else on her own and it turns out to be cheaper.

Of course I will talk to her about this and we will have a reasonable discussion, but I am curious to know how much people think my responsibility is in this situation. How much of the ticket should I cover: all, some, or none?

Paid off the NY speeding ticket. Got additional fees. What do?

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 07:03:21 -0800

Paid off the NY speeding ticket. Got additional fees. What do? About a month ago, I got a speeding ticket and an unsafe lane ticket while driving through New York state. I paid the ticket fees and thought it done. Today, I get a notice that since I earned 6 or more points in New York state during a 18 month period, I must also pay a "Driver Responsibility Assessment" for the next 3 years in addition to the fees I've already paid. This fee is more than the tickets and I'm feeling more than a little outraged. I've been a complete wreck since I got this notification.

My question is, obviously, what can I do? The fee notice indicated that non-payment could lead to a suspension of my NY state license or difficulty in obtaining a NY license but nothing else. I am not a resident of New York state nor do I intend to become one so I'm not sure how that is a threat. (For a side note, I am a resident of Rhode Island.) I'd love to tell the fine state of New York to blow its double dipping out its ass but I doubt I can ignore this. What exactly can the state do? What can *I* do?

Best available, will call

pseudostrabismus — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 13:10:43 -0800

Suggest examples of websites that do a great job of selling event tickets? I work with a company that may soon be taking over a website with a ticketing microsite, selling tickets to a variety of events at a festival. I'm looking for inspiration in re-designing this part of the user experience, and would like to browse websites that make online ticket purchasing very simple, efficient, and visual.
Suggest me some links?

Priorities:
Clean, efficient user experience
Visually logical scheduling for multiple concurrent events
Great visuals provoke crossover interest around different events
Intuitive navigation doesn't require too much reading
Great design (preferred aesthetic is graphic, sophisticated, metro)

What sites have made you enjoy buying tickets lately?
Thanks!

How to resolve fix-it ticket on car I no longer own?

malapropist — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 14:01:41 -0800

In California, I got a fix-it ticket because my license plate had some of the reflective sheen scraped off. I have since sold the car without getting the fix-it ticket signed off. My appearance date is in a couple of weeks. I don't have the car anymore, so I can't get it signed off. What do I do now? You may be wondering, why in god's name did you sell the car? I had been planning to sell it with my dad's help, and got a new car that I was using, so the sale was already prepared and ready to go. I thought I'd have time to take the car to the verification station (I did replace the license plate) and then I found out that my dad went ahead and sold the car.

So, what do I do now? I got the fix-it ticket along with a speeding ticket at the same stop, so I still have to pay for the speeding ticket and go to traffic school. I'm thinking I should just show up to the court date and explain the situation to the judge. I've searched google for information on this but didn't find anything.

How do I resolve this?

Should I fight this ticket?

mhz — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 14:23:56 -0800

Is it worth fighting this New York traffic ticket? I just got a ticket for violating § 1225-d of the NY code. Is it worth fighting this ticket? What can I expect to gain or lose from pleading guilty or not guilty?

Relevant info:

* I don't own a car, and I don't pay for car insurance. If this will affect car insurance rates down the line, then it might be an issue, but let's just say that I don't care about any points or anything like that for the next year or two.

* I was putting down a GPS. I was not actively pressing any buttons or anything, but I understand that the onus is on me, and that they may well not believe me. Also, they may not care, I'm not sure how the wording of the law matters vis a vis holding vs using.

* The ticket is $130. Taking off of work will be exceedingly hard, but depending on time of day/day of week, it might be doable; the Traffic Violations Bureau is about fifteen minutes from the office.

* I have a clean record. This is my first ticket. I'm 25, and I've had a license for 6 years, so it's not like I have no record of safe driving.

Anything else I'm forgetting, I'll be happy to add.

My first instinct is to plead not guilty, but if it will automatically lead to a court date, where I'm likely to be found guilty anyway, I'll skip it., especially if there's any other fees then tacked on.

But if there's a fair chance that I'll be given an easier way out…

Looking for a traffic lawyer in Minneapolis.

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 13:23:45 -0800

Recommendations for a good traffic lawyer in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area? I've had an awful bit of bad luck: I got a speeding ticket yesterday, making three traffic tickets total in the last 9 months or so (all minor, but for different things). I'd like to speak to a traffic lawyer before I pay the ticket, just to make sure I'm fully aware of my options and any implications of the situation. I'm not concerned about the fines as much as keeping my record relatively clean and not having my driving privileges affected.

