So the D.C. DMV reckons the best way to cut lines is to remove the human element from the parking ticket adjudication process. In other words, as of December '08, D.C. drivers who want to bitch that they were busted unfairly can forget the whole "Here come da Judge!" routine. They've got to argue their case via letter or email. If I were a member of the PC police, I'd immediately point out that the move from oral to literary parking ticket protests puts minorities who can't read or write English at an immediate and dramatic disadvantage. If I were a nativist, I would point out that this policy will give non-literate minorities an immediate and dramatic advantage, as the government will no doubt provide an exemption from the WBO (written bitching only) ordinance or provide a savvy translator to craft the protest. In any case, as someone who tutored Freshman English at Tufts, I can tell you that D.C. is making a BIG mistake. The vast majority of the letters and emails flowing into the parking office will be illegible and incoherent. The ones that aren't will be pompous, long-winded and riddled with spurious arguments and outright deceit. They might as well just get a big ass rubber stamp (and electronic equivalent) that says "APPEAL DENIED" and stamp 599 out of 600 letters/emails with it. (You know, to be fair.) And mark my words, that's exactly what they'll do. And you know what? People will write back asking why their appeal was denied– even though there'll be text telling them not to– which they can't read, won't see or will ignore. How great is that?
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FYI: Farago speaks for himself. I *would* do that job for $1 million.
As you know, in nyc parking tickets are often undeserved. Fighting a bs ticket sucks, because if you go in person you will probably at least get money taken off, but it takes a couple hours out of your day, transportation to the downtown courthouse and then the wait there. Most new yorkers, especially those with a car, make more in those couple hours than the ticket is worth, so really it comes down to matter of principal.
Fighting by mail never seems to work, but they send you a letter saying “We will take 15% off your ticket if you plead guilty now. If you decide to continue to fight, you will pay the full ticket plus fees if you lose.” You are almost sure to lose, even with pictures.
Fighting by email would be great except they don’t let you send pictures! Maybe you could put your pix on a file sharing site and link to them, but they don’t tell you that. I actually won a hearing by email recently though! The address on the ticket was not a real address, and I sent them an email with links to google maps, mapquest and yahoo maps showing that the address didn’t exist. They actually accepted my argument and cleared the ticket. I’m thinking about having the letter framed.
Berkowitz: As someone who has probably obtained a parking ticket in the NYC area, how absolutely phenominal is it that we can petition our tickets via the mail? Anything that keeps me working and away from a traffic court at an ungodly hour is a godsend.
I can tell you that D.C. is making a BIG mistake. The vast majority of the letters and emails flowing into the parking office will be illegible and incoherent.
I don’t see the downside. They can just have a $9/hour intern stamp them “REJECTED” after taking 4 seconds to read it. And do the same for the follow-up complaints, too.
I’m amazed I’m the first to reference the episode of The Simpsons where Homer goes to New York and appeals his parking ticket by calling an automated phone number. “Your appeal has been denied.”
I’ve been to traffic court when the officer transposed a license plate number on an illegally parked car, and I had to explain the facts.
It is quite entertaining the be part of the cattle call. Besides the shock of how people dress in sloppy, dirty clothes, and their horrible manners, it was kind of fun to listen to their moronic ramblings in front of the magistrate. Just fess up and pay the fine if you owe it.
For some reason, I thought a court of law was important, so I wore a suit. That meant I, the magistrate, and a couple of attorney’s were the only ones wearing such attire.
Take it from the guy who tried 15″, 16″ and 17″ wheels (same circumference via change in aspect ratio) on the same car: that extra inch of tire adds significant ride comfort and kills handling. Turn-in turns mushy, grip goes down…but the ride sure gets nice!
Its gonna make people think twice before speeding in a car/truck that can’t handle it. And you don’t have to pay for a pricey electronic nanny on a entry-level truck.