31–40 of 139 posts
Nice, I wonder if the second order effect of having a lot of tickets contested will feedback into the people writing them. Since it costs the system more to process a contested ticket, it is a loss for them to write them if they know they won't hold up.
They're often time just more taxes for things like parking 19 vs 18 inches from the curb, even in cases where no traffic (including cyclists) are impeded or endangered.
Don't you usually end up paying more in court costs + penalties if you fight a ticket in court and lose?
It's only when you request the trial that court costs and higher penalties come into play.
At least where I live they tow people by the truckload from lots that aren't even marked as required by law, and then hold the vehicles hostage for ransom, though so far as I'm aware no law authorizes the theft.
I hate parking tickets so much that I follow posted signs and obey traffic laws.
Local jurisdictions are heavily incentivized to hand out infractions of any kind -- deserved or not. Why? Because they keep the money.
What do they spend the money on? Things like public employees and their benefits, including pensions. It's clearly a perverse incentive.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perverse_incentive
I've always thought that government shouldn't benefit from fines or seized property. I'm not sure what a good solution is. Perhaps they should take the money from fines and just light it on fire.
There shouldn't be a financial incentive for governments to hand out tickets and fines and seize property - the democratic incentive should be enough.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In fairness, are you sure they should be parking there if it's not a loading zone? I once was stuck behind a truck that refused to move on a one-lane street for 20 minutes while he insisted on unloading, backing up traffic 3 blocks down the street.
In midtown NYC, there are lots of narrow streets that have small businesses lining both sides of the street and cars parked on both sides of the street. The only way to deliver anything to these businesses would be to double park the truck. Making double parking illegal there is essentially outlawing commerce on these streets.
In arlington VA, I once got a parking ticket issued outside of the 9-5 parking restriction hours; in the same place i got a ticket with an address that was nowhere near where i was parking; and another that had a totally fictional address altogether. In retrospect, I should have contested these tickets by going to court, grilling the parking attendant (under oath) on the details, getting them very specifically, and t…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In midtown NYC, there are lots of narrow streets that have small businesses lining both sides of the street and cars parked on both sides of the street. The only way to deliver anything to these businesses would be to double park the truck. Making double parking illegal there is essentially outlawing commerce on these streets.
That sounds like something that the businesses of that street should be addressing with the local government to get that obvious problem resolved. Such as a loading zone that doesn't allow general parking during certain hours. Yes, it's not optimal but it's better than the ticket and causing traffic problems.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In midtown NYC, there are lots of narrow streets that have small businesses lining both sides of the street and cars parked on both sides of the street. The only way to deliver anything to these businesses would be to double park the truck. Making double parking illegal there is essentially outlawing commerce on these streets.
That sounds like something that the businesses of that street should be addressing with the local government to get that obvious problem resolved. Such as a loading zone that doesn't allow general parking during certain hours. Yes, it's not optimal but it's better than the ticket and causing traffic problems.
The other issue is that perhaps the businesses want the parking for customers. Seems silly to cut off a bunch of parking for 20 minutes of deliveries in a day as well.
Lots of cities were just not designed with the modern world in mind and these industries grow out of the problems.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In fairness, are you sure they should be parking there if it's not a loading zone? I once was stuck behind a truck that refused to move on a one-lane street for 20 minutes while he insisted on unloading, backing up traffic 3 blocks down the street.
I think transport trucks have first right to streets (after emergency vehicles, of course). They pay a lot of taxes and it's the only way to get good delivered in cities. If commuters don't like waiting, they can always take transit or ride a bike.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That sounds like something that the businesses of that street should be addressing with the local government to get that obvious problem resolved. Such as a loading zone that doesn't allow general parking during certain hours. Yes, it's not optimal but it's better than the ticket and causing traffic problems.
The local government has no interest in fixing it since the parking tickets are a cash cow for the city. The fines are ultimately paid by the people who have to pay more for the goods these businesses are selling to cover the cost of business. Unfortunately, this is just one of the many things that makes businesses in NYC less cost-competitive.