Also, the ticket was issued by a Richfield cop near Southdale, if that matters. I probably won't be visiting that area again for awhile, if I can avoid it.

I'd also appreciate any advice you may have on the situation.

Rescheduling air travel to save $

dougiedd — Tue, 29 May 2012 00:48:35 -0800

I was pleasantly surprised today to find out that some flights I had booked a month ago for my family to travel later this year had come down dramatically in price, so even with the change fee of $150 a head, the savings was quite large and I got a better flight to boot. How often does this happen, and should a person routinely screen for lowered fares even after purchasing a ticket?

What is moped parking law?

Forerunner343 — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:02:20 -0800

I'm having issues with Moped parking in Michigan. Anyone have any experiences or know the laws here? So, I have been getting a bunch of flack about what to do with my moped recently. When I originally purchased it, the shop owner told me that it should be parked on sidewalks, bike racks, etc just like a bicycle would be. At the previous apartment complex I lived at, I noticed people parking scooters horizontally in parking spaces in sharing the front portion of their parking space with their car (I thought this was smart - parking a small motor vehicle in an economic way as to not waste space).

I have since moved and at my current apartment complex, I had been parking it on the grass in front of my apt across the parking lot (and chaining it to a sign). Management called me and told me this was unacceptable and that there are bike racks throughout the complex that I can chain it to. Being that the bike racks are all quite a walk from my apt, I started parking it in my covered parking spot, which I pay for. I park it horizontally in front of my car, like I had seen other do at my previous residence. Surprise, surprise, I got a call saying that I am not allowed to park my moped in covered parking. Surprisingly, there a 3 motorcycles that have been parking in my same covered parking unit since March.

Furthermore, I have been reading mixed information from numerous sources all over the internet regarding the legality of moped parking. Most seem to say that when parking a moped, it is to be treated like a motorcycle and must be parked in a designated motorcycle or car parking space.

Anyone know what the law is for parking mopeds in Michigan? And do I have the right to park my moped in my covered parking space?

Driving without a (copy of my) driver's license

koeselitz — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 16:01:33 -0800

I'm taking a road trip from New Mexico to Washington state tonight and tomorrow. Although I am officially licensed to drive by the state of Colorado, I don't have a physical copy of my driver's license. What are the dangers of driving without a copy of my license, and how can I minimize them? I moved to New Mexico from Colorado about nine months ago. Just before I moved, I had my Colorado driver's license reinstated. Unfortunately Colorado does not forward driver's licenses, so I never received it in the mail. Being a lazy guy who doesn't think about this stuff as much as I should, I just let it go, knowing that technically I was licensed, and knowing that I don't drive very much since I work at home.

However, now I'm going on a road trip to Washington state, so I wanted to try to get my New Mexico license. It's easy on the New Mexico end - they just need my Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) from Colorado and some documents which I have in front of me. However, it's very difficult to get Colorado to fax an MVR. I struggled all day on the phone with them, but to no avail.

It's my understanding that driving without a copy of your license can get you a ticket; is this correct? If it's just a ticket, I think I can chance it. Is there anything more that could happen?

For what it's worth, we'll be driving in New Mexico, Utah, Oregon, and Washington.

Why are movie ticket prices so consistent?

Leenie — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 10:34:39 -0800

Why are the prices for the discount art flick, the small production movie, the big studio romantic comedy and the big action film that cost $200 million to create all priced roughly the same? Where I live there is a one dollar spread among three theater chains (We have one major chain, one minor chain and one "artsy" theater chain with a total of 40 screens in my town).

I know the theaters make little if any money on the ticket sales. It just seems odd that the movie that cost $5 mil and the one that cost $200 mil share the same ticket price. It costs more to make a Ferrari or Bentley than it does a Toyota or Chevrolet, and they are priced accordingly. It costs more to grow organic food that 'regular' and it is priced accordingly. A hand made watch costs more than a Casio at the drug store...yet movie ticket prices are the same regardless of costs.

Any ideas?

