george

I just received a parking that I should've have not been ticketed for but I was guilty. Somebody told me that they would never find me but mostly likely I will pay because I'm honest.
What would you do or what did you do?

carl

Pay it..they have computers these days that find you and you not only get hunted down by the police, they charge you huge fines and then they take your car.A friend has a kid who went to college in Pa and after the kid graduated, the family got a letter telling them the fine and that if it wasn't paid, the car would be impounded.

doit

Pay it. You sound like your conscience will bother you if you don't plus it's the right thing to do

x

Pay it or they will find you.

Patrick

I was once in Miami and parked at a meter. I knew it was about to expire and headed out to put more money in. As I approached the car I saw a "meter maid" rounding the corner coming from the direction of my car. As I got there, sure enough there was a ticket on my car, but I still had about 2 minutes left on the meter. I was furious. She apparently assumed that since the meter was ready to expire she went ahead and ticketed me. I ran down the street, but she was gone. I called the city to complain and when I said I was from out of town, they actually told me to throw away the ticket -- that they won't pursue it anyway. I did and never heard from them again. If it had been expired, I wouldn't have hesitated to pay it, however.

Hugh

George, my contempt for you and all the ninnies out there like you is immeasurable. Throw that damn thing away! What's like without a little excitement?

Guilty

I guess I have a little larceny in my soul, too. I'm with Hugh (without the contempt). If the ticket is from out of state, I'd throw it away.

Ellen

The key word in Patrick's story is "once". Nowadays, an increasing number of states have interstate agreements for tracking scofflaws. If you don't pay the ticket, you might get an unpleasant surprise next time you try to renew your license or registration. And some states add a $5 fee each month that it's overdue.

One thing Patrick, among others, seems to be unaware of is that even if you "feed" a meter you can get a ticket. Officially, the maximum time you can get on the meter when you first park there is the maximum amount of time that you're allowed to use the space. Feed the meter for a longer period, and you're in violation. The meters are there to ensure parking space turnover, not to raise money for hte city.

Patrick

I agree that I am talking about quite a while back. But the two key points here are these:
1) the city told me to throw away the ticket as they don't pursue them.
2) the total amount of time allowed meant nothing. The meter had not yet expired when the ticket was given. Incidentally many meters and street signs will indicate "maximum time. . . ", but these meters and area clearly did not. There was no maximum time limit posted anywhere near them.

Here in Naples, Florida, by the way, there are meters at the beach for non-residents (who can get free parking permits). There is no maximum time on the meters, but it takes a lot of quarters to keep feeding them as the limited time on the meter itself calls for repeated feeding. Here the meters are indeed used to raise money for the city.

Ellen

Thanks for the meter-feeding tip, Patrick, I'm going to be down your way soon. But watch out, don't feed the meters if you come to Boston.

Sorry, I didn't mean to entirely discount your story -- I'm sure that at that time, it was true that the city didn't pursue tickets with out-of-staters. And clearly that ticket should not have been given out in the first place. But I just wanted to point out that the times and computer era have changed that in many places.

One thing that probably hasn't changed is that meter maids (What IS the PC name for them? Meter attendants?) have quotas and are tempted to cut corners. The times that they put on the tickets are used to monitor their minute-by-minute performance. Plus, everyone hates them. No wonder they're so cranky!

xxxx

George, just how "honest" are you if you even ask this question? Sounds like you would not pay it if you knew you could get away with it.
Character is who you are when nobody is looking.

George

Thanks to all that replied.
I'm going to pay the for the ticket. I just wanted to know what others have experienced because it seemed as if I was the ONLY guy that was ticketed down in Miami Beach. My meter didn't even expire. It was the weekend and I didn't the residential parking sign. Thank goodness it was only $23.

xxxx

Whats $23 for a clear conscience and knowing you did the right thing - even if it was a questionable ticket?

xxx

Personally, I wouldn't feel morally obliged to pay a ticket for an area that wasn't well-posted.

kate

Patrick.you live in Naples? Do you know an elderly lady that lives in NY/Naples?and NJ? she travels a lot? She mentioned a friend named Patrick and I just now thought it could be you!What a coincidence,no? Kate

Avocat

You do not mention the city/state where you got the ticket. Bear in mind that some states (especially states with heavy tourist traffic) have reciprocal agreements re: tickets. They're particularly tough on speeding tickets, but since yours is only a parking infraction it might be ignored. Tickets are often passed on to collection agencies who will hound and "threaten" you for payment.

lcuy

We got caught in an honest to goodness speed trap in Hope, British Colombia (CANADA!) We had 3 of those double trucks on our bumper, and there was no place to pull over. We were going 105 KM in a 100 zone. The trucks, by the way, were not even waved over! I tried to argue it by mail, and in return they gave us only 4 days notice to show up in court. I would have ignored it, but found out that my state (Hawaii) shares ticket info with all 50 states, US territories, AND Canada. they would have prevented renewal of our car registration and my husband's driver's license. Talk about small world.

ja

Icuy,
I'm so sorry you ran afoul of the RCMP that way. You must have encountered one who was having a particularly bad day, or maybe was under pressure to meet a ticket quota, because the RCMP officers I've met say they generally will ignore anything less than 10km/hr over the limit - unless they're being pushed to "produce". Or if they're maybe one of the (few) really cranky, I'm not gonna be a nice guy types. Anyway, don't let that turn you off Western Canada - Alberta's nice, and we don't have as many mountains to mess up the highways!
ja

qqq

Are you serious? Do you even have to ask? You took a chance, you broke the law you pay the price - what makes you special?

x

If the ticket is from a different state from the one you live in, SCREW IT! What are they going to do, spend the money to extradite you back and put you on trial just because you didn't put 25 cents in the meter (or whatever)??? If it comes back to haunt you later, like in 5 years, pay it then. Otherwise, hang on to your money. Don't be a sap.

If you happen to vacation in the same state you live, pay it.