Larry's Blog

Have these 3 Parking Ticket Mistakes Cost you Money?

"I am learning all the time. The tombstone will be my diploma. ~ Eartha Kitt"

This is the way I feel every day while reading your thought provoking blog comments, listening to your parking ticket stories on the telephone, researching blog articles, and working relentlessly to earn your trust and loyalty.

Here are three (3) mistakes frequently made by our readers. Believe me, it is more than o.k. to forget, mix-up, or not know in the first place, the gazillion NYC parking ticket rules, regulations, and laws. Repetition and sharing parking ticket experiences help all of us learn how to avoid a NYC parking ticket.

Double parking on Street Cleaning Days

You can never, ever, under any circumstances double park on the opposite side of the street waiting for the rule to change on street cleaning days. With that said, in many neighborhoods the heinous parking ticket crime of double parking is overlooked to make life a smidgen easier on street cleaning days. So, if you've gotten a free pass for 427 street cleaning days, and on the 428th day the sleeping crocodile awakes and bites you in the wallet, isn't it reasonable to amortize the $90 fine ($115 less reduction) over the 428 days? What do you think?

 

Where does a bus stop zone end?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A bus stop zone begins at a bus stop sign. It extends, in the direction of the arrow(s) until; the next parking sign, or if no parking sign, until the end of the block

I wasn't parked, I was just standing

The 3 No's are very, very confusing. What is the difference between, stopping, standing and parking? This is a two part answer:

1.  All 3 No's mean exactly the same thing. You've halted your car. Forget about the fancy, meant to confuse definitions. If you "halt" you car, you are stopping, standing and parking. PERIOD

2.  Here's the difference...When a parking sign says, "NO STOPPING," you can not halt your vehicle, drop off or pick up passengers or load or unload personal property to the curb.  When a NY parking sign says, "NO STANDING," you can stop temporarily to drop off or pick up passengers; but you can't load or unload personal property to the curb. When a parking sign says "NO PARKING," you are in parking ticket heaven. You can stop temporarily to drop off or pick up passengers and load or unload personal property to the curb. 

You cannot stop, drop and wait in any of these zones. You've got to read your newspaper at home. You can't wait until you MOM crosses the street to her apartment. You can't run into the store for just a second. 

Please share your parking ticket experiences. We learn from our successes, and from our mistakes. What is your biggest NYC parking ticket mistake?

 

 

 

 

Why is "Stopping" a Deadly Sin in the World of NYC Parking Laws ?

Stopping is different than the other 2 No's. Want to know why? Check out the chart below

This is the third blog post in a series of posts about the 3 NO's. Here are links to the other 2 articles:

"Do you Know the Difference Between Standing and Parking ?"

"Why you Must Know the Meaning of No Standing"

 

 

Let's take a refresher course in the definitions of the 3 No's. No Parking-No Standing-No Stopping to avoid a NYC parking ticket

 

NO PARKING	The standing of a vehicle	whether occupied or not	otherwise than temporarily for the purpose of and while actually engaged in	loading or unloading	property or passengers
NO STANDING	The stopping of a vehicle	whether occupied or not	otherwise than temporarily for the purpose of and while actually engage in	receiving or discharging	passengers
NO STOPPING	Any halting even momentarily of a vehicle	whether occupied or not

 

I think there is confusion amongst the members of the driving public because you may think the 3 No's have nothing in common. That is not correctamundo. The 3 No's have much in common. No parking means no parking, no standing, and no stopping. No standing means no standing, no stopping and no parking.  No stopping means don't even think about halting your vehicle.

The difference in the parking laws between Parking, Standing, and Stopping is you are not "parking" your vehicle when you are loading or unloading passengers or property to the curb; and you are not "standing" your vehicle when you are actively engaged in receiving or discharging passengers, only.

The cheese stands alone

• Stopping is one of the parking laws Deadly Sins
• You cannot stop your vehicle to discharge or receive passengers in a NO STOPPING ZONE
• You cannot load or unload property to the curb in a NO STOPPING ZONE
• You cannot take a time out to rest your weary bones in a NO STOPPING ZONE
• You cannot do anything in a NO STOPPING ZONE except keep driving  
• A cell phone call...no way

Quick Quiz:  How many parking tickets will you receive if you fail this quiz? Ca-ching, ca-ching.

1. In a No Parking Zone, I can stop my car at the curb and read the newspaper.  True or False?  FALSE
2. In a No Parking Zone, I can stand my car at the curb and talk on my cell phone.  True or False? FALSE
   
3. In a No Parking Zone, I can stop temporarily to unload my property to the curb.  True or False? TRUE
   
4. In a No Standing Zone, I can park my car because parking is different than standing.  True or False? FALSE
   
5. In a No Standing Zone, I can stop my car because I am tired and want to take a quick nap before heading to the Holland Tunnel to make a donation to the NYC Blocking the Box fund raiser. True or False? FALSE
6. There is absolutely no difference between parking, standing and stopping. True or False? FALSE
7. I can park my car in a NO STOPPING ZONE because parking is not prohibited in a NO STOPPING ZONE. True or False? FALSE
   
8. I am not permitted to halt my vehicle in a NO STOPPING ZONE. True or False? TRUE
   

How did you do?
Give us a shout, especially if you have any questions or wish to share a story about your experience with the 3 No's.