Yesterday I was parked in the loop and was towed. The ticket said I was within 15 feet of a fire hydrant. I believe I was probably close to that distance but with no yellow curb markings or signs posted, it is really a judgment call to determine a tow. I scheduled a hearing next week to fight the 160 ticket. What do you think are my chance of beating the ticket and tow?

Thanks,
under 8,000lbs

Robert,
Kudos to you on a well-written article--excellent advice!

Have a tough one for you. This past Sunday (3/14), I got a parking ticket (actually 2, because my wife parked her car behind me) on our High School Property (in MI). There is 1 sign that says "Buses Only" and another sign that says "No Parking." Our cars were clearly parked in front of a no parking sign, however being a Sunday with no buses in use, we had assumed it would be no problem. The bigger rub is we have lived for 9 years in our township and I have coached soccer and baseball and through the course of all of the practices and games at least 50-70% of parents parked in similar areas at various schools throughout our district as it was always in the evening or on weekends (no bus service) and no one ever received tickets. I've parked in the same area (along with others) at this HS with no cars getting ticketed for the past 2.5 months. The township police dept is actually only a block away from this HS and there are cruisers passing this HS driveway regularly. So 9 yrs go by with no tickets for me or my fellow parents and then all of sudden we get ticketed (by 2 separate officers--some 2 hrs apart)--makes me think that their monthly quotas were low (of course I would never say this at a hearing). As a matter of fact, I went back to take pictures 3 days later and surprise, surprise those "no pkg" spots were filled up with cars (as it is every school evening)--and no one had been ticketed.

Do I have any chance of contesting this on the front of "Buses Only" and there were no bus service that day or "Selective Enforcement" of the ordinance? I am a law-abiding citizen who has no previous traffic violations of any kind, I regularly pay my property taxes, am involved in the community (coaching baseball/soccer) and even most recently voted for a new millage to ensure that no one in our police or fire dept had to be laid off due to budget cuts (though my hearing would be in the District Court that is in our township).

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

I just received a letter stating I owe $100 for 2 parking violoations at my university. I don't believe I should have been issued either:
The first was caused by the ticket machine not functioning properly, and I was late for my class - therefore had no time to write a note or call the help line. I drove someone else to school that morning, so I have a witness. I was aware of this ticket, but I misplaced my ticket and had forgotten about it until recently, so didn't get a chance to dispute it at the time.
Following that ticket I never had a problem and paid every time. That was last semester, 2009.

This semester I do not park at the school, so I don't understand how getting a second ticket is possible. The second says the 'type' of violation is 'expired meter'. That doesn't even make sense since the university has machines that print tickets specific to each parking lot. Maybe there are meters I am unaware of? If so, I have never used them.That is irrelevant anyway since I don't park at the school anymore. Is is possible that the ticket was incorrectly issued, such as a typo in the licence plate number?

I parked my car befor sign "no parking 8 pm 6am" on parkin spot, a curb wasn't coloured(Yellow, Blue, red) My car was towed away and I payed it. I got also a ticket for wrong parking "prohibited zone"! Police officer told me that sign is for 100 feet before and 100 feet after this sign and it's a law of San Francisco. I'm still not sure that they towed my car legal becouse it's impossible to understand why the same sign on one street is for 100 feet and on other you can park your car before this sign. Befor this sign was red curb with notice "tow away" but i parked befor red curb... I'm from Europe and there signs have a power just after, but not before. Can it really be true that San Francisco has totally different traffic rules from other world? So if I see any sign I have to follow the prescription 100 feet before? I didn't found anything about 100 feet on signs or Traffic Control Device by that I parked.
Have I any chances to get my money back( I payed 415 $) and what I should do?

Thank you for any help!

On last Sunday 1/24/10 at 6:23pm, I was driving with my friend to her home. We were passing through the grocery store on her way home and realized she wanted to buy some stuff and might take couple of minutes. So I was looking for parking spot near by the store and found all parking spots are occupied through out the road. So I pull over to tow zone almost at the end of the road and let her go off the car. I was in the car, with my flash lights on and car engine running. I had my eyes on the road that I was not interfering anyone (bus stop) on the road. It was really busy traffic and suddenly in a minute I seen a cop car across me and cop turn on the flooded light (not the blue one) towards me. So I started to move my car slowly and took a right turn on the next street, then cop followed me for like 5 minutes (I passed three stop signs and cop still followed me, assuming they are running plate number search or whatever) but then at the third stop sign, I was taking left turn and cop car turn towards right but stopped right close to my car and stuck the violation ticket out of his window to my car and drove away. Then I started emergency light, got off the car and took the ticket off the car saying "parking violation in no parking or no standing zone".

