I don’t understand why people complain about the city giving more parking tickets. You park illegally, you get a ticket. Pretty simple.
That was something I tweeted recently. I got some interesting reactions:
- aaa: @spudart I think the problem is how nit picky they become: almost vulture over meters.
- supah: @spudart they’re complaining about getting caught!
- bearfanabs: @spudart because there are some loose interpretations of the laws and the burden to prove your innocence lies on you.
I feel rather strongly about that people should not be upset about getting a parking ticket, and especially a ticket by a camera if they go through a red light. It makes me think why I feel so strongly about this. I use the argument that it’s the law and if people break it they should be fined. It makes sense.
But I’m not a big rules guy. I much more believe in grace and love.
Maybe I get riled up about people complaining about parking tickets, because I don’t own a car. If you don’t own a family and you live in the city, having a car is a luxury. Yes, there are exceptions, like those who have jobs in the burbs where there is no Metra. But for the most part, I think people way overuse their cars. It’s simply a luxury item in my mind–for those who live in Chicago. If the city needs more money, then go ahead and fine more people for breaking the law. After all, if you park at a meter and don’t pay, you are breaking the law.
Am I being a jerk for thinking this? Maybe. I should be more nice. But really. The laws are pretty simple. There are certain exceptions where the meter is broken. Most times people like to think that they are innocent, just because we like to think we are right. “By golly, I’ve always parked at this spot before and never got a ticket. And now that I got one, this isn’t right.” We get stuck in our mindsets about our behavior. But really, it’s wrong.
Hmmm, there are some spiritual applications to this too. Maybe I do need to show more grace in this area.
Let me give you an example: Say you are walking to the pay box to pay for your parking spot. The meter maid (or man) sees that your car doesn’t have a parking receipt on your dash. (S)he’ll give you a ticket, and the burden to prove that you were getting a receipt lies on you. You may be 100% right that you didn’t deserve the ticket, but the burden lies completely on you. You now have two choices: 1. Pay the fine 2. Fight the fine, which means a couple of hours at traffic court, which also means a couple of hours off of work because if I’m not mistaken, they are strictly Monday-Friday. …and don’t talk about red light camera. Their purpose isn’t to save lives or make better drives, but strictly to raise money. There is ample discussions of this in the blogosphere.
Your example is a good one, Abhay. Have you had this happen to you? I’m sure it does happen, but I don’t see this happening that much. Now for the red light thing. Dude, if you run a red light, you should get a ticket. People like to argue, “oh i didn’t stop because it would be more safe.” Hmmm, then maybe you were traveling too fast to begin with if it was raining outside? I dunno. Maybe I’m not aware of the nuances of driving, because I don’t own a car. But I don’t recall driving through red lights. People need to respect the yellow light more. Instead it’s a race to get through the yellow. Do people even look at the walk signal to see if it’s blinking don’t walk to see if the light will change soon? Maybe I’m a fuddie duddie. But I just know as a pedestrian, I don’t like getting nearly run over by a car that zips through a red light.
The parking ticket issue I described has not happened to me, but I have read similar stories published in the (esteemed) Chicago Tribune. Regarding the red light, if your car enters the intersection at yellow, but the light turns red while in the intersection, then you are ticketed. Also, imagine if somebody is tailing you and the light turns yellow and you decide not to go through the intersection — now you’ll have insurance bills for the rest of your life as the person behind you just got into your car. Don’t fool yourself, red light cameras are not to make people drive better. The city could care less about that and more about getting more money from you. If you really want to be surprised, take a look at where the cameras are located. You won’t find many of them where tourists are — you’ll find themin the “blue collar” neighborhoods where people can’t exactly find the time to fight the ticket. You can find red light camera stories and maps in the Tribune and Sun Times.
Hey Fuddle Duddle! :-“> Yellow lights now mean step on it! Seriously, I do agree that people should respect it more. I also pay attention to the Do Not Walk Sign (flashing RED!) for a clue. So “cool!” that you mention that. I wish I could just walk everywhere. But I do drive and take the CTA. I chose to drive when I am concerned about time, neighborhood/destination and sometimes it’s just convenience. Both, you and Abhay, have great points on Parking tickets. But my point of view agrees with yours. – There are times when conflicting signs just make me shrug and park elsewhere. – There are times I break out in a run to get to my car (good exercise) to place the parking receipt on the dash before the ticket dude comes. – Driving is a luxury and a hassle. We live in a city (yay!) not the burbs (no disrespect, but double yay yay!) This is what it is. 🙂 (Note: the chance to use “fuddle duddle” is the reason I responded! haha!) Beep!
oop. 2xdouble typo strikes again. fuddie duddie … i think i like fuddle duddle better
“Maybe I’m not aware of the nuances of driving, because I don’t own a car. But I don’t recall driving through red lights.” lmao hilarious.
You all need to watch the television show, “Parking Wars” on A&E. All they do is follow around meter maids (Parking Authority officials) and film their experiences while they issue tickets. It’s a highly fascinating show. Great stuff. http://www.aetv.com/parking-wars/
Do you know what the money raised from parking tickets actually funds? Also, not that long ago, there were several stories where it was discovered that some cities had set the amount of time given for a yellow light to display below the legal limit (I think the minimum is like 3 or 4 seconds). These errors were conveniently made at intersections with red-light cameras, and the number of tickets issued were well above the norm. Luckily, there aren’t any red-light cameras around here. They are evil. Any district that installs red-light cameras should be required to use 95% of the funds raised from those tickets to fund education.