Contest parking ticket - best strategy?

[notnatalie.livejournal.com]

I know there are threads about this, but I can't locate them easily - about best strategy to contest a parking ticket.
My sister is currently staying with me for several weeks and we are renting a car - this morning got a $50(!) ticket for "permit parking"....when the permit is clearly visible, in my opinion, practically inches from where Officer Badge Number #318 placed the ticket on the windshield.
I am assuming this officer just somehow spaced out on this one, so we took a photo.....even though we could have obviously placed it there after the fact (but didn't - got a ticket when we forgot to place it a couple weeks ago on a previous rental, so have been careful not to repeat that again!)

My question is this: should I wait and appeal in person, photo in hand, as I have done in the past? The rental is in my sister's name, but she likely will be gone by the time the appeal date is set. So I would go to the appeal. Or should I mail in a letter, now, the same day, with photo and explanatory letter, per option listed on back of ticket?

I am irate because I am fully aware that our photo doesn't really mean much---but what else can I do?

I recall from previous threads that appealing online is not smart as those appeals always seem to be rejected.

thanks for any insight....just want to mention that this rental has out of state plates, and that we just got it less than a week ago.

Comments

[avacon.livejournal.com]

Did you use the same visitors permit more than a few days in a row?
The visitors permits are only valid for use on the same car for 2-3 days.
I'm not sure what options are available for use for longer than that on a rental car.
You may want to call 311 and ask so you don't get another ticket?

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

Ditto. I've noticed that it says on the actual permit that it's only valid for a few days in a row, max, or so many days a week / month. I always wondered what Somerville residents are supposed to do if their car is in an accident and they need a longer-than-a-week rental.

[ron_newman]

This page describes Extended Visitor and Rental Car permits.

[lonelyholiday.livejournal.com]

I remember running into this when I looked into it in the past - those requirements are pretty difficult. On the rental car, for instance, you need the receipt and license plate number of the car, and if you can't go to the parking office in person, you need to mail it in ten days in advance... Is that even possible? I believe every time I've rented a car, they just assign me one out of the lot when I pick up; can rental services provide you with a license plate number a week+ in advance?

Just seems like an odd way to do it.

[smammy]

Both Extended Visitor and Rental Car permits can be applied for in person and processed immediately: Extended Visitor, Rental Car.

[squirrelitude]

...during business hours, yes? So you're shit outta luck on weekends.

[smammy]

Good thing permit parking doesn't apply to Sunday and visitor passes can be used for two days in a row. Should be plenty of time for OP to get a extended visitor pass for her sister, no?

[squirrelitude]

Ooh, I forgot about Sundays, but Saturdays are still a problem for rental permits.

I've emailed Traffic & Parking to ask about that; I'll post if I get a response.

[squirrelitude]

Here's the response I got from Traffic & Parking. No idea how authoritative this is:

How would I get a rental permit for a car I pick up on a weekend? The traffic & parking office will be closed, and I won't have a copy of the receipt or a license plate number 10 days in advance for a mailed-in application?

You may use your visitor permit for Friday, Saturday and Sunday there is no enforcement. Is the rental for an extended period? If so please contact me and I can assist with you with the type of permit you will need.

Thank you,

Suzanne Rinfret
Parking Coordinator

[notnatalie.livejournal.com]

I actually ended up going away so the car was in no danger...but I'm intrigued by the answer that there is no enforcement on Fri or Sat. Does that mean anywhere - for example, if you have a party Friday night then it won't matter to get extra permits for multiple out-ot-towners beforehand?
The Traffic & Parking office sometimes perplexes me. ALthough I can understand if they are being intentionally opaque about some aspects such as this one (ie, in reality we are lenient about enforcing the visitor parking near the weekend, but we keep the rule on the books so we can use it as needed)

[smammy]

Interesting!

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

In theory the parking office will issue temporary permits in that case.

[notnatalie.livejournal.com]

Argh, how annoying. Thanks to all for the info and for finding the direct link as well.
I really dislike these types of rules that are not stated in obvious areas, like for example, the back of the visitor permit?? It would be so helpful if they actually put a line there warning that a separate permit must be applied for in cases such as this! Granted, I didn't read it carefully enough to remember that what I was doing would likely get me into trouble, but when I did, it was still a mystery what I was supposed to do next. I called 311 who said "since the office is closed Fri-Sun, you'll probably get a ticket on Fri and Sat - but the 48 hour clock begins on Mon again, so you'll have to go in then and just bring all the tickets and see if they can do something for you" Great.

On another note, watch out for weedy overgrowth into the sidewalk....got hit with that one a year ago when our hedge (20% ours, 80% the absent landlord next door) apparently was not tidy enough for some cop who shot a photo of it in the middle of the night with a flash - a xerox copy of which was the evidence submitted with the ticket mailed to us. It drives me nuts that the first time you get hit with some violation of something you've never heard of/never received any info about, its a ticket. Not even a warning. But I digress; thanks everyone for the info!!

[unferth.livejournal.com]

My sympathies on the ticket - but if the restrictions aren't stated on the backs of the visitor permit then you have a different version than I do. Mine say, as their first paragraph on the back:

"A visitor parking permit or succession of visitor parking permits can only be displayed in a (1) visitor vehicle for two days each week, from Monday through Saturday, regardless of how many times the vehicle is moved within the designated time period or moved on the street or adjacent street of household where the visitor permit was issued."

