Unpaid parking tickets? (1 Viewer)

[MarkHastings]

Mike, Your language and attitude toward campus police may be one of the reasons why they have an attitude. If I were a campus police, I'd be mighty upset if people called me "asshole" or "jerk" or diminished me for doing my job.

That is wrong and that proves they only do it because it is a source of income

There is no proof at all. It just proves that they are fining people that park ILLEGALLY. Where's the confussion? And if you think it's because they 'swoop' in, leave the ticket and then 'swoop' out...Maybe it's because they're sick of your attitude toward them and they don't want to deal with you when you find the ticket????

Once people start respecting the law, maybe they'll start respecting you. But until you decide to play by the rules, you can't knock someone for doing what thier supposed to be doing.

 

[Ryan Wright]

Once people start respecting the law

It's not a law, it's a school policy. Furthermore, the policies are ABUSED. Constantly.

Ever wonder why these schools don't run shuttles? I'd take a guess that they're making a killing selling parking permits and handing out tickets. If they ran a shuttle service they'd actually have recurring costs - it wouldn't be such a huge profit center, and income would be reduced from their parking conglomerate.

How many students attend an average state University? 20,000? If half of them have cars and are paying $70 a pop to park for a semester, that's $700k - or $2.1M per year (assuming fall/winter/spring semesters). And who knows how much more they make from the fines. I bet an average college hands out several hundred fines per month.

It's a joke.

 

[MarkHastings]

Furthermore, the policies are ABUSED. Constantly.

So abusing them back makes it right?

 

[MikeAlletto]

I wouldn't have the attitude I have toward campus cops if they didn't treat incoming freshman like crap from day one. Their job is not to hide out of site waiting for someone to park illegally so they can get their jollies writing the ticket. Their job is campus safety which they don't do. They'll look the other way when it comes to underage drinking as long as no one kills themselves but they will gladly toss out tickets like it were confetti. Campus cops have ALWAYS been a joke. No matter what they do. They treat the students like crap from day one and the cops deserve as much hassle as the students can dish out. But I guess its ok with you as long as they do their jobs only with some things, but other things can be ignored. I would have no problems if they just "did their job" but they don't.

 

[James Davis]

Imo, parking tickets are abused on college campuses. Tickets here range from $10-20 I believe, and according to the paper, the campus gave out $1.8 million in tickets last year. They hover around like vultures to dispense tickets.

 

[DaveGTP]

How many students attend an average state University? 20,000? If half of them have cars and are paying $70 a pop to park for a semester, that's $700k - or $2.1M per year (assuming fall/winter/spring semesters). And who knows how much more they make from the fines. I bet an average college hands out several hundred fines per month.

Agreed. Do they really spend millions a year on parking maintenence? This is just another profit machine, just like used book prices. $70 a ticket is a profit machine. $15 could be justified.

 

[MarkHastings]

$70 a ticket is a profit machine. $15 could be justified.

Why does there have to be justification? Not following the rules is not following the rules plain and simple. If you don't like the price...Don't park illegally.

I still don't understand what's so confusing?

I've been driving for 16 years and I've NEVER received a parking ticket. It's a plain and simple scenario. If you park legally, they can't "profit" from you.


p.s. Considering so many people still park illegally, I'd say the $70 fine isn't enough of a deterrent

I'd say raise the price to $300 and THEN we'll see how many people feel like disobeying the rules.

 

[Cees Alons]

Exactly!

The main and logical reason why it cannot be labeled simply as "a source of income" is that no one forces you to park there (or that way). Nor is there an inherent need for it.

Those who have to pay the ticket choose to park there voluntarily, knowing the "price" and knowing it's illegal (read: to the disadvantage of your fellow man).

Cees

 

[Ryan Wright]

The main and logical reason why it cannot be labeled simply as "a source of income" is that no one forces you to park there (or that way). Nor is there an inherent need for it.

Ah, I see. Walking several miles to and from each class with a pile of books in your arms is an option? Some campuses are so big, it could take you an hour or more just to get from your car to your class if you park off-campus.

 

[Malcolm R]

Walking several miles to and from each class with a pile of books in your arms is an option?

It's your only legal option if you don't purchase a parking pass. Convenience isn't an acceptable excuse for law breaking.

You could come out of class with a pile of books in your arms and find your car had been towed 10 miles across town.

 

[MarkHastings]

On a college campus, the students are often setup for failure from day one. Lots that can't handle the load, rules so strict they're almost impossible to follow, etc. Why are the rules setup this way?

Perhaps to prepare you for the REAL world. The real world doesn't allow for people to not follow rules...Try breaking a rule at your job and then call them nasty names when they penalize you...I seriously doubt they would feel any sympathy toward you.

 

[Ryan Wright]

Try breaking a rule at your job

The rules at my job are reasonable. If they weren't, the company would suddenly find itself with no employees.

Here's an example of what I am talking about: Our city has a law that says you cannot park an RV or boat on the street for longer than 72 hours. The people enforcing it are so heavy-handed that they hand out tickets often within 12 hours of parking your vehicle. When my Fiero was wrecked (not my fault), I bought it back from the insurance company to use as parts. Wrecked cars cannot be visible (city law, and one that I agree with) so I decided to put it on the side of my house, behind a fence and behind my RV.

