Del Mar parking ticket: Error by officer (wrong state on ticket)

Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

My wife and I were enjoying the lovely beach at Del Mar. We put 3 hours worth of quarters in the meter at an undercover public parking spot. We got back to the car literally 1 minute late to find the parking officer had already swooped in and gave us a $35 parking ticket. Here is the kicker: We are from Arizona (AZ plates) and the officer wrote in "CA" for the state. Everything else is correct on the ticket; last 4 digits of the VIN, the plate, etc.

Again, the officer wrote the incorrect state on the ticket. Can they still track us if we do not pay?

Thanks again!

Yep. All they have to do is run the vin number. and please tell me you're not thinking the officer didn't write down the entire vin in his notebook

Or, for that matter, the entire license plate.

Good point(s). Well, since they give the option of contesting the ticket by mail, I am going to write a letter as instructed and explain the error. If they reply and state that I need to pay, then I will do just that and be done with it.

It's worth a shot I guess. I keep having this crazy dream that we are going to get off on a technicality...ha ha.

Thanks again!

Remember the song by Gary Wright?

Dream on .....Dream on....

I used to work in the county where you got this cite. They may not have the entire VIN, but they will figure out the plate pretty quick. And you won't stand a chance contesting the cite based on the erroneous state on the citation.

The best way to prevent additional fines and a possible collections account being opened against you is to just pay the parking fine. Unless, of course, you are not guilty of the violation. The state issue is a no-go.

Carl

Yes, I am guilty. In fact, we saw the officer as she was leaving our vehicle to nail another one. I said, "oh man the meter just ran out!" She said, "I just write 'em like I see 'em."

I didn't argue further because she was just doing her job. For all she knew, we had been there for 3 hours unpaid.

I guess it kind of chaps my hide that the lot was 5/75ths full, we were one minute late, and she still nailed us for a $35 violation. Not exactly a warm welcome to a couple of people who frequent California on a regular basis and contribute to the CA economy via tourism revenue - in more ways than one.

Bummer.

krispenstpeter said:

Remember the song by Gary Wright?

Dream on .....Dream on....

Click to expand...

Wrong singer. Gary Wright sang "Dream Weaver". Aerosmith did "Dream On".

I just wanted to let you all know that this parking ticket was dismissed via my letter.

My letter simply said the following, which was all true:

I found this parking ticket on my vehicle (see copy). The ticket lists "CA" as the state. My vehicle is registered in Arizona and has always had an Arizona license plate. What should we do? Please advise.

Click to expand...

Sweet!

<94 EX> said:

Yes, I am guilty. In fact, we saw the officer as she was leaving our vehicle to nail another one. I said, "oh man the meter just ran out!" She said, "I just write 'em like I see 'em."

I didn't argue further because she was just doing her job. For all she knew, we had been there for 3 hours unpaid.

I guess it kind of chaps my hide that the lot was 5/75ths full, we were one minute late, and she still nailed us for a $35 violation. Not exactly a warm welcome to a couple of people who frequent California on a regular basis and contribute to the CA economy via tourism revenue - in more ways than one.

Bummer.

Click to expand...

Bummer? This is all planned. It is their revenue model. If she could be sitting in the shade for the 59 minutes and come to the right place at exactly the right time, she still makes those $35.

Like at Zuma Beach, the parking police made about $640 in one hour, they have a system!

You just don't know the system because you only saw it at work once, so to
you it seems a "bummer".

Stand up for your rights!

Katterine said:

Bummer? This is all planned. It is their revenue model. If she could be sitting in the shade for the 59 minutes and come to the right place at exactly the right time, she still makes those $35.

Click to expand...

First, this post is more than 4 years old and the original poster is no longer here.

Second, the fine doesn't make the parking enforcement officer a penny. They get paid by the hour whether they write one citation or a dozen.

Stand up for your rights!

Click to expand...

Yeah, the OP could have appealed it to the city parking administration, but even one minute over is guilty.

Here is the incident at Zuma, and more advice on how to fight the ticket.

Click to expand...

It's four years too late for the OP.


- Carl

Why he should not pay.

CdwJava said:

Second, the fine doesn't make the parking enforcement officer a penny. They get paid by the hour whether they write one citation or a dozen.


Yeah, the OP could have appealed it to the city parking administration, but even one minute over is guilty.


It's four years too late for the OP.



- Carl

Click to expand...

Carl, you are correct on a few points, however you missed my points, let me explain:

First,
When I said revenue, I meant revenue for the organization that employs the
parking officer. Whether he is paid by the hour or not is irrelevant, if he doesn't
write sufficient tickets he will lose his job.

Second,
I really couldn't care less if he is guilty or not. All I care about is that he
defeats the ticket in court and therefore stops supporting the system of
government that is using people's funds to "protect" us from each other.
I could compare this to the "protection tax" by italian mafia but I won't.

Eventually I suggest the parking laws to be repealed or be made more
sensible.

Katterine said:

First,
When I said revenue, I meant revenue for the organization that employs the
parking officer. Whether he is paid by the hour or not is irrelevant, if he doesn't
write sufficient tickets he will lose his job.

Click to expand...

Perhaps ... but it doesn't change the fact that they do not get paid by the citation.

Second,
I really couldn't care less if he is guilty or not. All I care about is that he
defeats the ticket in court and therefore stops supporting the system of
government that is using people's funds to "protect" us from each other.
I could compare this to the "protection tax" by italian mafia but I won't.

Click to expand...

Parking tickets in California do not GO to court except under extremely rare circumstances and only after all appeals are exhausted. Even then, I have never heard of one prevailing.

You can object all you want, but without laws there is anarchy. Certainly there are some rinky-dink violations out there, but most have a purpose. Maybe YOU don't care if people park willy-nilly and disobey traffic laws, but most of us prefer order over chaos.

Eventually I suggest the parking laws to be repealed or be made more
sensible.

Click to expand...

So ... forget about parking meters? Park as long as you want wherever you want? Parking in some places is tough enough without that kind of chaos. Also, it is not in the best interests of commerce to allow unlimited forever parking in tourist or commercial districts. If people cannot park, they cannot shop ... if they cannot shop, there is no sales tax and no employment ... no sales tax and no employment equals no revenue for the upkeep of parks, streets, etc. - all the things that make life nice.

I don't like parking tickets any more than the next guy ... but, these laws have a purpose. If the enforcement is not what the community wants, they can take action. Since enforcement is a political decision not generally a legal one, the community can pressure parking violations be rolled back or eliminated ... though you will find that many locals and business owners will object. We have that struggle here all the time, and the businesses want more enforcement and shorter time frames, while visitors tend to want NO time frames. It's a balancing act.

- Carl

Katterine said:

Carl, you are correct on a few points, however you missed my points, let me explain:

First,
When I said revenue, I meant revenue for the organization that employs the
parking officer. Whether he is paid by the hour or not is irrelevant, if he doesn't
write sufficient tickets he will lose his job.

Second,
I really couldn't care less if he is guilty or not. All I care about is that he
defeats the ticket in court and therefore stops supporting the system of
government that is using people's funds to "protect" us from each other.
I could compare this to the "protection tax" by italian mafia but I won't.

Eventually I suggest the parking laws to be repealed or be made more
sensible.

And last but not least, thanks for looking at the blog. You will see
another example of a state government generating revenue on unsuspecting
citizens, based on a law that only helps the government, and hurts the people.

Click to expand...

Kat -
Don't post links to your blog - it's against the TOS of the site.