• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Parking ticket invalid? Signature too light to read

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

aandrew

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania. I live in Pittsburgh. I received a parking ticket today that I would like to protest for 3 reasons but I am unsure if I have a valid case. Reason #1: The signature on the ticket is too light to read-- only 2 slashes are visible
Reason #2: This is my first violation for "20ft. of a crosswalk" (I assume that means parked within 20 ft of a crosswalk) code 3353A23. With an additional note of "Also on a crosswalk". The signs that indicate it is OK to park on that sidewalk have an arrow. I parked on the correct side of that arrow and even on the correct side of the sign itself which would indicate to me that my car was in a safe area in which to park. There was no yellow curb. The only part of my car that could have been on the crosswalk is the bumper but this was all still on the safe side of the sign. Reason #3: the year of my car's make says this year when actually it was made in 1994.

Do I have a case for any of these 3 reasons? Should I even try to protest this?
 
Last edited:


aandrew

Junior Member
plead guilty is my best bet?

If the invalid ticket defenses don't work and I need to protest with the sign argument,
maybe the best thing to do here is plead guilty but give an explanation that I thought I was parking legally because the sign indicated I was within the proper zone. I can go back to that corner and take a photo of the sign and its proximity to the crosswalk (with or without my car in the picture) to prove that the sign mislead me. Any responses to this?

In PA parking court if the ticket issuer does not show up at the hearing do I automatically get the ticket waived?



This is a $45.50 ticket and I am a poor graduate student, hence my enthusiasm for fighting this!
 
Last edited:

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
The sign only indicates the beginning of where you are allowed to park. It is up to you to obey all other pertinent laws. For example, if you had parked in front of a fire hydrant, would it have been ok just because that sign was there?

Your time would be better spent at work or at school. Pay the ticket and move on.
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
No, no, and no. I assume you were indeed parked over the crosswalk. The bumper counts.
The signs don't matter. Fire hydrants, crosswalks, driveways, etc... all overrule the signs.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top