Broadband Tech > General Questions > Parking Ticket FIGHT: Will I win? Pics

reply to billydunwood

Re: Parking Ticket FIGHT: Will I win? Pics

reply to vaxvms

reply to billydunwood
You won't win, you HAVE TO MAKE A VALID CASE, not a excuse. You have to support your case by stating if there were NO signs, but you admit there is a sign down the block, they will rule against you. You state that the branch is blocking the sign, they will rule against you, that isn't a valid argument. You state that the car is blocking the sign, they will rule against you. Your own photos admit your guilt, one by pointing out a sign down the block and one you say is missing the sign. Now it there were no signs at all on that side of the block or the following block. Then you would have a chance. Not in this case. IMHO you are going to lose your case and waste your time.

But if you still feel you shouldn't have gotten a ticket because of a missing sign give them a ring.

"
If you received a parking citation you believe was issued incorrectly because of a missing or defaced sign, you must call the Parking Violations Bureau listed below.

Parking Violations Bureau
(866) 561-9742
(213) 623-7046 (TTY)"

reply to billydunwood
Nice angle on the 'obstructed' shot, way behind what I presume is your car. Wouldn't you have been closer and further out especially after exiting the driver's side of the vehicle? The tip of the branch is barely obstructing it at the camera's angle. Also the sign doesn't even look 100ft away from the camera let alone the car.

reply to billydunwood
I'd fight it. Take pictures from where you parked at all angles up and down the street. From the 2 pictures you first posted, I see no indication of any sign saying you can't park there. If you have ample pictures of that side of the street and there are no signs within reasonable distance, then that strengthens your case.

You also haven't parked her before so you would be unaware that there were parking limitations.

Apologize for parking illegally but simply make the claim there there is no way you could have known it was a no-parking (time) issue because were no signs visible within a reasonable distance.

You'll be at the mercy of the court to decide what is reasonable. Just remember to state facts, be polite and (if possible) produce your driving record that shows you have no outstanding parking or traffic violations.

reply to vaxvms
This is not your classic "ignorance of the law" case. That will not come into play.

To the OP, I say fight it, and you may win if you are in front of a judge, respectful, and the judge is in a good mood.
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PR is back in town

reply to seaquake

reply to billydunwood
To those that say ignorance of the law is no excuse, I say... you are correct and it applies to your posts.

OP, I'd certainly take my day in court. A sign telling people of a law that subjective to a certain area should be visible to a person... in that area. The city had a choice to put a sign where you could see it and they did not... or they have not replaced it as required. That is certainly not your fault. I looked over the photo taken from where you were parked, looking for a sign, and could not see any.

reply to billydunwood
Another view.

reply to billydunwood
Just to add to my post... if you dispute the citation I'm pretty sure the judge is going to ask you if you would have passed any no parking signs on that block prior to arriving at your parking space. Chances are good that you did. As such, it could be argued that you should have seen that you were not allowed to park there.

reply to billydunwood
5-1 you will lose. I'm not saying its fair. Just saying that's the way it is.

The situation you describe is a very common one just about everywhere in the united states that has such signs on streets with trees. What happens to you happens every day lots of times to lots of people. This only increases the likelihood you will lose.

Good luck though.

reply to billydunwood
Pay it, Bill....you won't win.

Trust me.
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I work hard. I play hard. I stay hard.

reply to billydunwood
To the OP: ALWAYS fight a parking ticket in L.A. There is plenty of evidence showing that the Parking Violations Bureau over-reaches in many cases, and flat out lies in others, and writes tickets when there is no violation. Because odds are the recipient will pay instead of contesting it. Enforcement has been stepped up since the city is cash strapped. In my own neighborhood I have seen parking enforcement cruising the street as late as 2 or 3 AM looking for whatever they can get.

Your post hits home since I only today succeeded in the lengthy process of appealing the second of two parking tickets which IMO were undeserved. (I was waiting to blog about it until the situation was concluded so as not to take any chance of prejudicing my claim) and I have successfully appealed parking and traffic tickets in the past, usually by mail without ever stepping inside of a courtroom.