Paying a ticket for Standard Parking

sharkbot1957 — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 08:05:52 -0800

Standard Parking, owners of a private parking lot, gave me a ticket by shadey/scum-bag means, I want to combat this, what are my options? I drove out to the bars last night, and in the downtown bar area of my town there are street parking and private lots. I payed to park in one of the private lots because it was closer to the bar I was headed to. I end up drinking more than I expected so I catch a ride home from a friend. This morning, at 9ish, I come to my car to find a ticket for $20 for violating the terms of the parking permit I bought, naming that it was an 'event' permit and thus only valid to 6AM. I search the backside of the permit I got last night, and sure enough in the midst of a huge block of 8 pt font is a tiny disclaimer saying no overnight parking.

Now, I guess you could say caveat emptor and I should always ask people if I can pick up the car in the morning if I decide to be responsible and not drive drunk. But, I have parked overnight in bar parking lots A LOT of times, and kinda assume Bars, not wanting their patrons to die in fiery drunk driving accidents, are okay with their patrons deciding to do the responsible thing and leave their cars there till they're sober. So I'm kinda cheesed at Standard Parking, the scumbag owners of the lot, for trying to extort extra cash from people who operating under the assumption of good-will.

So, in this previous thread, its suggested I just toss the ticket, which I'm okay with doing. If anyone has had experience with Standard Parking to suggest this isn't worth it, let me know, and if anyone has other ideas for contesting the ticket let me know. I thought about going to the bars and speaking to managers, but the lot isn't owned by any of the bars so I don't know how well that would work.

Will I have to pay a parking ticket for a stolen car?

DeucesHigh — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:29:59 -0800

My car was stolen. Will I have to pay the ticket for illegal parking where it was dumped? THE BACKGROUND:
While I was out of town for a week between Christmas and New Year, my car was stolen from my apartment in Northwest Philadelphia. I got a call on Friday, December 30th from a Philadelphia Police detective, asking if I knew where my car was... I didn't. Apparently it was parked on a sidewalk outside a junkyard in Southwest Philly with a torn up ignition column, and the junkyard called the cops to get it towed away. An officer came out and ticketed it, and forwarded the information along to the Auto Theft division because of how obviously stolen it was.

It was at this point that the detective contacted me, confirmed with me that the car was actually stolen, and said that they would try to get the car towed somewhere for me to pick up when I got back in town. Alas, the car disappeared again between the time that the first officer ticketed it, and the time when they tried to find it to tow it. The detective was apologetic, but they technically couldn't impound it right away until they confirmed it was stolen. They canvassed the nearby junkyards and looked through the impound databases, but never found it. I was advised to file an actual stolen-vehicle report, so I had a cop come out to my apartment and do that.

THE QUESTION:
That was the last I heard about my car, until I got a Notice of Violation in the mail at the end of January. I was cited for parking on a sidewalk, plus a penalty for not responding to the original ticket (which I never had, of course). Total: $71. I scheduled the first possible hearing to dispute the ticket, which is coming up this week (I'm not missing work, so it's only a waste of time, not money). The hearing confirmation letter says that I should "bring any documentary evidence and/or witnesses that might substantiate your claim and assist the hearing examiner in making a fair and rational decision in your case." All I have is the name of the detective, the ticket number, and the police report number for the theft. What else should I bring? Are they likely to throw out the ticket, or at least the penalty for not responding on time? Will they not care that the car was stolen, since it wasn't reported as such at the time of the ticket? What's the worst that can happen if I don't pay the ticket, since I don't have a car for them to impound? Does anyone have any experience going to the Philly Bureau of Administrative Adjudication that might be helpful?

The city of Vancouver illegitimately towed my car, but should I fight city hall?

Nelsormensch — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:45:00 -0800

My car was illegitimately towed by the city in Vancouver, BC. Now that I'm disputing the ticket, is there any chance of fair arbitration or do these things also go in the city's favour? Way more details inside. This situation is kind of complicated, so please, give it a close eye.

So, I parked my car on the east side of Homer St. between Drake and Pacific (here-ish) on the night of Sunday, January 29th around 9 PM. This block is meter-free and some of the only meter-free parking in all of downtown Vancouver. I went looking for my car on Friday (I live/work in Yaletown and generally only drive my car on the weekends) and discovered it missing, and saw a Temporary No Parking sign had been hung along about half the block, including where my car was. I got my car back from the impound yard and discovered they put up the Temporary No Parking signs at 1:30 PM on Wednesday Feb 1 and towed my car on Thursday Feb 2 at 8 AM.

