Parking Wars - Towed or Ticketed?

[Shakey]

Did anyone happen to catch this show on television yet?

http://www.aetv.com/parking-wars/

I saw a few episodes last night on A&E and couldn't help but chuckle to myself as people were getting parking tickets, having the boot put on their car or best yet, trying to get the car from the impound lot.

The show takes place in Philadelphia, PA and the camera crews follow the staff throughout their day-to-day activities.  Very similar to that show Airline that was on a couple of years back.

Now I'm not a fan of human suffering but some of these people are just plain dumb and deserve what they get - like the woman that spent five hours at the impound lot trying to get her car back.  She was a bitch from the start and kept digging herself deeper into a hole.  It's comical to see people try and blame others for their misfortune, as was the case in almost every segment.

If you've seen the show, feel free to offer your opinion, if you haven't, check it out sometime as it was good for a laugh.

[1BAD68]

I watch that show, I actually have it set up to record on the DVR, its pretty entertaining, even my wife will watch it.

[Shakey]

Alright then, I probably should have asked these questions in my original post:

Have you ever had your car towed?

How about an unjust parking ticket story?

[Brock Samson]

  How much time ya' got?..
Parking in this city is an absolute nightmare...

They have an annual contest here in S.F. to try to find parking in the downtown area in a prescribed time.

I have really good parking Kama Generally, but have had three instances where I contested tickets One was for parking, I was right in front of my jobs side door and I witnessed the meter maid giving me a ticket three minutes prior to the meter expiring, three other folks from work out having a smoke also witnessed this and two wrote letters backing my claim and these i presented when i went to court. short story the ticket stood and I had to pay the (then $20.00) ticket. (it's $40.00 currently).
once i got a ticket right in front of my house for expired tags (registration) though I've never let them lapse and my tags were current, that one got thrown out as i had the paper and a court officer came out to the parking lot to see.
The other two tickets I fought both movers, were also upheld by the judge, so i won't waste my time fighting cityhall anymore.

  There was a phenomenon, though at the newspaper when a reporter would write a story criticizing the city government, the metermaids would come out in force and ticket all the cars they possibly could that had the "Press" credentials in the window, they would hang out in the area and cruise by every 45 min. to an hour and ticket like crazy. Happened everytime some scandal was uncovered or the papers editorial chastised the mayor.
  Then there were the scandals connected to the city contracted towing companies, infact they're running a special story on the current fiasco tomorrow night. these company's go corrupt soon after getting the city's blessing to tow, three companies successively as I recall...
And why not?.. the contract is worth over $50 million (not including what they outright stole) and the fine for their scams was a piddly 215 thousand.

  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/03/09/MN40274.DTL&hw=towing&sn=001&sc=1000

  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/10/30/BA198319.DTL&hw=towing&sn=019&sc=413

TOW YARD HORROR STORIES
Marsha Ginsburg, Examiner, 07/13/97
It's 5 p.m. at City Tow, and it's not pretty. Shiny trucks with giant cranes rumble off the lot one after the other. Inside, lines begin to back up from the counter toward the door. The people in line are seething. Here are a few scenes from the tow yard...

Tales of the tow mark years of frustrations - Stories of vehicles sold, cars damaged, possessions stolen and court cases won spotlight wrecking business Patrick Hoge, San Francisco Chronicle, 03/09/03

BITING THE 'BULLITT' Since Army Maj. John Hagan was a teenager, he owned one car: A 1968 green Mustang Fastback virtually identical to the one Steve McQueen drove in the famous San Francisco chase scene in the movie "Bullitt." While Hagan was visiting his...

SAN FRANCISCO - City Tow to settle 3-year-old fraud suit by paying $5.7 million - 'No official finding' of wrongdoing, says company official
Charlie Goodyear, San Francisco Chronicle, 11/10/05...

City Tow, the company accused of illegally pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the sale of towed or abandoned cars in San Francisco, has agreed to settle a fraud lawsuit brought by city and state officials for $5.7 million. The out-of-court...

Judge Says S.F. Can Control Local Tow Industry - Company violated city rules, officials allege
Jaxon Van Derbeken, San Francisco Chronicle, 11/13/99
A San Francisco judge has upheld the city's right to regulate the local towing industry, a victory for officials trying to put the brakes on a tow truck driver accused of illegally hauling off hundreds of cars. The finding came in the city's civil lawsuit...