You will need to proceed through the 3 steps of appeal; 1) Administrative Review by the PVB. 2) Administrative Hearing by the Dept. of Trans. 3) Appeal to the LA Superior Court. All the forms are available on the net.

Fortunately steps 1 and 2 can be done by mail. Unfortunately a very large percentage of requests in steps 1 and 2 are denied.... because the decision is made by the same employees whos salary comes from the ticket revenue. Fortunately the court system does not share in the parking ticket revenue so they are the only independent arbiter you will have, but you must go thru steps 1 and 2 before you are allowed to appeal to the court.

Be prepared to "educate" the PVB and DOT as to the actual law, in at least two of my cases they insisted they were right and I had to quote the Calif. Vehicle Code to them in my defense.... and in one of those instances they "graciously" offered to reduce my fine until I persisted and they got it through their thick heads that there was no violation so there should be no fine. The vehicle code was clear on this, the DOT was just playing ignorant.

Keep copies of everything. Keep a log of any phone calls made, actions taken, responses, items sent or received. Communicate only by letter if possible. Be prepared for them to lose your paperwork, or not respond timely, or respond twice with different results. Don't bother arguing with the clerks, they don't know anything. Don't let deadlines pass since the penalties double the amount of the ticket and amount to robbery! (also DMV won't let you renew the registration if there is an unpaid parking ticket)

I see you're in Culver City. I'm in the SF valley and received all my tickets here. I recall being told some time back that parking restriction signs only need to be posted one at each end of a street where the particular parking restriction starts and ends. Your city may have it's own local regs about sign placement. If a sign is actually missing that is grounds for dismissal, even if another sign is only 100 feet away. If you believe a sign is missing, contact the traffic bureau for records to determine where the signs should be on that section of street. If a sign is blocked by a tree or other object that is grounds for dismissal. If the sign is only partly covered it will be a judgment call and again, you can expect the PVB to rule against you, so take it to step 3 and let a judge decide.

I also suggest you ignore some of the other answers in this thread from those who don't live in LA. With all due respect, their locality is quite likely very different than LA when it comes to parking tickets and possibly even traffic tickets. (Where else but LA would judges decide that red light camera tickets are not legal and refuse to hear the cases?)

Many years ago I downloaded a book Pay No More Undeserved Parking Tickets by Paul Bezaire and his book was my incentive to fight the theft carried on by our local politicians. I don't know if the book is still available but you can search. It's from 2006, but I think I d/l it in 2009. To quote Mr. Bezaire, "Undeserved parking tickets can be beat." and "But always stay within the frame work of the law."

There is also good info on »www.ticketassassin.com/

reply to billydunwood
All these people saying you'll lose...

Well.... if you don't try you will.

I got a ticket for parking over the "line" of a parking spot. 75 bucks!

Now in truth my car was ON the line, not over it. My other side of tires were touching the line too. The facts are the parking spots they made in this park were way too small. I was driving a bronco.

Just 3 spots over I found this GEM:



I brought the photos of my car and the police car with me, took 10 mins and I walked out with no ticket.

Now some people might say "two wrongs dont make a right" however it worked in this case.

Lol...that's awesome. (And especially the fact that it helped you get out of the parking ticket).
The cop was probably so busy looking at the girl on the fence, he wasn't paying attention to his parking.
Wonder if he 'accidentally' dropped his pen on the grass after that, just like the kids did in elementary school in the classroom when they were sitting next to a girl with a dress on.

To the OP. I think you might have a case..hey, why not try? (If you do, let us know how it turns out).
I remember I got a parking ticket because I put money in a meter, but the meter didn't register it. I was in a hurry and didn't have time to find another spot so I took my chances.
Sent my payment in with a letter saying I was doing so under protest, and explained why. Several days later, they sent the check back saying they went out and looked at the meter and apologized for the ticket.
A little different than your situation, but you never know until you try.
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I had a life once.....now I have a Computer and a Modem.

reply to billydunwood
You'll lose. Save yourself the time and extra fees. Pay the ticket.

reply to billydunwood
Where does the no parking apply ? Is it a car-length next to the sign, 50' in both directions, etc ? Usually they will have a distance or there will be (2) signs, "x" feet apart, with arrows indicating "in between here".