M
momx3teaches
Guest
What is the name of your state?NC
I'll try to keep this brief but details may be helpful to advisor(s): My family and I were on vacation a few weeks ago in Corolla, a small beach town in NC. There is only one grocery store in town which is packed with incoming tourists on weekends. On Sunday afternoon we discovered we had forgotten an item when grocery shopping the day before, so my sister and I drove to the grocery store only to find the parking lot packed full. As I, and so many others often do when needing one item, I pulled over in the fire lane while she ran in for the item. As it was with two or three other cars already in the fire lane, and the parking lot so full, rather than circling the lot until she came out, I simply kept my car in drive with my foot on the brake. Never imagining that was considered "parked", I was shocked when the"friendly" deputy knocked on my window asking for my license and informing me he was giving me a ticket for parking in the fire lane. Not only was I in disbelief that he considered that "parked", but I was surprised that the violation in question would merit a ticket rather than a warning. After all, as a tourist from the same state, I was not expecting to be issued a ticket for an action I, and countless others across our state, make so often without any consequence or warning whatsoever. Yes, I now know that a vehicle is considered "parked" if it is stopped without prompting from a traffic device or sign-???? Fianally, to add to my surprise, I noticed there was no fine to pay for the violation itself, just $100 court cost! It was confirmed by the Sherriff's Dept. the next day that I would have to pay the court cost whether I came to court or not. Why would I drive back 400 miles in July to dispute a ticket with no fine with court cost to pay regardless? Sounds like a sure fire way for Currituck county to get even more money from tourists, assuming the locals are already aware of this officer's strict, no warning enforcement of fire lane "parking". (He issued 16 tickets that afternoon for the same thing. $1600 for Currituck county is not bad for one deputy's day's work!)
Finally, my two questions: Without any need for the services of the court, such as disputing the ticket or hearing my complaint, would I really be required to pay the court cost, and if so, for what services would I be paying? Also, is the $100 court cost the norm for a parking violation of this type? **If I had a dime for all the times I've seen "parking" in fire lanes since getting this ticket, I could easily pay the court cost with that!
Thanks in advance to those who have been patient in reading this and will give helpful advice.
I'll try to keep this brief but details may be helpful to advisor(s): My family and I were on vacation a few weeks ago in Corolla, a small beach town in NC. There is only one grocery store in town which is packed with incoming tourists on weekends. On Sunday afternoon we discovered we had forgotten an item when grocery shopping the day before, so my sister and I drove to the grocery store only to find the parking lot packed full. As I, and so many others often do when needing one item, I pulled over in the fire lane while she ran in for the item. As it was with two or three other cars already in the fire lane, and the parking lot so full, rather than circling the lot until she came out, I simply kept my car in drive with my foot on the brake. Never imagining that was considered "parked", I was shocked when the"friendly" deputy knocked on my window asking for my license and informing me he was giving me a ticket for parking in the fire lane. Not only was I in disbelief that he considered that "parked", but I was surprised that the violation in question would merit a ticket rather than a warning. After all, as a tourist from the same state, I was not expecting to be issued a ticket for an action I, and countless others across our state, make so often without any consequence or warning whatsoever. Yes, I now know that a vehicle is considered "parked" if it is stopped without prompting from a traffic device or sign-???? Fianally, to add to my surprise, I noticed there was no fine to pay for the violation itself, just $100 court cost! It was confirmed by the Sherriff's Dept. the next day that I would have to pay the court cost whether I came to court or not. Why would I drive back 400 miles in July to dispute a ticket with no fine with court cost to pay regardless? Sounds like a sure fire way for Currituck county to get even more money from tourists, assuming the locals are already aware of this officer's strict, no warning enforcement of fire lane "parking". (He issued 16 tickets that afternoon for the same thing. $1600 for Currituck county is not bad for one deputy's day's work!)
Finally, my two questions: Without any need for the services of the court, such as disputing the ticket or hearing my complaint, would I really be required to pay the court cost, and if so, for what services would I be paying? Also, is the $100 court cost the norm for a parking violation of this type? **If I had a dime for all the times I've seen "parking" in fire lanes since getting this ticket, I could easily pay the court cost with that!
Thanks in advance to those who have been patient in reading this and will give helpful advice.