Lured into a Ticket, to Earlier Owner?

[reactive]

I'm in California. I parked for a few minutes on a street in a somewhat familiar area, behind a large vehicle. I already knew it's legal to park in the little-used area during the day, so I did not walk past any signs to double-check. When I returned, the other vehicle was gone and a parking officer was taking down my license plate number.

Or that of the out-of-state previous owner, I should say, as I haven't yet made the changes since purchase. I asked for a break and pointed that out. I also tried to explain that a vehicle had been there (during the violation period) and that I never saw any notice of street cleaning (strangely in the middle of the day on a main street). That led to some official rudeness and of course a ticket.

As matter of facts, the wrong side of the street is noted on the ticket and the VIN is "NV," even though it seems easily readable to me. Can I even be traced? If not, sooner or later the previous owner will receive a notice. I plan to contest the ticket for various reasons, including its excessive amount. Any advice or predictions?

[Kiawah]

Lured ???? into a ticked..... oh please. Any advice or predictions?

My crystal ball predicts you will have to pay the fine, and any additional penalties if you don't pay it on time.

You didn't check where you were parking, to look at the parking signs. You'll have no defense to that. You feel the fine is excessive, well that is the fine and you'll have no legitimate argument to that.

They'll be able to track the plate thru to you, so it's possible to catch you at some point down the road, sooner or later.

Pay the fine, move on and learn a lesson. Take responsibility for your actions.

[reactive]

I'd offer to pay a lesser fine, but I've never heard of negotiating a fine. How are you so sure they could trace me? I am not sure the previous owner license plate goes into the system, and who knows if his state could or would help connect that plate to me. My guess is that the ticket would simply be sent to the previous owner and that the burden of proof would be on him, which I hinted at to the officer. Besides, the latter was a d*ck and also didn't bother to do his job properly. I forgot one important detail - supposedly the law here requires the VIN to be written on the ticket, unless it truly is not readable, I assume.

[racer72]

the VIN is "NV," even though it seems easily readable to me.

I'm going to take a wild guess and say that the vehicle has Nevada license plates.

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by reactive

I forgot one important detail - supposedly the law here requires the VIN to be written on the ticket, unless it truly is not readable, I assume.

When you find that section of the LAW, let us know.


It's not good to ASSume.

[reactive]

What's with the hostility? "Assume" was a reference to an exception if the VIN isn't visible. The law is referenced at [url]http://cbs13.com/consumer/call.kurtis.bogus.2.861208.html[/url] . (Which I can't make clickable, sorry.) And, no, the plate isn't from Nevada. Now do you think I have a good chance? If the previous owner gets hassled, he probably could get out of it, but I don't want him to have to deal with it.

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by reactive

What's with the hostility? "Assume" was a reference to an exception if the VIN isn't visible. The law is referenced at [url=http://cbs13.com/consumer/call.kurtis.bogus.2.861208.html]Call Kurtis Investigates: Bogus Tickets - cbs13.com[/url] . (Which I can't make clickable, sorry.) And, no, the plate isn't from Nevada. Now do you think I have a good chance? If the previous owner gets hassled, he probably could get out of it, but I don't want him to have to deal with it.

There is no law referenced at that location. Try again.

[reactive]

"All officers are trained to take VIN (vehicle identification numbers), if available," Andalon told Kurtis. "But if it's covered, a lot of dashboards are covered with newspapers and paper, you're not able to get a VIN."

It's implicit there. I have seen the statute online, too, but I didn't bookmark it. Stop being hostile. It doesn't help anyone.

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by reactive

"All officers are trained to take VIN (vehicle identification numbers), if available," Andalon told Kurtis. "But if it's covered, a lot of dashboards are covered with newspapers and paper, you're not able to get a VIN."

It's implicit there. I have seen the statute online, too, but I didn't bookmark it. Stop being hostile. It doesn't help anyone.

What is implicit is that one spokes-hole says that officers are trained to enter the VIN number. There is NOTHING that you have posted that says there is any legal requirement.

And, quite frankly, I think it's asinine that you are whining about a parking ticket that you RIGHTFULLY received!

[reactive]

I'm not making it up. I trust your claim of Google expertise and am sure you can find the statute online. Whether that means I can get a dismissal, I'd still like to know.

You're welcome to your opinion about "whining," but I believe anyone in that situation would have been surprised and unhappy to receive a ticket. People get tickets for much more egregious mistakes than that, and heck the lack of a VIN was dumber than my behavior. The parking officer could have been nicer and let me off, but maybe they're generally nasty.

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by reactive

I'm not making it up. I trust your claim of Google expertise and am sure you can find the statute online. Whether that means I can get a dismissal, I'd still like to know.

You're welcome to your opinion about "whining," but I believe anyone in that situation would have been surprised and unhappy to receive a ticket. People get tickets for much more egregious mistakes than that, and heck the lack of a VIN was dumber than my behavior. The parking officer could have been nicer and let me off, but maybe they're generally nasty.

Ok, fine then. I will tell you - there is no such requirement.

Feel free to prove me wrong. I won't hold my breath.

[CdwJava]

There is no law in California that requires a VIN to be written on a parking citation or any other citation. The VIN is merely to help clarify or verify a vehicle if an allegation is made that the vehicle was stolen, the plates were stolen, etc.

Whether they can trace it back or not is a good question. If they run it through the state of registration, the current registered and legal owners will eventually be notified of the citation and, quite possibly, the civil action being taken against them for paying the fine. I suspect that eventually those plates will come back to you.

- Carl

[reactive]

[url=http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d17/vc40202.htm]V.C. Section 40202 - Notice of Parking Violation[/url]

The state's forms probably do not ask for the old plate number, meaning the associated information would be retrieved from out of state. I doubt the other state knows the vehicle was sold.

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by reactive

[url=http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d17/vc40202.htm]V.C. Section 40202 - Notice of Parking Violation[/url]

The state's forms probably do not ask for the old plate number, meaning the assocation information would be retrieved from out of state. I doubt the other state knows the vehicle was sold.

EXCELLENT. Here is the text. Now, tell my how your citation would be invalidated (since the cite states it was "not visible" (NV) )

40202. (a) If a vehicle is unattended during the time of the
violation, the peace officer or person authorized to enforce parking
laws and regulations shall securely attach to the vehicle a notice of
parking violation setting forth the violation, including reference
to the section of this code or of the Public Resources Code, the
local ordinance, or the federal statute or regulation so violated;
the date; the approximate time thereof; the location where the
violation occurred; a statement printed on the notice indicating that
the date of payment is required to be made not later than 21
calendar days from the date of citation issuance; and the procedure
for the registered owner, lessee, or rentee to deposit the parking
penalty or, pursuant to Section 40215, contest the citation. The
notice of parking violation shall also set forth the vehicle license
number and registration expiration date if they are visible, the last
four digits of the vehicle identification number, if that number is
readable through the windshield, the color of the vehicle, and, if
possible, the make of the vehicle. The notice of parking violation,
or copy thereof, shall be considered a record kept in the ordinary
course of business of the issuing agency and the processing agency
and shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein.

[reactive]

That's a problem. Other than common sense (it was on the street in daylight, that model of car has the VIN in the standard location, and a newly purchased car presumably isn't cluttered), the most damning evidence would be by way of a photograph of the VIN that I don't want to give to the bureau. I could include both the text and the article noting that many citations improperly omit the VIN.