"I was standing not parking" & still got a No Parking Ticket"

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No parking and no standing both mean no stopping

Is this confusing? You betcha. So, let's see if I can vanquish the confusion, and stop the Congo line of parking tickets for these violations. Has this ever happened to you?

• You pull into a parking space and see a no parking sign with an arrow pointing directly to your car. You say to yourself, "thank g-d I going to remain seated in my car waiting for my daughter to finish her sky diving lessons. Therefore, I'm standing not parking." Ca-ching. Pay the man $95. You are standing and parking at the same time because you stopped your car. It matters not that you remained seated behind the wheel.

• How 'bout this one...My cell phone was ringing, so I pulled off the roadway and stopped to answer the cell phone in a no parking zone. I'll finish the call in two NY minutes. Ca-ching. The big but is a parking ticket warrior will get you in one NY minute because you are not permitted to stop temporarily in a no parking zone to answer your cell phone.

• There's more...You spot a vacant parking space in a no parking except authorized vehicles zone and decide to land your spaceship in the vacant space. Your strategy is to remain seated behind the wheel and wait for your lovely wife to finish work. She'll be out in about 15 minutes. Ca-ching. You're a very nice husband, but your net worth just went down $95.

So, why have separate violations for no parking and no standing?

You mean, besides the obvious reason that more confusion means more parking tickets, and more do-re-mi for the Evil Empire?

The difference lies in the activity you are permitted to perform in these two different parking zones:

• In a no parking zone, you are permitted to stop temporarily (2 minutes or less) to drop-off or pick-up a passenger AND property
• In a no standing zone, you are only permitted to stop temporarily to drop-off or pick-up a passenger

Bonus tip #1: A bus stop is a no standing zone. This means you are NOT permitted to stop temporarily in a bus stop zone to expeditiously drop-off your Aunt Tillie and her 3 Luis Vitton suitcases. You are only permitted to drop-off people, but you get to keep their stuff.

Bonus tip #2: If you parallel park in Manhattan to back into a vacant parking space, you risk getting a parking ticket for double parking. So beware, be warned, and be careful. The Evil Empire interprets double parking as halting your car on the roadway side of a vehicle stopped, standing, or parked at the curb.

When you parallel park, you momentarily stop (halt, stand, park) your car on the roadway side of a vehicle stopped, standing, or parked at the curb. This is absolutely ludicrous and a perversion of the real evil double parking violations seek to eliminate. I'm sure, if this issue ever makes it way to the appellate courts, it will be slain forever. The big but is the Evil Empire will never let that happen.

Commentary

I recently received a telephone call from an angry member of our driving community fuming over a parking ticket. He was incensed that he was issued a parking ticket for no standing, when he clearly turned off his engine, took his keys out of the ignition, and left his vehicle. He asserted he wasn't standing he was parking.

This is an example of the no parking and no standing confusion going in both directions ("I was parking not standing" instead of "I was standing not parking").

Key take-away...Parking and Standing mean stopping your car, whether occupied or not.

Would you like to check-out a real nifty tool for finding the location and parking rule contained on every parking sign in NYC? Simply click on the red button below (no email address required).

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