When I called the city to ask about whether or not I should have been contacted or something, they said they had a list of cars that were present when the signs were hung and my license plate was not on the list. Now if they had simply said they were not required to contact me, I would have been pissed, but fine, whatever, I guess the onus is on me. But the fact that they claim my car wasn't there is absolutely maddening. Being several hundred bucks in the hole because some city employee can't do their bloody job is not okay.

This is the crux of the thing. The tow was legit in that my car was under a Temporary No Parking sign, but it was there before the sign was hung. The city was obligated to call me in this circumstance and they didn't. That's what I'm disputing.

The city says they're required to take down the plates of all cars already parked when they hang signs and that for this area (which is about half of the unmetered 1300 block and half of the metered 1200 block), there were only two cars already parked there. Now this is absurd, because that entire block is always completely full of parked cars. Always. Just counting the unmetred spots, there's space for 5-6 cars and there are hardly ever any empty spaces (generally only late at night, and even then it's only ever like one and that's still uncommon). To claim that only 2 of the 5-6 spots (not counting the metered spots which are also full very frequently) were taken during the middle of the day is tremendously unlikely. Parking services says when they towed on Thursday AM, there were 4 or 5 cars towed. So again, it seems very unlikely that during the normal, unmetered time there were only 2 cars, but when the Temporary No Parking sign were hung, indicating quite clearly that people will be towed, there were 4-5 cars in the exact same area.

After getting my car back, I filed a dispute on the ticket with the city (process detailed here). (Note: this is not court and it is no longer possible to dispute bylaw violations in court in Vancouver) Last week, I got a letter saying the screener did not cancel my ticket. So now I either have to go to adjudication or eat it and pay. Has anyone ever been through the adjudication process? Is the adjudicator just going to refer to this seemingly sacrosanct list and not give me a chance at all or do I have a hope of a successful dispute? I've been going to the 1300 block of Homer in question (it's only 2 blocks from my office) and photographing it between 1 and 2 PM, and of course, every time every single spot is full. Is this evidence of the street being constantly full going to dislodge the claim that when the signs were hung, there were only 2 cars already there?

It's just galling that I was actually wronged here. Had the bloody city just called me, I could have had my car taken care of. Any stories, successful or otherwise, would be much appreciated!

Can I win this, and how?

six-or-six-thirty — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:07:20 -0800

Defending a parking ticket appeal in court -- is my evidence sufficient, and should I mail it in or attend court in person? Hi, all. I didn't see anything like this specific question asked before so I hope it's okay (I've never AskMefi'd before).

I received a parking ticket on 12/6 on a residential street. I supposedly received this ticket because I was parked in an area outside my apartment where 'No parking this date: 12/6 from 7 am to 3 pm'.

However. These signs were not in place on 12/5 when I parked on the street at about 6 pm. I am very positive of this. Additionally, I loan my car to an ex-boyfriend so that he can drive to his night-shift job. He left at about 2 am on 12/6 and saw no signs, and returned to the same spot at about 7:30 am, seeing no signs. To be fair, he is not the most observant but I believe him--the car was parked right next to a post where the signs were later posted.

When I came down to the car at 10:30 am to go to school the signs were up and I had a ticket. The entire two city blocks of street, aside for maybe 3 spaces, still had cars parked. They all had tickets. A neighbor came out at the same time I was looking at my ticket and moved his (ticketed) car from the street to his driveway, where I'm sure he would have parked if the signs had been up the previous day. When I asked him he said I should just send in a letter because it happens all the time.

The ticket included hardly any information. I was ticketed for "Date posted 12/6/11 no parking 7 am-3pm Blotter (?) PS 246 (?). The handwriting is hard to read. There was no fine listed. On the back it let me know that I could schedule a hearing to contest the ticket and where to mail it.

The actions I have taken thus far are as follows:
- Called and spoke to a very unhelpful woman whose response to my story and my inquiry about how this all works was just to tell me to mail in the ticket to the address listed. She was also not interested in telling me how much the fine for the initial ticket was, and I should have pressed the issue but did not. She also did not want to provide any advice re: the actual court proceedings.
- Scanned the ticket for my records.
- Sent the ticket to the provided address along with a written explanation of why I was contesting it including all information above. Also included my return address, because while common sense nothing on the ticket suggested I should.

