Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I just got a letter in the mail saying that I owed money for a ticket that I got when I was last in Baltimore over Labor Day. After calling the Baltimore City Parking Office, they told me that it was for a parking ticket for blocking a sidewalk. It was written at 6:30 am. I this found odd, since they didn't put anything on my windshield or whatever, and it wasn't windy or rainy that day, so it wouldn't have blown off. Does Baltimore City usually do this? Secondly, I asked them why it took five months to send me a ticket, and they said it's because my plates are from out of state, and it takes longer to find them, however, I got a red light ticket in Baltimore earlier that day, and got it mailed to me within two weeks.
Anyways, I'm wondering if it's worth it to challenge this, since this isn't like a red light ticket, where they have visual evidence of you committing the violation, and they never put anything on my windshield.... or is it just going to be a case of "well, it's our word against yours, so see ya?"
I just got a letter in the mail saying that I owed money for a ticket that I got when I was last in Baltimore over Labor Day. After calling the Baltimore City Parking Office, they told me that it was for a parking ticket for blocking a sidewalk. It was written at 6:30 am. I this found odd, since they didn't put anything on my windshield or whatever, and it wasn't windy or rainy that day, so it wouldn't have blown off. Does Baltimore City usually do this? Secondly, I asked them why it took five months to send me a ticket, and they said it's because my plates are from out of state, and it takes longer to find them, however, I got a red light ticket in Baltimore earlier that day, and got it mailed to me within two weeks.
Anyways, I'm wondering if it's worth it to challenge this, since this isn't like a red light ticket, where they have visual evidence of you committing the violation, and they never put anything on my windshield.... or is it just going to be a case of "well, it's our word against yours, so see ya?"
I just got a ticket by mail, from the DC Police. Apparently I was ELEVEN miles over the posted speed limit on 295. You know, where it's "50" but everyone is zooming past you, up and down those rises (where you have to goose your old clunker to make it, maybe boosting you a little past the posted speed limit for the moment or two you're in front of a robot camera)?
ELEVEN MILES OVER! (My general LD travel rule is to set my cruise at under ten over, all the way, and just watch people zoom zoom past me! And I get a robot ticket...)
Anyway, there's an option to "adjudicate" the ticket -- plead something -- online at the DC Police website. So, I plan to see if I can knock down the massive fine with some creative online plea-ing.
See if there's an online plea option for the tickets. Remember: This is their sneaky way of taxing you!
I just got a ticket by mail, from the DC Police. Apparently I was ELEVEN miles over the posted speed limit on 295. You know, where it's "50" but everyone is zooming past you, up and down those rises (where you have to goose your old clunker to make it, maybe boosting you a little past the posted speed limit for the moment or two you're in front of a robot camera)?
ELEVEN MILES OVER! (My general LD travel rule is to set my cruise at under ten over, all the way, and just watch people zoom zoom past me! And I get a robot ticket...)
Anyway, there's an option to "adjudicate" the ticket -- plead something -- online at the DC Police website. So, I plan to see if I can knock down the massive fine with some creative online plea-ing.
See if there's an online plea option for the tickets. Remember: This is their sneaky way of taxing you!
MC
Isn't really that sneaky. If you don't speed you won't get ticketed. There are warnings.
That said I got photo ticketed on 295 a long time ago too ... but it was thrown out when I appealed. I don't remember why. Might be worth a try.
I got all kinds of tickets from Baltimore City. I paid some. I didnt pay others. License and Plates are still good. They are so random with following through on out of state plates.
I got all kinds of tickets from Baltimore City. I paid some. I didnt pay others. License and Plates are still good. They are so random with following through on out of state plates.
I got a parking ticket in downtown Baltimore a few months ago while my then-recently-purchased vehicle was still wearing out-of-state temp tags. Haven't paid it yet partly because I've only been in Baltimore city once since then (for a weekend) and partly because I quite frankly keep forgetting and money has been a bit tight on each occasion when it's crossed my mind again. Since I plan to move to the area this spring and will need to register my vehicle in Maryland and change my driver's license over, how worried to I need to be? As in, will I run into trouble at the motor vehicle department if I haven't paid the ticket yet, or is it more likely to have sort of disappeared? The temp tags are history and I have regular plates in the state where I currently reside, but I do know that a vehicle's VIN usually shows up on a ticket as well, so it could still conceivably be flagged somewhere in some system or other and show up when I go to register in MD... or am I being overly paranoid?
I got a parking ticket in downtown Baltimore a few months ago while my then-recently-purchased vehicle was still wearing out-of-state temp tags. Haven't paid it yet partly because I've only been in Baltimore city once since then (for a weekend) and partly because I quite frankly keep forgetting and money has been a bit tight on each occasion when it's crossed my mind again. Since I plan to move to the area this spring and will need to register my vehicle in Maryland and change my driver's license over, how worried to I need to be? As in, will I run into trouble at the motor vehicle department if I haven't paid the ticket yet, or is it more likely to have sort of disappeared? The temp tags are history and I have regular plates in the state where I currently reside, but I do know that a vehicle's VIN usually shows up on a ticket as well, so it could still conceivably be flagged somewhere in some system or other and show up when I go to register in MD... or am I being overly paranoid?
Why risk it? If you have money to party you have money to pay the ticket. You don't want to sleep on this thing for 4 years then one Friday you're coming to Baltimore to "party," get pulled over, cop notices an old unpaid ticket and guess what - you're in Central Booking until you can see a judge Monday. Not a place you want to be.
