"Paul K. Dickman" wrote in message
...

"jim" wrote in message
.. .
RogerN wrote:

If it wasn't automated, why didn't they just write the ticket and stick
it
on the car like they used to?

Do you have any evidence that they didn't do that?

Did you consider:
somebody may have got the physical paper ticket on that car
and didn't pay in time
(perhaps didn't pay because they noticed the lic# was incorrect)

the letter and picture you received may be SOP for non-payers
Taking a picture of each infraction may help with enforcement
It also may help correct errors.

That is exactly what happened.

Around here, you get parking tickets from a few different sources.

When a cop writes you a ticket, they still do it longhand in a ticket
book. Their copy goes down to get punched into a computer and another is
stuffed in and envelope and stuck on the car . They don't take any
pictures. They also don't write as many of the tickets as they used to.

As much as I complain about this, it is actually a good thing. They have a
real job to do, and that should take precedence over catching parking
scofflaws.

Another source are Dept of Revenue foot soldiers. They walk around with a
handheld gizmo like the UPS man.

It takes a picture of the violation and probably a gps location and the
human keys in the plate number and violation.

The device spits out a thermal printout that gets stuffed in and envelope
and stuck on the car and then uploads it to the computer.

The third source is Dept of Revenue cavalry. They drive around in vans
bristling with cameras. These will have several pictures of the vehicle
including a plate shot and windshield stickers. They use these mostly for
bulk operations like street cleaning day.

They spit out a thermal printout that gets stuffed in and envelope and
stuck on the car and then upload it to the computer.

If the offender doesn't respond to the ticket in a timely manor, a
reminder is automatically sent to the address associated with the plate
number. These are all based on the number that got written down or typed
in.

This is what you got, Roger.

If you look up the ticket on line, you may find the the driver of real
car, has paid it already.

I wouldn't count on that possibility though.

If you want to email me the ticket number, off list, I'll look it up for
you and let you know.

With all this stuff going on, the one shining light, is that they are
really good at reviewing the contest by mail option.

Better than most cities I have been in. I have sent in a hundred of these,
only two were decided against me. Both of those involved a complex
argument that the parking in that manor was not, technically, against the
law. On one of those I just paid the $25 ticket. On the other I appealed
in person and convinced the judge that I was right and that I had just
wasted $75 dollars of the city's time, beating them on a $25 ticket. Now
when I contest these by mail, I always win.

The bottom line is that you need to deal with it.

They do not know that it is a mistake, if you don't tell them. The fines
double with time, and then double some more.

Eventually they label you a deadbeat, and sell the debt to a debt
collector.



Paul K. Dickman

I'm going to contest it by mail, I'm sending pictures of my car and the one
in their picture. If that isn't good enough I can get verification that I
and my wife was at work on the date and time. And neighbors that drive by
know the car has been in the yard for close to a year since I've been
driving my truck to work. It gets us to work if our main autos are being
worked on but I wouldn't take it on a 300 mile trip.

This car is going to the mechanic Tuesday, going to get estimates on the
engine misfires, front axle CV joints, and Air conditioning. If I can get
it fixed for around $1500 or so, I'll giving it to my daughter, or buy her a
different car.

RogerN