I now have a court date coming up mid/late January. The announcement likewise included almost no helpful information aside from the date/time/room I need to go to.

I do not know how much money the ticket was, and additionally if I lose the appeal I do not know how much I will be charged for that. I didn't think to ask about it, which was admittedly dumb.

The only 'evidence' I have for my case is my testimony, my ex's testimony, and I am considering bothering the man across the street who came out to his car for his testimony.

I have received one parking ticket within the city before and paid it promptly.

So my question(s) are as follows:
- Is my testimony and my ex's testimony sufficient to fight this ticket and win? Should I bother my neighbor for his testimony?
- What format would be best to have these testimonies? I can record them on my iPod (video or audio) but I was planning on just having written testimonies (handwritten or typed? obviously with signatures). I don't know if I could easily show video in the courtroom.
- Should I go to the proceedings? I have the option of mailing in the relevant materials at latest 5 days prior to the court date. This is an incredibly busy time for me and I will have to pay at least $5 to park downtown. If I don't need to go I really don't want to.
- What should I expect in court? As in, what should I wear, what should I be prepared to answer, is there anything beyond the testimonies I should bring, etc.? I really have absolutely no idea, but I don't have a lot of nice clothes and can scrounge up something 'business casual' at best.

Please note: I understand and acknowledge that none of you are my lawyer. I'm only asking for general information or information from personal experience. I have never been involved in something like this before and so have absolutely no clue how these things typically go.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Help me not lose $1400!

dubitable — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 22:23:59 -0800

(How) can I avoid losing almost $1400 on a plane ticket I can't use right now? I'll try to keep this short. I did something stupid:

- I bought a ticket about three months ago not being sure when I would use it or not. Let it suffice to say that it was for visa reasons (I live and work in Japan). It's a round trip ticket from NRT to Newark, back via JFK. It leaves Friday. I can't use it now because I...well, I didn't plan a vacation, I am working. I thought I could use it some other time, so I was lax about it once my visa was confirmed.

- I purchased it on Orbitz. Apparently the flight is a Continental flight, but other than a leg from SF to Newark, all of it appears to be a codeshare with ANA.

- I bought it with my Discover Escape card, so there may be some travel related benefits that could help me cover some of the cost. I'll call them later today to see.

Anyways, to tie these facts all together: after I bought it, I assumed I could push the time ahead without too much trouble, but I called Continental yesterday, they told me I had to call Orbitz, who told me they couldn't change it because it was non-refundable/non-alterable or something, according to Continental. I called Continental back again, and they verified that I was SOL. Use it or lose it. I must have missed this somehow when I bought the ticket on Orbitz. For the record, the person I talked to had to call someone else at Continental to verify that I was not able to change it (they were apparently confused the first time I called...grr).

So, travel geniuses of Ask MeFi, is this the final word? Does anyone have any experience with working around this sort of thing?

I suppose I could try to convince my higher-ups to take a week vacation on incredibly short notice but...it may be quite tough. And for a number of other reasons I'd rather not.

paying late AC Transit parking ticket?

oneear — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 09:39:55 -0800

Got a parking ticket from AC (Alameda County, CA) transit. Intended to pay it on time but forgot about it. The ticket has never shown up in the online or phone pay systems. I could pay by mail but am concerned that the ticket price has gone up and that I won't get notices about what I owe. I tried calling the number on the back of the ticket but can't get through to a human being to find out how much I should pay them now. Does anyone know how much the tickets go up? If I pay by mail and the price is more more than the original ticket what should happen?

Do I need to pay a parking-lot "ticket" issued by a private company?

roxie110 — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:31:58 -0800

Do I need to pay a parking-lot "ticket" issued by a private company? I parked in the 16th/Bryant stripmall lot in San Francisco and immediately got a PCS parking "ticket" for $63 (with an early bird reduction to $40, ha). The ticket states "unauthorized parking, walked off to Sports Basement." This is, in fact, true, and while parked there I also went to Petco, which is in the stripmall.

I don't want to start a whole discussion about whether it's ethical or unethical to pay the ticket, since my feet did leave the mall for a short time, and presumably there are signs posted telling you not to do so (I did not see any). But I do want to know if anyone knows for certain whether a citation issued by a private company this way is legal and enforceable. I know that towing is legal, and so is issuing a warning, but can this company actually require people to pay a "citation" for any random amount?

