School parking ticket, but wrong plate number... What do?
 

As the title states, I recently got a parking citation at my school... for parking backwards in a parking structure (ain't that some shit?). Long story short, they failed to put a lot of usable info on the ticket that can technically trace it back to me. Here are some notes the ticket has without giving out too many personal details:

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Citation number: xxxxxxxxx
Date & Time: xx-xx-xxxx xx:xx:xx
Officer: Mr. Officer
VLN: xxxxxxx (which they got wrong)
State: CA
VIN: Not Readable
Permit #: xx-xxxxx
Make: Subaru
Model:
Style: 2 Door
Color: Blue
Reg: 12 2017 <-- don't know what that means

Violation: Fail to obey posted sign

Total: $48.00

Comments: Please park facing forwards
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Personal notes:

- My license plate noted on the citation is off by one number, one of the 0's should be a 9.
- The VIN states as Not Readable as per their description. I did not mess with the VIN, they are just lazy to write it down.
- My parking permit was paid for upfront at the school using my debit card and was not specifically assigned to me or my car, so if there was ANY trace at all, I would assume this would be it. But no personal information was given upon purchase, so that's why I am iffy about it.
- The did not list the model of my car since it doesn't even come up under the drop down menu upon buying a parking permit online and registering it to my car. On top of that, my CF trunk is de-badged and I'm sure most of the officer's on campus are car-illiterate.
- In my defense, the "fail to obey posted sign" violation is a joke because it is written within a paragraph of things in a sign entering a parking lot... who has time to read that much when you are late to class??
- They took a picture of my car from the front, but I have no license plate in the front lol. And the parking permit is on my dash, but you can't see the details because of the flash from their camera. Aaaaaaand the picture was taken with a potato...

While I am not advocating running away from a ticket by any means to anyone, hypothetically speaking... could I get away with not paying? I will probably still end up paying, but I'm just wondering if it is possible to get away with my super duper punishable crime of parking backwards in this particular case?




Where my lawyers at??

State that it's a proven fact (Smith defensive driving Course) backing accidents are more prevalent @ speeds under 10 MPH. It is safer to back into a stall when arriving (you are more aware of your surroundings), then drive forward on departure...

Hmm.. good input. My girlfriend actually got into a fender bender because she was backing up and didn't see a car that was coming her direction too fast. She has since then parked backwards any chance she gets.

Would this ticket be worth contesting even if there is a posted sign saying I need to park facing forward? Paying $48.00 for a convenience is pretty ridiculous... It's not like I'm taking up any more space or double parking. On top of that, it's summer school at 8am... the parking lot is pretty much empty.

Another note I just added to the original post... They took a picture of my car from the front, but I have no license plate in the front lol. And the parking permit is on my dash, but you can't see the details because of the flash from their camera. Aaaaaaand the picture was taken with a potato...

Wow, I have never heard of a place that required you to park forwards. Usually if there's any policy, it's back-in only for safety.

I don't know whether the space OP parked in was angled, but some places prohibit you from backing into angled spaces because stupid people will drive the wrong way down those lanes when entering or leaving the spaces that way, while other stupid people will clip other vehicles trying to make the sharp turn to go the correct direction.

It actually was an angled parking lot, so I guess that makes sense... but I'm still pissed lol

So I guess with that counterargument, I can't fight the ticket :(

I say innocent until proven guilty. It's their job to prove you committed the heinous crime of parking backwards, don't let them get away with giving you a fine without doing their job properly (their job = getting your vehicle details correctly and fully).

How are parking tickets physically issued in the US? Do they leave a ticket under your windshield wiper? Or do they post the fine to the address of the car owner?

I totally agree, I just wouldn't want this to come back and bite me in the ass later if they can somehow trace me afterall, so I'm just making sure with you guys to see if there is a way that they can trace me even with the information provided in the original post.

And they usually place a small printed piece of paper between the windshield and the wiper if it's a parking violation. Other tickets such as moving violations are mailed to your home address, but again, that's assuming they get your plate correctly lol.



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I worked for the parking people in college. Usually if the VIN and plate are typed in wrong they screwed themselves. At worst you can say you never received it (ie. you saw a ticket crumpled up next to your car but the info didn't match so you disregarded.) You'll get a contestable late fee if anything and the ticket may already be void due to the amount of mistakes.

Exactly.

Hypothetically scenario: You could have returned to your car and never noticed the ticket under your wiper. You then proceed to drive off on a highway, activate the wipers and the tickets goes flying away. All without you noticing the ticket was there in the first place.

In such a scenario you were never informed of your wrongdoing. The school is responsible to send the fine to your address by post or by giving it to you in person. How would they proceed to do this when they don't have your car details correct? And how can you be charged a late fee if you've never received the fine in the first place?

I always fight parking fines, I've got nothing to lose. Then again, you and I live in different countries with different legal procedures. Use your own best judgement.

Man up, pay it and stop whining?

It's an option?

I don't know how it is at your school, but at all three of the universities I have attended the parking police were employed by the school itself, and the parking tickets were civil fines paid to the university for violating their private parking regulations. As such, the school had the authority to put a hold on your registration and/or graduation if you didn't pay them and would refuse to let you register for classes or receive a diploma until you did.

For that reason, I wouldn't assume you're out of the woods if you ignore it. If they do somehow figure out the mistake on the ticket and tie it back to you, you might find a hold on your registration next term until you pay up. You can usually appeal, but all the classes you want will be filling up while you wait for a hearing.

I'm not whining about it. As per my first post, I said I will probably end up paying it anyways, this is just a question out of curiosity in a hypothetical scenario in which I wonder if I could get away with it had I wanted to as they don't have any of my personal info. I also say probably in the case in which it isn't uncommon for people to get away with this, in which case, if much rather keep my $48.00 and spend it on something I want as opposed to rewarding the idiot parking police officers for such a "heinous" crime. However, if it's not worth the risk, then I am right back to square one where I was going to pay anyways.

Again, I'm just asking out of curiosity...
That's a good point. I'll have to look further into that. I have heard of that happening before, but just in general and not at my school specifically, and it was dealing with other fines, not necessarily parking fines, but good note to keep in mind for sure :thumbup:

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I'm just not sure how it would track back since all of the vehicle info appears to be incorrect.