Ok- its a parking ticket! :guns:
I have parked my bike in Boston in the same place since last June! Never have I received a ticket. Today I get one that states I parked to close to the firehydrant. Which - that part I can't argue. What I can argue is that in Boston (the financial district) has allowed motorcycles to parked near firehydrants. We all park near them!!! :bs:
Sigh.
So much for saving money by riding in... this is a $75 ticket.
I am going to appeal it. Give me some ideas... As of right now I figure my point is "has the policy changed?"
:bs: :guns: :x
Damn cops... :)
On the serious side, look up the local municipal code and see what is specifically says concerning parking in the vicinity of hydrants. If is clearly states you can not park near hydrants, don't fight it-pay the ticket. Keep in mind a cop is not required to enforce every law violated, they have the recognized ability to determine what to enforce based on a multitude of factors. If you decide to fight it, keep in mind the judge will ask you if you parked there and then tell you what the law says...if it says you can't park there, you're paying.
Good luck
Thats the thing- I WAS parked there... I guess my real question for them is... if the policy for motorcycles-which I will say is unwritten- has changed, by all means I will change my parking habits. But don't punish me for not knowing it has changed.
As I stated above, I park here all the time. I have come back to find cars ticketed all around and not one of the bikes had a ticket. Thats a common occurance. If they are going to ticket, I will abide by the law. I just need to know before I rack up 5 days of $75 tickets.
Also in the financal distrcit they use metermaids for parking violations. I am in no way trying to demean or argue with them. Thats not my style. If I know then its cool. It may be a new metermaid, or whatever. Who knows. I don't - I just want a fair chance. I'll take it as a warning. Hell they don't know your parking or driving habits - they have to go on what they see right then. Just be consistant.
I guess the bottom line is I need to know if I can continue to ride to work or if I just take the bus. I had always taken how they let us park as a bonus. But it doesn't work out $$ wise to have to pay to park in Boston. Its too friggen expensive.
in NYC the trick seems to be to take your plates with you after you park.. It makes the metermaid's lives much more difficult and 9 times out of 10 they don't bother with you if you've got no plate number for them to ticket... keep in mind that this is a larger violation (improper display) but apparently it is more difficult for them to write up a ticket based on the VIN number and it requires a call in to a supervisor (or so I heard....) in any case, I know guys that ride into work, park right up on the sidewalk, take their plates off and put electrical tape over their VINs... one guy I know who rides a cbr900 says he does this everyday (even in winter) and has gotten maybe one ticket in the past 3 years... (I think it was an expensive ticket as parking on the sidewalk tends to be). But for him, its worth it as every piece of plastic on his bike is worth more than a ticket.. and people around here tend to knock bikes over... often....
good luck
Oh, and I got a ticket the other week too... for missing inspection sticker... I plead not guilty because the cop wrote my body type up as MCY (motorcycle, obviously) but indicated that my plate type was PAS (passenger vehicle, MOT is the correct abbreviation for motorcycle plates in NY)... so according to the LAW in NY, if they misdescribe any part of the important stuff like plate number, type, body type etc... then the ticket should be dismissed by a judge... so check to make sure they got everything exactly correct... of course I didnt have an inspection sticker so I am guilty... but if you look up my plate number under the code PAS, my plate doesnt even exist.... so how can they fine me??? anyway, still waiting to hear back so I'll let you know what happens...
Quote from: snapperThats the thing- I WAS parked there... I guess my real question for them is... if the policy for motorcycles-which I will say is unwritten- has changed, by all means I will change my parking habits. But don't punish me for not knowing it has changed.
It may not be that it changed so much as that it isnt routinely enforced and you happened to be there when the cop had a bad day and was pissed about something...you just never know.
Parking on the sidewalk is like that here in SoCal. You ARE specifically not supposed to park there but no one ever gets a ticket for it...but you run the risk every time you do it.
Sorry its such a costly ticket...better than if you were moving when you got a ticket though!
hey pablo, noticed your sig. didnt you know that being red adds 10 extra hp? :lol: :nana:
Unfortunately, the attitude of the law is "Ignorance of the law excuses no-one, for all may claim it and who may gainsay him (or her)". Remember, the vast majority of those who make the law (at least in this country) are lawyers, and so have a vested interst in making the law as complicated as possible. We, the plebs haven't a hope of knowing it all and you can bet changes are not widely publicised. Good luck fighting it but remember, often the fine in court will be more than the ticket, just to punish you for questioning. :nono:
Doh! In your appeal lie and say you were parked at the end of the cars and the yellow no park line was clearly starting after the spot you parked and perhaps the meter maid was irritated you were able to squeze into such a tight area. And also note you have parked in the same spot for 11 months.