Well, to do that, I had to move the RV. My wife can't drive it, so the night before my car was to be delivered by the towing company, I moved the RV into the street. The next morning I had a ticket on my window. Had I not moved the RV, I would have been fined for having a wrecked car visible. It's "damned if you do, damned if you don't."

Or here's another example: My neighbor has a pool. It needs to be mostly drained at the end of the season. Pool owners discharge the water into the street where it runs into the storm drains. Well, that's illegal here. If you put it into the sewer (via your sink or toilet or whatever), that's also illegal. So what are you supposed to do with the water? He asked the city and they said, "That's your problem, not our's." Pool owners are setup for failure from day 1: Every possibly option for draining their pools has been made illegal.

That's my argument with (some) college campuses and parking. They provide one eighth the parking they need, charge students an arm and a leg, etc. The students are setup for failure. Why? So they can make more money issuing parking violations! If they didn't make money from the violations, there would be no incentive to set the system up for failure.

Do you see what I'm getting at now??

 

[MarkHastings]

.

It's often your only legal option even if you DO purchase a parking pass.

This is what I have a MAJOR problem with. It's not fair that you feel justified in breaking the rules because there is no available parking (even though you have a sticker). There are other ways to handle the situation. Now I'm not saying I don't sympathize with someone who had a sticker and has no where to park (I've been in that same position), but breaking a rule to prove a point does not rectify the situation at all.

Whenever I was in one of those situations, what I'd do is I'd explain my situation to the campus police (in a civil manner) and most of the time they'd let me park illegally. Hence, NO parking fine! I got permission.

That's all it takes. Being civil about it can open MANY doors. Feeling the need to take the law into your own hands and break a rule only pisses off the campus police and they start acting (as Mike put it earlier) like "Assholes"...and I don't blame them for it at all.

Like you said before...Parking in your driveway is illegal and you have the right to tow the car away. Now imagine if someone parked in your driveway EVERY Day. No matter what you did, they just kept parking there. I'm sure after a while you'd be quite pissed off and you'd start having their cars towed away. And then, if they started calling you nasty names for towing their cars, would you feel they had a right to?

 

[Ryan Wright]

I'm sure after a while you'd be quite pissed off and you'd start having their cars towed away.

No, I'd hook a chain to their bumper and use my 4x4 to drag the car into the street and leave it there. Wonder if I could get away with this, legally?

 

[MarkHastings]

I'd hook a chain to their bumper and use my 4x4 to drag the car into the street and leave it there. Wonder if I could get away with this, legally?

My company has a BIG parking lot issue. We share the lot with a few other companies so space is ALWAYS an issue. One company got so pissed off at people parking in thier spots that they started writing on the windshields of the cars "Private Parking! Do not park here!". I talked with a cop and he said that if they have a sign stating your car will be towed, you can have it towed, but if you do anything to the car (i.e. Mark it, scratch it, let the air out of the tires, etc.) it is illegal and the owner of the lot can be charged for vandalism. Just because it's your property, it doesn't give you the right to vandalize the car.

In the case of towing the car into the street yourself...I guess you can do that, but if you accidentally scratch the bumber, the owner may have the right to take legal action. I think? And considering how "sue" happy everyone is, it's probably not worth the hassle to have the cars towed, which is probably why the campus just fines you - it's just easier that way.

 

[Ryan Wright]

it's just easier that way

Technically it's not. Yes, it's easier to write the ticket and walk away, but then you've got to deal with collecting it. If you make a deal with a towing company, they might even put the signs up for you. Sure, you have to make a phone call instead of writing up a ticket. That could take longer (or it might not, depending on how much paperwork the ticket requires). But then you wash your hands of it, and the towing company handles the rest.

 

[MarkHastings]

a truck was there within 15-20 minutes

Luck of the draw. I've had to wait almost an hour. And still, 15-20 minutes can be too long as well.

Imagine knowing that the campus doesn't fine you, but they tow, and you had to run into the building really quick. What's to stop you from parking in a handicap or loading zone because you know you'll be in and out and you can beat the tow truck.

And what if you had 10 or 20 cars parked illegally? I don't think you'd have enough time to get them all towed.

Maybe if the campus police were able to boot your car until the truck arrived, then I can see it, but I still think it's quite a task to use tow trucks.

And imagine if you accidentally tow a car that's legal! At least, with a ticket, you can rip it up. Try dealing with a pissed off student and a towing company looking for payment if you goof up.

 

[Scott Strang]

I managed to get a ticket for parking too far off the side of my drive way into the yard,...

You were given a ticket for parking off your driveway and into your yard? In your yard? I've never heard of cops being able to give tickets to people for parking in their own yard incorrectly.

Fu*king police state.

 

[Scott Strang]

"DOH!"

 

[Nate Anderson]

Well, on our campus (St. Cloud State), we call the campus STDs which stands for Student Ticket Dispensers.

Of course, some of my friends figured out a way to beat the system. We don't register our cars, and therefore the tickets are meaningless.