Oh, I dunno. I got a ticket once for parking in front of a pole that probably once had a no parking sign atop it. Cop even watched me park there and said nothing, waited until I went inside. I took a photo and beat it in court. The one I fought in Phoenix, the cop absolutely had someone else on his radar gun, as I was just coming from my house with stone cold engine (993), shifting from 2nd into 3rd with a red light coming up. And he said I was doing 63 in a 45 zone. No effing way. They just want you to roll over and pay and most do. When I'm in LA, if I were to follow the speed limit when traffic is really moving on the 405, I'd be dead. I usually keep it around 80 when conditions allow and that gets me passed like I'm standing still.

That's not the point.

Our government is supposed to serve us, not try to extract every last possible dime from us. Parking fines that cost upwards of $100 are unreasonable.

Are they really, if one hour costs $5 on the meter? A lot of meters now take credit cards. a 1:20 ratio of fee vs. fine isn't outrageous.

Of course I am playing devil's advocate. Why would you need to charge the public for parking in public spaces that they paid for in the first place? If you worry about people parking there too long, put a time limit. Pretty easily enforced.

G

Tell that to kids making $10. 00 an hour yes the fines are out of control.

Careful with your complaining, there. Or else they'll make the fines income-related. So if you only make $25K per year, the fine for an expired meter might be $50, but if you're a 1%er (seemingly like a third of the people in LA, judging by the cars they drive and handbags they carry) then it'll rise up to $250. You know, just to make things fair.

I agree completely, the fines are excessive. But that's why I go out of my way to avoid having to pay them. I've done a good job of not giving CA. any more money than absolutely necessary. :cool:

I think parking tix are still $5-10...been a long time and I've only had one. For no license/registration (i.e. you just don't have it with you), you show up, produce the doc and it cost you nada (i.e. dismissed). I don't know about the cost if you're "illegal", but I'm guessing 'bout $125 or so (with over half being court costs).

Wow, that is simple.

They serve us, the community. Not the individual that doesn't play by the rules. If you feel the rules are inappropriate, work to change them.

Boston has been $50 for years now. it's simple, pay the meter, especially with the new paper meters using a credit card. I don't get the incessant whining over CA by people who live there. Just move.

On a different note, this does discourage people from going into cities and spending time, shopping, eating out. Malls have a ton of free parking. If I were a mayor, I'd have some kind of a free parking system with validation via purchase coupled with some kind of checks and balances using a logarithmic fee scale to prevent workers from just driving in and leaving their cars for the day.

Responsibility is for other people.

Yep

Holy crap. Parking in my little Mayberry town is 25 cents an hour downtown. Parking ticket will set you back $5.00 and they even provide you the envelope to mail it in!

I don't disagree with you, and I behave the same way.

However, how is it that our local government came to think that this level of fines was reasonable?

Perhaps the frequency of violations has led them to charge more money in order to influence people's behavior. Kind of a supply / demand approach.

Are you kidding? The only way they want to influence people's behavior is to keep the fines just low enough so people keep doing what it takes to get more fines and then still pay instead of fight them. It doesn't cause the city the slightest inconvenience if I park for three hours in a two hour zone or some other car takes my spot when I leave. They want you to overstay your meter so they can get your money. I can't remember the last time I was pulled over for speeding and the cop told me to slow it down. They want you to speed. If they really wanted you to stop, they'd not bribe you with dropping the points to get you to pay up with no fuss.

LOL. Richard, you're a police magnet. :p

Last speeding ticket I got was three yrs. ago near Death Valley. NSP trooper told me, "The state is broke, it's a holiday weekend and I got you." Mind you, if I had been going 150 mph and run off the road, I'd have not hit anything other than sand. Cop then told me how to get the ticket knoecked down to a non-moving violation so there'd be no points. I'm surprised he didn't encourage me to hurry up on my way so I'd speed again.

I parked at a meter in San Francisco last summer that was $3.25 an hour. :eek:

And it was not even downtown, (Marina district). In a crowded, expensive place you are going to pay a lot to park. During a Lakers or Clippers game, it might be $20 to park near the Staples Center. Supply/demand. :cool:

The fines stated are in line with Chicago. How many of your cities/towns have red light cameras. Now that is a money maker!!!


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