I've seen contradicting info about this in my searches online. One person said that if you send them a letter to dispute the charge (they give you 21 days), you are giving them your contact info for free, rather than forcing their hand in purchasing it from the DMV. This would make it easier for them to pursue collection or (doubtful) small claims court, the only remedies available to them to make you pay.

I should also mention that in 2007 this company was forced to pay $130K in fines plus refunds for four years' worth of citations they issued that looked like official DPT citations. http://www.marinij.com/ci_7706352

Any help is much appreciated!

How do I fight a completely outrageous parking ticket in a court that clearly has no empathy for my case?

JayNolan — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:35:52 -0800

How do I fight a completely outrageous parking ticket in a court that clearly has no empathy for my case? The ticket is $250 for parking at a completely reasonable spot on Splitrock Road without no parking signs close by. At the trailhead where I parked, there is a map kiosk that shows a map that is labeled parking at that spot. When I went to court the first time, the prosecutor was very aggressive and the judge seemed to have no empathy for my case. The whole thing seems like a shakedown, please help! I went to the court in Rockaway Township NJ to try to fight this but I ended up waiting for five hours for the prosecutor to say that the ticketing officer had "called in sick". This was a bit insulting since at the opening of the court session many hours previously the prosecutor and judge were joking that a lot of people would be upset if the officer was not back from his trip to Texas. The judge said I had to come back for a trial another day since the officer didn't show up. When I said that this was difficult since it is hard to schedule to be in court for a full half of a day with work, he said that it was my right to fight the ticket in a way that made me think there was no way they were going to drop this. That also seems to be the stance of the prosecutor who would not look at my photos and would not really let me present my case when I was able to talk to him before going before the judge. It seems like they have a lot of people fighting the tickets from this spot. His argument was that at the town line on this dirt road where I parked there was a sign saying no parking is allowed along the length of the road.

I honestly did not see this sign before and always wondered what the parking rules where at the spot. There are a few no parking signs along the side of the road but not near this spot that is much wider from people obviously parking there. And there is a NJDEP map at the kiosk with the spot as a parking lot! If it was a $25 ticket I would pay it and not park there anymore but $250 seems outrageous!

Another odd thing is when I was talking to the prosecutor, several times he called the spot the "emergency turnaround". He kept calling it this even as I tried to show him the pictures I took. This is not an engineered structure. It is a wide spot near the trailhead, obviously there from years of people parking on the side of the road there to hike to the reservoir. He would not look at the photos of the spot or the picture of the map on the kiosk

Deep background: I hike and Kayak at Splitrock Reservoir in Morris County New Jersey a lot. I have been going there for years but over the last couple of years there has been some local politics regarding emergency responsibilities etc. and the town of Rockaway seems to make it as hard as possible to use this state managed land. I hike there two or three times a week to exercise my dog and have parked on the side of the road at the trailhead for years. Literally over a hundred times. The dirt road is very wide here and there is no obvious safety issue. I have never gotten a warning or anything and there is often other cars at the same spot.

If I go to court and have a similar experience, is there any way to appeal the decision? This feels more like a shakedown after the unsatisfying court appearance. What can I do?

How do I fight a parking ticket in Toronto?

davebush — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 06:17:46 -0800

Disputing a parking ticket in Toronto. Yesterday afternoon, I was parked on Elizabeth St. in Toronto in the exact same spot as the small silver car as seen in this street view. I admit a small bit (25% at most) of my car's back end was in the no parking zone (same as the car in the streetview). I received a $60.00 ticket - Code No. 9 - Stopped Signed Highway During Prohibited (Time/Days).

I see this as a pretty debatable infraction. What options do I have to dispute it - and, how likely am I to beat it? I live over an hour from Toronto, so giving up a day to appear in court isn't terribly appealing to me. Am I screwed? Also, am I wrong to even think this infraction is questionable?

How to get sold out Rio Theatre PFT tickets?

Kwine — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:14:58 -0800

Help me get Paul F. Tompkins tickets for the sold-out Vancouver November 30th show. It's at the Rio Theatre on Broadway. I waited too long to finalize my plans and the show has now sold out. There doesn't appear to be an online secondary market for them, and I'd be willing to pay some amount over face for two tickets. Anyone have any ideas for how I might connect with a seller? I live in Seattle. Thanks!

