Wrong Make. Is it really wrong?

[PALnotNTSC]

New York City Parking Ticket.

Walked to my car as the officer was creating the ticket for parking a non-commercial vehicle in a commercial location at 8:09AM. The street allows non-commercial parking from 7p to 8a. I was 9 minutes late and asked nicely what her recommendation was to get out of the ticket since I know she can't stop once the ticket is initiated. She said she put the wrong make on the ticket so all I have to do is point that out along with proof of the actual make and it will be dismissed (which I have read online and here before).

The make is listed as "Merc" on the ticket. I have a Mercedes. She said Merc is actually the label for Mercury so I just have to show that I don't have a Mercury and it will be dismissed. I can't find a listing anywhere online that shows what a Mercedes abbreviation should be. She said it's MEBE but, again, I haven't been able to confirm that and don't want to risk a Mailed in defense if this is incorrect. Recommendations?

 

[Antigone*]

New York City Parking Ticket.

Walked to my car as the officer was creating the ticket for parking a non-commercial vehicle in a commercial location at 8:09AM. The street allows non-commercial parking from 7p to 8a. I was 9 minutes late and asked nicely what her recommendation was to get out of the ticket since I know she can't stop once the ticket is initiated. She said she put the wrong make on the ticket so all I have to do is point that out along with proof of the actual make and it will be dismissed (which I have read online and here before).

The make is listed as "Merc" on the ticket. I have a Mercedes. She said Merc is actually the label for Mercury so I just have to show that I don't have a Mercury and it will be dismissed. I can't find a listing anywhere online that shows what a Mercedes abbreviation should be. She said it's MEBE but, again, I haven't been able to confirm that and don't want to risk a Mailed in defense if this is incorrect. Recommendations?

We won't help you lie.

 

[Zigner]

Merc. can ALSO be an abbreviation (ie: shortening) for Mercedes. Sorry - that one won't help you.

 

[You Are Guilty]

I have never seen an "approved abbreviation" list and while I have seen Mercury's written up as "Merc", I have never owned a Benz and have no clue whether they are also Mercs or MeBe's as suggested. Can't hurt to contest it, but "make" is not a required element, so it's no guarantee to be dismissed, even if Merc turns out to be incorrect. It's been a while since it's been posted, so check this out to see if there are any other potential defenses available and if not, consider taking the settlement (if offered - any discount is better than none):
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/pdf/translations/got_tickets_english.pdf


Parenthetically, of all the wrong info she could have put down, she chose the one that looks suspiciously like the correct answer? I mean, "BMW" would have been a pretty simple alternative.

 

[HighwayMan]

The DMV "rules" are used for the vehicle makes. In the case of single names it is simply the first FIVE letters of the name, i.e. Mercury is MERC, Chevrolet is CHEVR, etc. Look at the registration sticker of any vehicle on the street to see how this works. The same convention must be used on a NYC Notice of Parking Violation.

Multiple names work a bit differently but it's similar. They take the first two characters of each name. I can definitely confirm that Mercedes Benz IS MEBE, just as Land Rover is LARO. I believe there is a slash between the first name characters and the second (i.e. ME/BE) but in this case that's pretty inconsequential.

 

[You Are Guilty]

Good info. Is it documented anywhere (preferably publicly accessible)? Not everyone can get their hands on the NYPD Patrol Guide

 

[HighwayMan]

Good info. Is it documented anywhere (preferably publicly accessible)? Not everyone can get their hands on the NYPD Patrol Guide

Neither can I - not NYPD.

It may be buried somewhere in the DMV Rules/Regs but after writing over eight thousand parking tickets and moving violations in 12 years I know how the naming works!

I know that wouldn't stand up in court, counselor, but it's a fact!

 

[Zigner]

The DMV "rules"

The fact that you put "rules" in quotation marks means that they're not "rules"

ETA: What I mean is that it may be the usual way of doing things, but it's not a requirement.

 

[HighwayMan]

The fact that you put "rules" in quotation marks means that they're not "rules"

I was assuming that this is not actually enumerated anywhere, but I'm probably wrong. The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles Rules and Regulations is part of NYCRR (I forget which part) and should be available somewhere online.

And yes, I know what happens when one assumes!

 

[You Are Guilty]

Poked around a bit and came up empty. Tried the PVB R&R (Title 19, Chap 39) as well as some Motor Vehicles R&R (Title 15, Chap 1) and no list of accepted abbreviations. Then got really bored and checked the DOT R&R again (Title 34, Chap 2). Zilch.

 

[HighwayMan]

15 NYCRR should be it. If it's not there then it's not defined anywhere except in some DMV data format policy.