I went back to pick up my friend and I observed there was no sign of "no standing zone"at the violation site according to ticket. The sign says "tow zone". And basically what I did is standing there for a minute. Can I contest this ticket and if yes what should I take photos off.

Using this page as a guide, I successfully contested a ticket. The letter I used and the situation is shown below. Thanks and major props to you, Robert Green.

"To Whom It may Concern:

On Wednesday, July 8th, 2009, my vehicle, a 1997 Toyota Camry, Plate ________ was ticketed for an “Expired Meter or Overstay” (Ticket# _______). However, when I parked my car there, the meter was out of order and I put in at least three quarters to make sure it wasn’t working, and it took the money but gave me no time credit.

As directed by the label on the meter, I reported that meter # _______ was not operating correctly at 4:12pm. I informed the woman on the phone that when I put in money, an “out of order” and battery logo flashed on the screen, and then disappeared, while not registering that it took any of my money. She gladly assisted me and informed me that there was a record of my call and that they would send someone out the fix the broken meter. She also stated that should I receive a parking ticket, I needed to simply contest it.

The photographic proof provided online (shown below) is somewhat unclear, as it shows only my license plate in the first photo. The second photo is a picture of the meter, but you are unable to read what the meter says on the screen. The third is a blank white photo.

I hope I have provided enough details for you to come to an informed conclusion. Thank you very much for your time and consideration."

I included all three photos that were supposedly "proof" in the letter as well.

Again, thanks for your help!

I went to LA to take care get some papers done at one of the consulate, it happened to be on a thursday which is the street sweeping day. I didn't notice the sign at the beginning of the street where I parked, since it is a metered parking and there is no notice or sign on the parking meters. Beside this, they put the wrong color for my vehicle on the ticket. Is this a good reason to contest this ticket? Please advise. Thanks.

I tried to get up my driveway around 1am this morning which is extremely difficult seeing as there is a retaining wall between the driveway and my neighbors yard, and i couldn't make it without hitting the wall because it was so icey. my boyfriend even tried shoveling, but the ice wouldn't budge I tried for about 15minutes until i had to park on the street. I called milwaukee night parking to let them know my info, but they said that from 1am-7am they are unavailable. the website is also unavailable at this time. if i get a ticket, can i appeal?

I got a ticket today for parking in front of my own house. The violation cited is for parking more than 18 inches away from the curb. I live in a cul de sac, with access to only two driveways, mine and my neighbor's, in a private residential neighborhood. My house is on the corner of the cul de sac and the street in front of my house is curved, making it impossible to park entirely parallel to the curb.

I believe the ticket was a direct result of a neighbor down the street retaliating against me, as I had called our neighborhood private security company last Saturday night to complain that their party guests had blocked my driveway. (I realize that may not be relevant to the court in contesting the ticket, but it certainly adds even more frustration to this annoyance.)

If I contest the ticket is there any chance of being charged a fine greater than what is shown on the citation? The citation says I can contest it by appearing in person to request a hearing, but it also says I am entitled to an "instant hearing". Does that mean I will get a hearing the same day I go down to request one, or would it be set to a later date? It might be worth one trip downtown to fight it and save the $35, but more than that would seem almost as silly as the taxpayer's dollars spent on issuing the ticket in the first place.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Cory
Houston, Texas

My boyfriend and my mother were using my car to take pick up a family member. They were in front of the house with the hazard lights on. My boyfriend said that he was not waiting for more than two minutes. My niece (the family member they were picking up) came in the car and they left. The police were behind them but they never issued a ticket or asked them to move. 17 days after on 11/28/09 I receive a notice of violation in the mail about rush hour parking. The date 11/11/09 and time 4:25 pm is right but are they allowed to send me a notice of violation without ever issuing me the initial ticket? Egov.cityofchicago.org says, “As a registered owner of a vehicle you have the right to contest the issuance of a parking or compliance ticket. You have seven (7) days from the date of issuance to contest a ticket. If nothing is received, you are then sent a Notice of Violation allowing you fourteen (14) days to request a hearing,” about contesting by mail. Sense I was never issued the initial parking ticket the 7 days for me to contest by mail are up. Should I go to court to contest the ticket?