Drivers get jacked up over high fees
Marsha Ginsburg, Examiner, 07/13/97
San Francisco, which tows an increasing number of cars every year, charges the public more to retrieve their vehicles than any major U.S. city except New York, an Examiner survey shows. And getting the car out of the tow yard is no drive in the country...

AN JOSE - 2 charged in alleged tow truck scam
John Coté, San Francisco Chronicle, 06/15/07
A father and son have been charged with perjury, embezzlement and other crimes after allegedly bilking dozens of people out of hundreds of thousands of dollars through a complex "tow and sue" scam, Santa Clara County prosecutors said Thursday. Paul Greer...

D.A. sues tow truck firm for allegedly hauling legally parked cars
Jaxon Van Derbeken, San Francisco Chronicle, 11/05/02
The San Francisco district attorney's office sued a tow truck company Monday that allegedly hauled away legally parked cars in the Mission District and forced the owners to pay cash to get their cars back. Bricker's D&D Tow of San Francisco is accused of...

S.F., state sue towing firm for millions - They say it rigged auctions of unclaimed vehicles for years
Patrick Hoge, San Francisco Chronicle, 10/30/02
City Tow, the company that hauls off 80,000 vehicles each year under an exclusive contract with San Francisco, was accused Tuesday of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in public money in a lawsuit filed by the city and state. The civil suit claims...

City Tow furor sparks call to change bid law - Supervisor aims to avert conflict of interest
Patrick Hoge, San Francisco Chronicle, 03/11/03
The scandal-plagued record of the company holding San Francisco's monopoly towing contract prompted a proposed change in law by a city supervisor Monday and brought dozens of new complaints about the firm. In response to a Chronicle report about the firm's...

Just a few examples from the more than 100 stories i found with a simple search of the www.sfgate.com website..

and to fight back the drivers...

Disabled placards proliferate - As more qualify for privilege, more seem to abuse system -- cities collect less at meters when drivers park for free
Rachel Gordon, San Francisco Chronicle, 03/26/07
The number of disabled parking placards in California has more than doubled during the past decade, with 1 issued for every 16 residents. San Francisco officials recently cited the placards as one reason the city doesn't collect more money from its parking...

well,.. You Asked..     

[Vainglory, Esq.]

I moved from Florida where they don't give you a front license plate - I also bought my car there so it wasn't equipped with a front bracket.   I switched my reg. to Minnesota and got 2 plates, put the back one on immediately and propped the front one in the windshield until I could find a front bracket.  Shortly thereafter I get a $105.00 parking ticket for failure to display a front license plate.  WTF?  First of all, I understand that you need to display your plate, but mine was in the windshield.  Second of all, for something that could be cured by a bracket and some screws, doesn't $105 sound pretty excessive?  I guess Minneapolis is kinda broke, though.

[Shakey]

We used to have a lady on our street that would call as soon as she saw someone out of line. Now, keep in mind this is suburbia we're talkin' here, not in downtown Toronto.

So, I move my car outta the driveway and park it facing the wrong way on the street, I knew it was only going to be for a few hours.

I get a $30.00 ticket and I am mad as hell. Not at the the parking enforcement officer, he/she was just doing his/her job and the ticket was justified as I was in the wrong.

What I was so angry about was someone with nothing better to do calls and reports it.

They knew it was me because at the time I had the same car for a few years. Maybe they had a problem with me that I didn't know about but that was not likely the case as I get along with all of my neighbours.

[69bronzeT5]

I was actually watching that show last night. Its funny how pissed off some people get. There was one guy who was like "This is what I think of tickets" and he went to tear it up but he couldnt

[Lowprofile]

Being a guy who has to navigate thru city streets with 75ft of tractor-trailer, I detest people who park where they know full well they shouldn't be. Most of the time its because they don't want to pay a parking lot. Some feel as though they are entitled to park wherever they want to, and some are just lazy bastards who don't want to walk too far. I hate them all equally. They make my job that much harder and more stressful. Ever try to make a right turn off of Broadway around 33rd street in NYC around 4 in the afternoon with a tractor trailer........people walking everywhere, taxi cabs zooming in and out of your blind spots......and then there they are, the lazy bastard/lawbreaker who parks on the corner blocking your turn........

