$100 Parking Ticket in DC - Can I contest this?

[BassMasterMcfly]

Washington DC - ticket

My driver's license is in my home state and my car has plates in the state where I go to school - neither of which is in the DC area.

The other morning I had my car parked on a street. The meter clearly reads "Two hour parking 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM" with no indication that parking is otherwise restricted. At the end of the block (well over 30 feet a way) there is a sign that says "No Parking 7:00 AM to 9:30 AM" (evidentally for rush hour traffic). I parked there over night since I saw lots of cars parked on the street. I read the meter closely, but did not notice any signs (since they were so far away).

I awoke the next morning to find my car had been moved for me around the corner with a ticket for $100 for "No Standing, Rush hours, AM".

If I were from the area, I'd suck it up and pay the money, but I feel that $100 is extraordinarly high for a parking ticket, especially when I read the meter's restrictions. That is, if I'd gotten an expired meter ticket, I'd pay with no question. But I feel it's misleading to have the restrictions on the block and not on the meter. Seems like a trap for newcommers. How far am I supposed to look for restrictions? Get a permission slip from the mayor when I enter the city?

Anyone have any advice?

 

[racer72]

Nothing in your post suggests the ticket is not valid or improper. The only thing I could suggest is to plead ignorance. That works sometimes, especially blondes with big boobs.

 

[BassMasterMcfly]

racer72,

Gee thanks for your reply. I do have blond hair, but as I'm a guy, my having boobs generally won't help.

I still intend to plead both ignorance and confusing signs. Here's my defense:
(1) The meter itself just reads "2 hour parking 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM" - no mention of other restrictions.
(2) Directly behind my spot was a driveway. On the other side of the driveway is a sign that posts "No Parking anytime" in the direction of my car. Obviously this means the driveway, but there's no further information on the other side of the driveway that there are other restrictions for where I was parked. The "No Parking anytime" sign clearly wouldn't apply since I was at a meter.
(3) About thirty feet (a few car lengths) in front of my car at the corner is a sign facing the street (not the sidewalk) which does state the restriction. If I were from the area, I would know this might be a possibility so I would have checked, but since I'm only here a short time, I relied on the meter and the sign closest to my car.

I figure if the judge is a hard*ss, he'll say "too bad, you have to check all the signs on the street". But I'm hoping he'll cut me some slack since the signs really could be more explicit. Specically, the meter could read "No parking 7:00 - 9:30 AM; 2 hour parking 9:30 AM - 4:30 PM".