I've generally had good luck dealing with the Traffic and Parking staff in person; despite them having a job which seems likely to bring them into contact with a lot of angry people they've always been pleasant and helpful to me. Whether they'll be able to do anything about a ticket that sounds like it might have been legitimately incurred I couldn't say.

[notnatalie.livejournal.com]

To clarify, my permit certainly says the same....its just that it doesn't enlighten you in the slightest as to what to do if you need a permit for longer periods of time. I suggest a sentence ie. "For permits for longer visits, rental cars, etc, you must contact the office to obtain a special permit."

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

To be fair, to do what you suggest would mean that for each type of permit they'd have to write on Every Type of permit everything that is on the web page that ron pointed you to. You have admitted it states the restrictions (i.e. 2 days) on that particular permit. Stating all the different parking options (not just the permits, but the rules regarding side of street parking, winter exceptions, meter items, let alone the city's laws regarding how far from driveways/hydrants) is asking for too much.

Of course, you didn't ask for all those regulations to be printed on the visitor's pass. But if you want one item on the pass, the next person might want their item on the pass too, and then you get the "which ones get printed on the pass?" issue.

It is sort of obvious what to do if the pass you have doesn't do what you need: go to the office where you got it, and see if they have something which might fit your needs.

[squirrelitude]

Not only that, but the visitor permit states that it cannot be used for vehicles owned or operated by a resident. I only noticed that after I had my rental car, but lucked out. I suppose it was fine because I didn't leave it there for several days. Anyway, how would they know?

[ratatosk.livejournal.com]

It seems like one of the aspects of the process that is really upsetting is not just that there is fine print that people often fail to anticipate in extremely common and predictable ways, but that the actual text of the ticket was uninformative, too. If someone can't tell why they got a ticket from the face of the ticket itself, they can't even decide if the ticket was fairly issued, or whether they should contest it, or what evidence they should provide when contesting it. I would even say that parking tickets tend to be uninformative to an extent that, in conversation, would be considered rude or at least socially incompetent. In the context of being told you've committed some violation, it's seriously unsettling to be told in a way that comes off as willfully vague.


If I had any say in the design of the tickets, which I don't, I'd split "permit parking" into multiple items. For example:

Permit parking
- no permit visible
- permit expired
- permit used more than 2 days in a week
- not parked on street of address or adjacent street

This ought to take no longer for the parking officer to issue than before, since as best as I can tell (from a Google image search) the process involves selecting items from a checklist and then having the ticket printed on the spot. Since the ticket doesn't need to have a checkbox for every option, my way would not involve any extra paper, either.


This is a long way of saying I sympathize with the OP. :P

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

Cambridge resident permit tickets usually have an explanation in the Notes field, though it's often very abbreviated.

[notnatalie.livejournal.com]

Exactly. If only the listed ticket reason code had been more forthcoming, I would have understood my lapse - if I hadn't posted to this LJ I would have rearranged my work schedule to go down to the office and contest the ticket on the basis of an entirely false understanding of what I was being fined for.

[ratatosk.livejournal.com]

The photo taken at night is kind of terrible. Our landlord got fined for bad trash storage two years ago or so, and I had them send me a copy of what got sent to them -- it was basically just black. You couldn't make out any details. I definitely approve of the practice of police keeping good documentation, and in the cases of trash or weeds you can't do much better than a photo, but it really ought to be a photo that actually shows the thing they consider a violation.

It is completely possible to take photos at night that come out okay. It just sounds like, for whatever reason, the Somerville police have had a lot of problems with it. There are probably even some simple fixes (e.g. even cheap plastic tripods would let them leave the shutter open for longer).

[notnatalie.livejournal.com]

It seems like such a strange process, stealthily snapping photos in the middle of the night. However I am leaning toward viewing it as living in a safe enough neighborhood that it is considered a 'keep em busy' task for the night shift cops. Although if I had been woken up by a flash going off in my window I woulda freaked out.

[barry-rafkind.livejournal.com]

My investigation (http://www.somervillevoices.org/2011/05/19/city-finances/trends-in-parking-ticket-appeals-uncovered/) from last year confirmed that appealing online was less successful, actually by 11%. Also, your chance of success depends somewhat on which hearing officer takes your appeal.

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

and what mood they're in that day. kill them with kindness is my advice. they likely deal with a steady stream of pissed off residents.

[t4e-ds.livejournal.com]

Friend who stayed with me a couple of years ago got a ticket on his rental car, chose to ignore it and claims he never heard about it again. I imagine YMMV depending on the rental car company and how the town may have changed procedures in following up with the rental car companies... Wouldn't recommend it but depends on your appetite for risk :)

[notnatalie.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm tempting, especially since its in my sister's name :-) But I'm choosing to see it as a donation to the city's coffers to go to expansion of bike lanes. If only I could designate that in the memo line!

[phoenixy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was a legitimate violation, but challenge it anyway, they might dismiss it. I had a similar ticket (except that I *did* buy the hangtag you were supposed to get for rental cars and got ticketed anyway) and they dismissed it when I explained that I was a resident driving a rental car, without even checking whether I bought a hangtag or not. If you can show that you were eligible for the kind of visitor permit you were supposed to have had, and you immediately pay for and get one now and show that you have done so, and write a very nice and reasonable letter explaining how it was just a paperwork mistake on your part, they may dismiss it anyway. (I challenged via mail, then followed up over the phone after not hearing back.)