There have been a few times that I have rubbed my trailer along their car and dented up a few body panels......f#%& um' shouldn't have been parked there. 

[Vainglory, Esq.]

Being a guy who has to navigate thru city streets with 75ft of tractor-trailer, I detest people who park where they know full well they shouldn't be. Most of the time its because they don't want to pay a parking lot. Some feel as though they are entitled to park wherever they want to, and some are just lazy bastards who don't want to walk too far. I hate them all equally. They make my job that much harder and more stressful. Ever try to make a right turn off of Broadway around 33rd street in NYC around 4 in the afternoon with a tractor trailer........people walking everywhere, taxi cabs zooming in and out of your blind spots......and then there they are, the lazy bastard/lawbreaker who parks on the corner blocking your turn........

There have been a few times that I have rubbed my trailer along their car and dented up a few body panels......f#%& um' shouldn't have been parked there. 

I hear ya man.  I guess I shouldn't have parked without a front plate.  I deserved the $105 ticket.

[charger_mike75]

I watched it too. How about the one lady who parked her car on the crosswalk right in front of the meter maid then ignored her, so the meter maid gave her a ticket     

[SeattleCharger]

Alright then, I probably should have asked these questions in my original post:

Have you ever had your car towed?

How about an unjust parking ticket story?

one year when I was about 20 maybe,  five or six times cars towed in one year, lost count, four different cars, one at least twice,
   after the second and third time I couldn't believe it, only first time was sign there and I thought I could do it for a few, everybody did, but all the next times there wasn't a sign, twice it was a car parked at a mock for sale lot that everybody used, once at mechanic that said he could park it where it was, but I paid for tow, by the fifth or sixth time I about couldn't believe what the F$%K was going on, then when about 29 a neighbor across the street from girlfriends called and had my truck towed when he said it was one foot over neighbor line onto his property even though it was on the street and not touching his yard, seemed like total BS to me, I wanted to go thrash on his house but I didn't, 
  But haven't had it happen since, but almost this december, paid meter all day downtown, didn't see after 3pm for bus lane sign that was way back behind my car, ran to car when I saw tow truck, he was hooked up, I was nice about it, offered to pay him on spot for tow and ticket, the guy actually unhooked my car and let me go, I gave him 20 bucks for being so cool, because let me tell you, normally those guys do not cut you one bit of slack, I was shocked when this guy unhooked my car and let me go with no tow fine, he didn't have to do that, once its hooked up
       

[Old Moparz]

There have been a few times that I have rubbed my trailer along their car and dented up a few body panels......f#%& um' shouldn't have been parked there. 

I was driving a truck in NYC one time, only a 22' long box truck, when some a-hole was trying to get through traffic as fast as, & as obnoxiously as he could. He was on my left, then literally made a right hand turn in front of me, then a left hand turn to go up along the right side of a tractor trailer that was a little farther in front of me. His plan was to pass the tractor trailer on the right & get even farther up the road even faster. Of course the a-hole didn't realize that the tractor trailer left some room on his right because he was making a right, & the last axle rode right over the top of his driver's fender.

Once in awhile there is better than average street justice you can get a good laugh from. 

[SeattleCharger]

There have been a few times that I have rubbed my trailer along their car and dented up a few body panels......f#%& um' shouldn't have been parked there. 

I was driving a truck in NYC one time, only a 22' long box truck, when some a-hole was trying to get through traffic as fast as, & as obnoxiously as he could. He was on my left, then literally made a right hand turn in front of me, then a left hand turn to go up along the right side of a tractor trailer that was a little farther in front of me. His plan was to pass the tractor trailer on the right & get even farther up the road even faster. Of course the a-hole didn't realize that the tractor trailer left some room on his right because he was making a right, & the last axle rode right over the top of his driver's fender.

Once in awhile there is better than average street justice you can get a good laugh from. 

that would be funny to see,
  reminds me of a semi and car thing, was sort of weird,    big long flatbed tractor trailer comes up to light, wasn't going fast at all, maybe ten mph?  little more, and he didn't notice it was locking up rear wheels, prob. cause he was going so slow and stopping kind of slowly, but the back of trailer  just slid over to the left and into the car next to him,  the guy in the car was prob. freaking out seeing the thing coming into him sort of slowly, but nothing he could do, wasn't a major slam, but enough to crunch up the metal alright