Ticketed at 6:57 in a no parking until 7 zone

**adri** · 01-20-2010, 11:57 AM

Am I s.o.o.l. or is there some sort of time 5 minute safety rule?

Worst part is, buddy didn't even leave a ticket on my bike, all I received was a payment notice in the mail, which is probably overdue by now.

**FiReSTaRT** · 01-20-2010, 12:06 PM

The city's strapped for cash so you're s.o.l. on the 5 minute rule, but you can still get the case reopened.

**omnivore** · 01-20-2010, 03:51 PM

Here you can park on one side of the street fr 2 wks, then the other for the remaining 2 wks of each month (to allow snowplows to clear both sides of the street).

I once got a ticket on the first of the month at 12:01 am, for being on the wrong side. At midnight, a police officer saw fit to pull over and ticket my car. After all, what more pressing could a cop be doing, with all the vigilante errant cars parked. It's not like real crime is being committed anywhere at 12:01.

**turbodish** · 01-20-2010, 04:36 PM

Originally Posted by omnivore

Wah! Wahhhh! WAHHHHH!

Try remaining parked on Queen Street once the hour hits the appointed time. The ticketers and tow trucks will be on you within seconds.

By your own words, the parking restrictions are clearly signed on your street and you are well aware of them. A clear time line is defined, and them enforcing it immediately once that line is crossed removes any ambiguity about what the "real" limit is. It seems to me that a parking ticket in that kind of situation should be an easy thing to avoid.

That there is crime happening in the city is a red herring. There will always be crime but we can't have cops sitting doing nothing while waiting for crime to happen, and we can't have cops preemptively busting down doors before it happens without real good cause. So they wait and do other lesser duties in the meantime. If it's serious enough you can bet that any uniformed cops out doing ticket or traffic duties will be quickly diverted as needed to deal with it.

**adri** · 01-20-2010, 10:07 PM

Same stuff happens over here omnivore. My street has the same setup. Alternates every two weeks except during winter months. I'm sure the first day the change takes effects Meter Maid P.D. will be out there the very second the change to sides takes effect again in the spring, you can bet they won't give a warning.

I was surprised about my ticket but it happened 10 feet away from my girlfriend's door. We usually hung out outside kicking tires until 7 just to avoid this kind of thing. Guess one of us had our watches ahead or something ?

**tiborgh** · 01-28-2010, 10:34 PM

I got one of these tickets during the "happy days" of '07 and never made it to the court, but I was prepared to ask the PEO to come up with evidence that his equipment was synchronized to a reliable time source. Same idea as the "calibrated radar gun" for speeding tickets.

Has anyone tried this approach in court?

**Splash** · 01-29-2010, 09:12 AM

Originally Posted by adri

Am I s.o.o.l. or is there some sort of time 5 minute safety rule?

Worst part is, buddy didn't even leave a ticket on my bike, all I received was a payment notice in the mail, which is probably overdue by now.

so the ticket was never severed to you? It was just mailed? It's not valid. Ask for a court date and it will/should be thrown out.

http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum...ad.php?t=79918

**AdRath** · 01-29-2010, 10:06 AM

Originally Posted by turbodish

It seems to me that a parking ticket in that kind of situation should be an easy thing to avoid.

Some parking bylaws are written with entrapment in mind.

Easy to avoid? By getting up at 12:00am (not a moment sooner or a moment later) and move your car to the other side of the street?

**roadtoruin** · 01-29-2010, 11:46 AM

I used to face that scenario when I used street parking a few years ago. You had to move from one side of the street at 12 midnight every 15th and 1st day of the month. I got a few tickets that never received a court date. So you have exactly 1 minute to move your car from one side to the other, god forbid your watch may be 2 minutes off. I wanted to go to court on that one and ask what the hell they expect people to do.