Can you beat a parking ticket in LA? (lawyers, legally)

[cuziamthecaptain]

I dropped a friend off by a hotel on a red curb. Then 2 weeks later I get a ticket for parking in a red no-parking zone. I got it in the mail because they "were unable to physically attach the citation to your vehicle" i.e. because I was in the car. I never parked the car-- never left the car or turned the engine off.
Should I contest? Do I have a shot? It's $65 but, I'm a starting grad student.

[katenik]

red zones are "no stopping." it doesn't matter if you don't park and leave the vehicle. unless you pushed your friend out the door while rolling by the curb, you stopped. there is no excuse you can offer for stopping in a red zone that will enable you to avoid the fine. pay it.

[Fighter 1]

Originally Posted by ELanza

What if just your bumper was parked in the red zone because the car in front of you was parked at the very back of his space? Can you fight & win that ticket? Mid-Wilshire.

DM me you can beat any of them!

[msnorman67]

I've been waiting to pay my tickets until I switch my license and registration. Now I find out my tickets may have doubled. Now, between smog check, license fee, registration, and fines, I'm looking at close to a grand to switch from GA to LA. Do I have any choice? Can I lower the fines by going to court?

[mading6]

Yes like Escape California said WELcome to California, Open your wallet.

[msnorman67]

Originally Posted by Fighter 1

DM me you can beat any of them!

I tried to contact you and cannot. Please contact me if you are willing to give some advice.

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by msnorman67

I have been here about a month and just got a red zone ticket. I'm in Los Feliz and parking is not easy. I parked in a red zone after 20 minutes of driving around looking for a space. I intended to come back down in a few minutes to move the car and forgot. I did the crime but $75 is crazy! {excuses deleted}

Quit whining. Be an honorable person and pay your fine.

There's an old saying, "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time."

You messed up and you knew you were messing up. You got caught. Go ahead and take your medicine, pay the ticket, and take it as a lesson to obey parking laws in the future.

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by msnorman67

I've been waiting to pay my tickets until I switch my license and registration. Now I find out my tickets may have doubled. Now, between smog check, license fee, registration, and fines, I'm looking at close to a grand to switch from GA to LA. Do I have any choice? Can I lower the fines by going to court?

As far as smog check, license fee and registration, don't complain. That pain is shared equally by all of us, and you are just becoming acquainted with some of the negative stuff and more expensive parts of Living in Los Angeles. We all pay that, including me. It's the cost of being here. Your other choice is to be somewhere else, and put up with whatever fees they have there.

As far as your tickets doubling, that's part of the cost of teaching you to not be a deadbeat. You had your chance months ago to pay your parking ticket, and as far as I know you just put a check in the envelope and mail it in. Since you didn't do that they evidently doubled the fee.

So what have we learned here?

1. Do not casually ignore parking laws in Los Angeles. Do not park in red zones, not even for a few seconds.

2. Pay your parking fines on time or you will have to pay double later.

So face it like a man. You screwed up and it's nobody's fault but your own. Pay your fines, register your car, and remember in the future to obey all the laws.

And welcome to Los Angeles! Really! I hope after your bad start that things will turn better for you. Good luck!



And keep that car insured!!! It's the law!!! (You will get a ticket for no insurance if you get stopped by a cop and cannot produce your insurance card.)

[cuziamthecaptain]

Originally Posted by gypsy456

Well, you parked in a red zone..... where you are not allowed to park.
So indeed: just pay and watch where you park the next time.

I'm not going to go into details-- but I ignored the above advice, used the fact that they didn't record my VIN against them, and ended up not being liable for the ticket.. i.e. didn't have to pay.

Don't believe everything you read on the net, I guess. As a citizen, you're obliged to do what you need to do to get out of laws or fines that are unjust. You're not supposed to just bend over and take it.

[msnorman67]

Originally Posted by Lovehound

As far as smog check, license fee and registration, don't complain. That pain is shared equally by all of us, and you are just becoming acquainted with some of the negative stuff and more expensive parts of Living in Los Angeles. We all pay that, including me. It's the cost of being here. Your other choice is to be somewhere else, and put up with whatever fees they have there.

As far as your tickets doubling, that's part of the cost of teaching you to not be a deadbeat. You had your chance months ago to pay your parking ticket, and as far as I know you just put a check in the envelope and mail it in. Since you didn't do that they evidently doubled the fee.

So what have we learned here?

1. Do not casually ignore parking laws in Los Angeles. Do not park in red zones, not even for a few seconds.

2. Pay your parking fines on time or you will have to pay double later.

So face it like a man. You screwed up and it's nobody's fault but your own. Pay your fines, register your car, and remember in the future to obey all the laws.

And welcome to Los Angeles! Really! I hope after your bad start that things will turn better for you. Good luck!



And keep that car insured!!! It's the law!!! (You will get a ticket for no insurance if you get stopped by a cop and cannot produce your insurance card.)

I'll bake then some cookies too.