Welcome to the people's republic :(
Selective enforcement is a real weakness in the justice system. For example, police around here typically don't pull over speeders until you're about 7mph in excess of the speed limit; so everyone drives about 5mph over. To be safe, you must break the law and ride with traffic; riding 5mph slower than surrounding traffic is not very safe. But this implicit laxness in enforcement gives police a just cause to pull-over any vehicle they choose, and to ticket it.
Sometimes, this freedom is not used wisely; for example, it may be used as justification, while pulling-over a disproportionate number of motorcyclists, or black drivers, etc. It can take years of studies and class action suits to identify selective enforcement. You, as an individual, cannot reasonably fight a ticket with the justification that "nobody ticketed me for 10 years, so I thought it was really OK".
That said, for the purposes of parking in front of hydrants, the real problem is that the car blocks access to the hydrant in case of fire. If a car is parked there, then firefighters will simply smash the windows out, run the hose through the car and out the other side, and go to work. A bike really wouldn't be much of an obstacle. It could be tipped over and dragged out of the way in a few seconds. It would be interesting if we could change the hydrant area from a "do not park" code, to a "park at your own risk" code: if there is a fire, then firefighters have the right to total your car or bike, but you can still park there.
Re - register your bike, it may be cheaper. Say your plate was stolen or some BS like that. They won't bother to scoflaw you for a parking violation.
$75 is alot. Oh yeah don't park there anymore :roll: .
Quote from: Rema1000Selective enforcement is a real weakness in the justice system. For example, police around here typically don't pull over speeders until you're about 7mph in excess of the speed limit; so everyone drives about 5mph over. To be safe, you must break the law and ride with traffic; riding 5mph slower than surrounding traffic is not very safe. But this implicit laxness in enforcement gives police a just cause to pull-over any vehicle they choose, and to ticket it."
"Sometimes, this freedom is not used wisely; for example, it may be used as justification, while pulling-over a disproportionate number of motorcyclists, or black drivers, etc. It can take years of studies and class action suits to identify selective enforcement. You, as an individual, cannot reasonably fight a ticket with the justification that "nobody ticketed me for 10 years, so I thought it was really OK".
"That said, for the purposes of parking in front of hydrants, the real problem is that the car blocks access to the hydrant in case of fire. If a car is parked there, then firefighters will simply smash the windows out, run the hose through the car and out the other side, and go to work. A bike really wouldn't be much of an obstacle. It could be tipped over and dragged out of the way in a few seconds. It would be interesting if we could change the hydrant area from a "do not park" code, to a "park at your own risk" code: if there is a fire, then firefighters have the right to total your car or bike, but you can still park there.
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I respectfully disagree that selective enforcement is a weakness. If cops were to stop and cite all violations observed, the public would complain about the police's abuse of power and wasting the taxpayer's money enforcing everything. I'm not educated on many other state's laws, but in CA the law specifically states it is to be enforced with the spirit of the law. In other words, enforced with the intent of the law, not the letter of the law. For example, if traffic is moving at 10mph over on an interstate safely then there is not an overriding need to stop any "violators", however if traffic is moving at 10 over and one or more errant drivers are weaving in and out of the traffic lane causing undue risk, they should be stopped and cited. Selective enforcement allows police the opportunity to, hopefully based on sound judgement and reasonable suspicion, enforce the violations endangering the public's safety and the opportunity to focus attention on violators commiting serious offenses. I'm not saying there aren't cops not using their given flexibility in a way that seems inappropiate to you, but I urge you to look at the big picture of law enforcement.
Keep in mind that having to smash through a car's window, or drag a bike out of the way wastes valuable time in the resolution of a fire in progress. The goal of the fire dept. is to put out a fire as fast as possible to save lives and minimize property damage. I know I'd be pissed if my loved ones sufferes any injury or worse case death because someone parked their vehicle in front of a hydrant.
I'd like to see the research you have on cops pulling over an unfair number of violators of a certian segment of society. My personal first hand expericence says stops are made based on a number of factors. For example, if I'm patroling a rural area that has recently received complaints of drag racing and I spot a tuner import car, good chance I'll stop him for a violation of codified law (it isn't hard, the core CA vehicle code is 1150 pages long) to determine what he is doing in the area. He has the absolute right and freedom to be in the area, and I have the legal right and responsibility to ensure the safety and freedoms of the rest of the citizens in the area. Often these stops do not generate a citation, but get the driver's attention as to the police presence in the area.
I suggest bring the issue up to your local governing board (city council, board of trustees, etc) and see if they understand your plight. I personally think the hydrant parking being ruled as a "no parking area" is required. If it is a "park at your own risk" area, ineviatble the definition will be twisted by a greedy attorney and the city/county/state will be held liable for any damage to the vehicle caused by fire and the delay in getting water to a working fire because they were laxed in their parking code.
I don't expect many folks to agree with my opinions, but I have a view from the inside of cop work. I am in no way trying to start a warring debate, but hope you can see the big picture of what the cops have at hand.