South Carolina Loading Zone Parking

[mdbw]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

My name is Robert and I live in Charleston, SC.

Last night at 7:30 I parked in a loading zone that had two signs in it: the top one had red print and read "no parking from 7am to 7pm (loading vehicles only), the bottom sign was in green print and had the green arrows extending that said "2 hour parking from 7pm to 5am." So I thought it would be okay to park there.

When i got back to my car, I had a $45 ticket for parking in a loading zone with no commercial plates.

Didn't the sign say only loading from 7 to 7? What am I missing here? On top of that, the ticket was at 7:50, 20 minutes after I parked there, so I was within my 2 hour limit...

Another thing is that they got my license plate correct on the ticket, but the expiration date says 1207 and my plates clearly expire in May 2009.

Do I need to pay this ticket?

[racer72]

Do I need to pay this ticket?

No. Just expect some bad things to happen in the future, calls from a collection agency, possible license suspension, having your vehicle towed. Or you could take some pictures of the signs and contest the citation, it appears that it should be easy to beat.

[The Occultist]

In addition to the whole collection agency issue, also expect any future state tax refunds you might be entitled to to be apprehended by the state and applied towards the fine you owe.

As Racer explained, do not simply ignore this ticket. Take pictures of the parking area to prove that you are not in any violation of any parking laws so that the charges can appropriately be dismissed.

[mdbw]

Alright, thanks. Should I also bring my registration to prove they got the expiration wrong too?

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by mdbw

Alright, thanks. Should I also bring my registration to prove they got the expiration wrong too?

The expiration won't matter if you weren't ticketed for it.

ETA: What EXACT code section were you cited for?

[davew128]

Originally Posted by mdbw

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

My name is Robert and I live in Charleston, SC.

Last night at 7:30 I parked in a loading zone that had two signs in it: the top one had red print and read "no parking from 7am to 7pm (loading vehicles only), the bottom sign was in green print and had the green arrows extending that said "2 hour parking from 7pm to 5am." So I thought it would be okay to park there.

When i got back to my car, I had a $45 ticket for parking in a loading zone with no commercial plates.

Didn't the sign say only loading from 7 to 7? What am I missing here? On top of that, the ticket was at 7:50, 20 minutes after I parked there, so I was within my 2 hour limit...

Another thing is that they got my license plate correct on the ticket, but the expiration date says 1207 and my plates clearly expire in May 2009.

Do I need to pay this ticket?

Sounds like a pretty plain case to fight to me. Loading zone prohibition doesn't exist after 7pm, ticket says 7:50 (PM I hope), ticket is bad on its face.