Why risk it? If you have money to party you have money to pay the ticket. You don't want to sleep on this thing for 4 years then one Friday you're coming to Baltimore to "party," get pulled over, cop notices an old unpaid ticket and guess what - you're in Central Booking until you can see a judge Monday. Not a place you want to be.
For the record, I wasn't "partying". I'd been in the area from out-of-state visiting friends, and as I left to make the long trip home I decided on a whim to take a quick drive downtown simply because I hadn't been there before. Stopped to find some dinner because I was hungry and didn't really want to hit a fast-food drive-through on the highway, got drawn into a long and unexpected conversation with someone while I was eating, and took a wrong turn walking back to where I'd parked -- I walked up the street in the wrong direction for a block or two before retracing my steps. Classic tourist gaffe. Those five minutes were enough to get me ticketed.
It was a Sunday evening, I was already tired, and I was headed home with at least six or seven hours of road time ahead of me. So the ticket went into my vehicle's center console storage space along with all the other crap that I keep in there and apparently take out even more rarely than I thought I did.
I don't recall saying anything about planning to not pay it, or to "sleep on it for four years" before doing so. Quite simply, since that trip I haven't really had any spare cash that hasn't wound up going for automotive repairs or for other bills. So my question was more along the lines of whether it was something that I was likely to get hit with almost as soon as I set foot back in the area again, or whether I was likely to have some time in which to get it paid.
At my stage of life, rest assured that I'm not some slipshod, party-crazed kid who's trying to skate on a parking ticket. More like a cash-strapped middle-aged lady just trying to figure out what she needs to deal with in which order.
For the record, I wasn't "partying". I'd been in the area from out-of-state visiting friends, and as I left to make the long trip home I decided on a whim to take a quick drive downtown simply because I hadn't been there before. Stopped to find some dinner because I was hungry and didn't really want to hit a fast-food drive-through on the highway, got drawn into a long and unexpected conversation with someone while I was eating, and took a wrong turn walking back to where I'd parked -- I walked up the street in the wrong direction for a block or two before retracing my steps. Classic tourist gaffe. Those five minutes were enough to get me ticketed.
It was a Sunday evening, I was already tired, and I was headed home with at least six or seven hours of road time ahead of me. So the ticket went into my vehicle's center console storage space along with all the other crap that I keep in there and apparently take out even more rarely than I thought I did.
I don't recall saying anything about planning to not pay it, or to "sleep on it for four years" before doing so. Quite simply, since that trip I haven't really had any spare cash that hasn't wound up going for automotive repairs or for other bills. So my question was more along the lines of whether it was something that I was likely to get hit with almost as soon as I set foot back in the area again, or whether I was likely to have some time in which to get it paid.
At my stage of life, rest assured that I'm not some slipshod, party-crazed kid who's trying to skate on a parking ticket. More like a cash-strapped middle-aged lady just trying to figure out what she needs to deal with in which order.
I misread "partly" for "party" on your original post, my bad. I've just skimmed it but you seem to have written four paragrpahs of excuses as to why you haven't paid the ticket. Just imagine how this will sound to the judge after you've spent 13-72 hours in central booking and then find the money and pay it. If you need more time to get the money together, appeal it (if there's still time).
I misread "partly" for "party" on your original post, my bad.
I wondered if that had been the case. Easy enough to do.
Quote:
I've just skimmed it but you seem to have written four paragrpahs of excuses as to why you haven't paid the ticket.
That's what happens when you skim instead of reading. It isn't "four paragraphs of excuses", it's one passage explaining the two very good reasons why I haven't paid it yet: I don't even live in the same state at the moment, which makes it a lower priority than things closer to home, and I haven't had the money. Writers who want to make their ideas clear break them into paragraphs rather than one long text block, but the clearest writing in the world won't help when readers don't actually pay attention.
Quote:
Just imagine how this will sound to the judge after you've spent 13-72 hours in central booking and then find the money and pay it. If you need more time to get the money together, appeal it (if there's still time).
1. The ticket is from November, so I doubt I can appeal it. And it was my understanding in November that if I'd wanted to appeal, I'd have had to do so in person. That would have been impossible due to geography.
2. Unless it's another result of skimming rather than reading, I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that I wasn't planning to pay it from the outset, let alone the one that I'm going to wind up in Central Booking. Unless the Baltimore authorities have a habit of tracking down people in other cities and states and hauling them in over unpaid parking tickets, that isn't going to happen. Now, if you're saying that there's going to be a team out looking for me as soon as I cross the state line, that's something I'll want to know about, but I'm also afraid that at this point I'll need to see that opinion corroborated by someone besides yourself, because...
3. You're not truly helping, and I get the distinct impression that you're not interested in offering any actual helpful advice because you're too busy setting yourself up as the voice of judgment over something you've only bothered to half read. I've noticed this seems to be a hobby of yours, and I'm really not interested in taking part. So do us both a favor and stop, please.
Last edited by OutsideIn; 02-16-2012 at 11:38 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
and money has been a bit tight on each occasion when it's crossed my mind again. Since I plan to move to the area this spring and will need to register my vehicle in Maryland and change my driver's license over, how worried to I need to be? As in, will I run into trouble at the motor vehicle department if I haven't paid the ticket yet, or is it more likely to have sort of disappeared? The temp tags are history and I have regular plates in the state where I currently reside, but I do know that a vehicle's VIN usually shows up on a ticket as well, so it could still conceivably be flagged somewhere in some system or other and show up when I go to register in MD... or am I being overly paranoid? 