I HAD JUST PULLED UP INTO WALGREENS WITH MY MOTHER WHO IS AN OLD WOMEN THAT CAN HARDLY WALK IN RAIN WHEN ITS SLIPPRY AND I HAPPENED TO PARK IN A HANDICAPPED SPOT, LESS THAN A MINUTE LATER A NILES POLICE OFFICER PULLS BEHIND ME CHECKING ON THE HANDICAPPED TAG, THEN DEMANDED TO SEE MY LICENSES TO WRITE ME A TICKET WITHOUT HEARING WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES WERE. I GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND TOLD HIM MY MOTHER HAD JUST WALKED IN TO GRAB A FEW ITEMS AND THAT I WAS GETTING READY TO PULL OFF, HE SAID HE DOESN'T CARE THEN I ASKED HIM HOW MUCH IS THE TICKET GOING TO BE FORE HE RESPONDED 250. I THEN TOLD HIM THAT IM A STUDENT AND CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY FOR A 250 TICKET. HE AGAIN RESPONDED I DON'T CARE. WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF THE FINE BEING LOWERED OR DROPPED BASED ON THESE CIRCUMSTANCES?

I got a ticket parked out side the my house. there are no signs that say I cant do that. how can I fight this??

Hi,
We got a ticket on the mail after the officer agreed not to give us a ticket. The officer said "if you drive out now, you won't have a ticker" but it was misleading.
Do you think I have a case?
Thank you!

i recieved a parking violation ticket for parking on a patch of grass that all other students utilize for parking overflow. I parked there 3 times and on the third time i was given a ticket i just thought that the grass space was being used because of the frequency of the use of it. everyday the grass is filled and the security guards say nothing.

what should i say when i go to court on 12-1-09 please help

I had 2 parking tickets both for street cleaning in chicago. both time I was NOT in the wrong. First time I was on the other side of the street while cleaning is done. the second time they gave me a ticket at 6:15am the next day!! Street cleaning was done at 9am-3pm the day before. I contested both and got rejected both time eventhough I didn't violate any law! This is so crazy.

I understand if it was close and I really was wrong I would suck it up and pay it but now I feel cheated and taken advantage of.

Good luck to others but even if you are lawful, they would still make you pay. I wonder how much the economy has to do with how they're ticketing like this.

I ride a motorcycle as my primary source of transportation. In South Florida, Motorcycle theft is extremely high so I try to take as much precautions to prevent that from happening.

That said, I have to go to the hospital for a procedure twice a week and, the parking lot at the hospital is very big with the spots near the bldg usually occupied. I don't feel comfortable parking it all the way towards the rear, so I pull up against a sidewalk and park there.

The side walk is the hospitals sidewalk inside their property. and I made sure that it is a sidewalk with very little traffic. It literally is just there for the sake of having a sidewalk. I make sure that I keep a very considerable amount of space for pedestrians to walk by.

I have parked here multiple times but, today I receive my first ticket for $40 for parking in a prohibited area.

This ticket was issued by the city(police) and not by the security company of the hospitals.

Can I do anything about this?

Thank you.

My employer's parking lot is shared with 3 businesses (a bank, a restaurant and a coffee shop) and a low income housing apartment complex. There are a total of 22 spots in the shared lot which lies between the two buildings, 2 of which are unmarked (no sign) handicapped parking spots. There are no official handicap signs in front of each of these spots, as a matter of fact, there are no signs whatsoever, only faded paint on the ground with the handicap symbol. Even though we try to avoid parking there as much as possible, there are times when we have no choice but to park there otherwise we could circle the parking lot forever waiting for someone to leave. That said there have been instances when the Milwaukee parking checker has been called to ticket people parking there only to have them leave saying, there is no sign indicating handicap parking so no ticket could be issued. Low and behold, today I get the first ticket after being in this location 2 years and after so many have parked here before me, to the tune of $200! I am taking pictures of both these spots with and without cars parked in them and want to know if I will be able to fight this citation. If so, how? Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Great site! Any suggestions on how to dispute a traffic light photo violation due to weather conditions?

After you contest by mail, how long does the city of chicago have to get back to you? I have written a few letters to contest, 1 probably at least 1 yr old. I have never received anything back saying I was vindicated or guilty etc...I can't find the info on the chicago ticket info page...of course...