Can I Get a Ticket Thrown Out For Improper Dating

theichibun — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 12:58:09 -0800

I got some traffic tickets in October. My court date is December. Except the way it's written on the ticket it's January. As in the one from 2011 that already happened. I got pulled over for having an old validation sticker. Couldn't find my insurance or registration cards, had a license with an old address. So we're not talking about anything major or really harmful. Especially since I've gotten everything taken care of and will get all the tickets dismissed when I go to court in December.

Except that I'd like to get this whole thing taken care of before then. If my court date says January and I got pulled over in October, what are my chances of being able to go somewhere and have them thrown out? Or is that something that I'd have to sit through court to do anyway or something else where it's just easier to go to court on the date that he meant to write on the ticket?

Alternatively, what are my chances of being able to see the officer before the court date and just show him that I have everything taken care of? He did say when I got pulled over that if I showed up about half an hour early for court I could show him all the stuff and just skip the court proceedings.

I'm in Charleston, SC and have no worries about anyone connecting this to me since it's all pretty minor stuff and the worst that will happen is I hear that I'll have to go to court.

dude, where's my car?

violetk — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 10:44:59 -0800

can i get out of paying this ticket? i live in portland, or. a couple of weeks ago, i drove up to seattle, wa to visit some friends. it was late at night, rainy, and the police were out in full force so that, in addition to the fact that washington seems always to be crawling with cops on the freeways, prompted me to be more vigilant about my speed, which i estimate i kept within 0-7 miles of the speed limit. i passed a few accidents. about 40 minutes til my destination, i got pulled over by the police and issued a speeding ticket. for driving 5 miles above the speed limit. today i took a look at the ticket to make my payment. the model year, color, type of vehicle, and vehicle license are correct. no registration number is listed. BUT the ticket lists my car as a volkswagon UT. i drive a volvo XC70. this puzzles me seeing as the officer asked for my vehicle registration, so listing the make and model of the vehicle should have been a no-brainer.

can i legitimately get out of paying the ticket? can this constitute some kind of loophole? (sort of an academic question as i can fully pay the $93 bail but the fact that i was ticketed for driving 5 miles above the speed limit really irks me.)

Should I fight this ticket?

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 10:48:52 -0800

Please help me figure out how to contest a moving violation in California (Alameda county) A month ago, I drove down a street and made a U-turn into a parking lot. A cop who happened to be parked at that lot and on the phone walked over to me and gave me a ticket for not stopping at the stop sign. I argued a little but having had a couple of tickets in the past (6+ years ago), I know that this is pointless (especially after he took my registration and DL).

I'd like to contest it on the grounds that my car (a Subaru outback) simply cannot make a U-turn without stopping. If his argument is that I didn't stop long enough, I can counter that with the fact that there is no stipulation on how long one needs to stop.

I've been served with a summons. I either pay $243 + $50 for traffic school or show up to court and contest it. I don't have time to go to court but can make a dispassionate case in writing. In addition to stating the facts, I also plan to include a google map of the location (with me, the stop sign, the U-turn marked out, and the cop car), some information about turning radius of my model etc. Is it worth it?

Since I haven't had a ticket in years, I am eligible for traffic school. If I lose, I want to go to traffic school but also request a lower fine (for financial reasons). Can I do that in the same statement? For e.g.

Here is my case
...
I ask that you dismiss it. However, if the court does find me guilty, I'd like to enter a no contest plea and ask for a fine reduction.

Ok, that doesn't sound right but you get the idea. How should I approach this? I have until December 10th to take care of this matter.

Thanks

WA State Traffic Ticket

K and S — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 21:36:54 -0800

Washington State: I received a traffic ticket in the mail for overtaking a school bus. I did not see any of the flashing lights which the bus would normally display, and which are hard to miss, so I think that they were not on at the time that I passed the bus. I'm therefore thinking of requesting a "Contested Hearing" rather than a "Mitigation Hearing." Is this plan good or bad? There are no witnesses that I can call, so it would be my word against the officer's. Given this, is there any benefit in mitigating rather than contesting? (e.g., is there any chance that contesting will make them crabby, while mitigating would make them more likely to dismiss or reduce charges?)

Also, the ticket says that I can subpoena the officer; is there any reason to do this?