Double Jeopardy
Exposition:
I have been really enjoying my new car. I especially needed it to get to work when I worked three miles south of campus. (And no, the bus is not an option; too many weird people like Cicada.) Many days I would park on campus so that I could drive straight to work. Now that I work on campus again, driving to school when I live two blocks from campus might seem just lazy and inconsiderate. I have been called worse things.
Story:Anyway, on Monday I was parked in the G-lot, which stands for General parking, during my classes in the morning. When I came out of my class to drive to work (just five blocks north), I found one of those abominable green envelopes under my wiper. "Crap!" I thought. "My first parking ticket ever." I opened the ticket and found that I had been issued a twenty-dollar citation for parking in a G-lot, which actually stands for Graduate parking, without a permit. I cursed myself for my stupidity and drove to work.
I had gone online to register my car with the school, but I hadn't applied for the free Y-lot permit because they asked for the VIN number and I must have left my VIN-number keychain in my other pants. I grabbed my registration out of the glove compartment and ran up to work. I went straight to the computer and applied for the permit. After work, I returned to my car to find another ticket on the windshield.
Summary:
I got a ticket for parking a registered car in a lot where there is enough parking for a basketball arena that holds around 23,000 people, and where only about fifty cars were parked, when a permit is free.
Tangential Rants:
I was walking home and ran into the girls I home teach. Benita began to explain how she had received multiple tickets on Sunday. While she was at church. Worshipping the Lord. Apparently the university insists that there be parking officers on duty just in case the ox is in the mire and someone really needs a parking ticket. It's along the same lines as a nurse or an MTC cafeteria worker.
"I can't go to church today. I have to help deliver babies."
"Oh, me neither. I have to go issue emergency parking citations."
It all starts to seems a little silly.
And don't even get JTS started on bike permits.
"Bike permits! Do I even need to say anymore? Bike. Permits."
Point Being:
I appealed the tickets for the fun of it. They make it so easy to do. I probably deserve to pay. But only for one. I think after one, double jeopardy applies. At least for today.
posted by Limon @ 12:15 PM
8 comments
8 Comments:
I agree so much with you right now. Out of curiosity, where was your friend parked when she was ticketed at church? Which lot?
So once upon a really freaking long time ago, I was dating this guy. I saw his truck on campus one day, parked in a 30-minute spot. I saw it an hour later, parked in the same spot. So I found a lime green flyer that someone had shoved into my face earlier, and I wrote a "ticket" on the back of it. It was cute and funny because I'm cute and funny.
As I was leaving it on his car, this other guy came running up to me. "Are you giving tickets!? Are you giving tickets?! Because my motorbike is over there, but I'm here now and I'm leaving! Please don't give me a ticket!" I told him I'd let him off, just that once.
Although I was being cute and funny, my boyfriend looked down from a window in the building where he was to see the green paper on his windshield. It pretty much ruined his day to think that he had received a ticket. So he left his car parked there. Five hours later (after he'd been feeling cranky all that time) he went down and found my "ticket." But you know, all this means that he got to park for six hours in a 1/2-hour zone and I think that maybe my fake ticket was a deterrant to real tickets.
Moral of the story? Keep the bright envelope and put it on your windshield every day so then they think they've already got you.
That is a good story. I have thought about doing that and wondered if I would get caught. I wonder what would happen. I mean, it's not illegal to leave an envelope on your car, is it? Do you think they would know?
Sorry, guys, someone at the Lord's University has already thought of that. According to the Traffic Office, "A ticket scam is where a person places an old citation on a car attempting to make it appear they have already received a citation for the day. If you are found participating in this practice you can receive a $100 fine and be referred to the Honor Codes office." Good idea, though.
What if your friends do it to you every day? as a running joke? and it's not an old ticket, but rather a folded-up, green flyer someone has shoved in your face? What then?
Solution: park in the one-hour (or 30 min--I can't remember) parking in front of the Harman. I have parked there for years and I have never received a ticket. And I don't mean for years at a time. I mean for hours at a time. And that practice has been going on for years.
I now have a free permit. That's good, 'cause one more ticket for parking in a "free after 7 p.m." lot at 6:55 would have made my car illegal in all lots on campus. So that would have sucked.
Hi,
I found you off of Cicada's blog (although she doesn't know me either.) I had to laugh at this entry because I actually had been banned from driving on campus at one point.
I was making good money and it was no sweat to pay a $20 ticket for parking in the A Lot next to the KMB to make it to my class on time. Well, add in a few more tickets and even a Sunday Ticket Special, and I received a nice notice from the Traffic Office saying that me and my 1985 Ford F-150 were hereby BANNED from driving on campus for one year and possibly eternity.
About four months later I bought my corolla and thought I am home free and can drive/park where ever I choose!
That is, until my father called the Traffic Office and informed them that they needed to check up because I had switched cars.
carina: I can't believe your dad turned you in! He must really care about your spiritual development or something.
You'd think he was a religion professor or something!
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