This is a Sham of a Farce of a Mockery of a Tow!

[Argabarga]

It's kind of hard to write such a ticket when the license number they write down starts with "DP".

Not really, you just write "DP" and bingo, you've done it. Never underestimate how laziness/incompetence can combine to make something happen that's up to seven standard deviations away from the norm on the bell curve. You'd think it'd be hard to write up a Toyota Corolla as a Honda Civic, since there are plastic badges/emblems/words ALL OVER the car saying what it is, yet, we usually fire one driver a year who just can't figure that out and keeps making his "best guess" over an over again.

From what I've seen, parking enforcement seems to be where they dump a lot of other people who aren't any good at their jobs.

Of the three enforcement agents I see working for the borough, the first two are fine, it's the third one who I have to shake my head at.

Guy's so lazy, he just writes tickets from the seat of his jeep, throws them out the window onto the windshield of the car he's citing and moves on. Doesn't put them under the wiper, as you should. I wouldn't be surprised if more than a few blow away before the owner returns and they have no idea they owe until the angry-gram shows up in the mail 30 days later, plus late fees.

Like any other job, there's those ones who are totally incompetent, I think the civil govt. tends to push them there because that's where they can do the least harm.

Miswritten tickets are one thing. Having that level of head-up-assness in the fire or water department? That's frightening.

[otakuneko]

Azusa

As the resident otaku, I must.

I had a quick car at the time (Dodge Shadow Turbo), and when the light turned green, I got out in front of the rest of the traffic rather quickly....

You don't even need a quick car for that, just a lead foot. (So sayeth my first car, a Pontiac Sunbird with a single-cam 4 banger and a 3-speed auto)

[Silent-Hunter]

Don't forget putting the flashers on.

The only time that would be a valid excuse for parking in a permit only zone is if your car actually happened to break down there, and you were fixing it so you could leave.

[Argabarga]

The only time that would be a valid excuse for parking in a permit only zone is if your car actually happened to break down there, and you were fixing it so you could leave.

Or, as is the case in two (and ONLY two) lots we do, there really IS a sign that says "USE FLASHERS FOR LOADING/UNLOADING 15 MIN MAX"

[EvilEmpryss]

It's kind of hard to write such a ticket when the license number they write down starts with "DP".

Hard, but not impossible.

I got one on a college campus for "improper display of the handicap placard". Uhm, I don't have a placard, I have the license plate. I never have frames around my plate, just the plate securely attached as it should be. I live in a state where that has only the rear plates, and I'd backed into the spot because I needed the big space on the driver's side to get my walker out of my van. There is absolutely no rule against backing into a parking spot, and the guy had to check my plate to write down the number so he should have known. Maybe he was confused because I have DV (for Disabled Vet), not HP (the standard for my state) but it still has the little handicapped symbol on it. Who knows.

Worse was when my brother, a quadriplegic, parked his personal vehicle (one of those modified to be driven with only his hands) in a handicapped spot in Yuba CIty, CA. He came back out to find a ticket for not having a handicapped permit. His plates were the standard handicapped plates with the symbol and first two letters -- and the cop had noted the correct license on the ticket. When my brother went to court over it, the cop tried to claim that there was no proof that my brother (who rolled in in his wheelchair) had been the one driving the vehicle. He wouldn't even try to explain why he noted the ticket was for parking in a handicapped spot without a placard.

[the lawsmeister]

Imma' jus' gon' park right here because it's the closest I can get to the Starbucks without actually driving through the front doors and pulling up along the counter inside to within arms-reach of the barrista.

Don't jinx it Argabarga, now that you've said that I fully expect hear about someone actually doing it later this week

[rose_metal_nz]

Example of unearned tickets. Where my wife used to work, it too was permit-needed-on-street. She didn't live there, but parked on the street all the time. Of course, you'd say, she would get ticketted. But the cops never noticed her handicap placard. They didn't stop until she got plates. It's kind of hard to write such a ticket when the license number they write down starts with "DP".

I'm sorry, as a NZ'er who also doesn't drive much, can u explain the bolded parts?
ETA: Does having a handicap placard mean you don't have to pay for parking?

[earl colby pottinger]

Last 3 seconds

As the resident otaku, I must.

Dang it, the last three seconds of that video makes me want to get this anime (as if I don't have enough already).

[Sliceanddice]

I'm sorry, as a NZ'er who also doesn't drive much, can u explain the bolded parts?
ETA: Does having a handicap placard mean you don't have to pay for parking?

a handicap placard is a little sign you hang from your rear view mirror for all the world to see if they look in your windshield that you can park in that handicap spot you are in. I have no clue about the DP stuff though in Arizona the part that's the handicap symbol is represented by W on the paper work...

it could mean a fleet car or a tow truck or that the cars been to the moon i dont know

[Seanette]

I think in some states, DP on the plate means it's been issued to a Disabled Person.

[EvilEmpryss]

DP, HP, HD -- states have different letters they use but all of them have the universal symbol of the stick figure in the wheelchair to signify the handicapped status of someone using the car. The plate/placard does not have to apply to the driver, but if someone parks in a handicapped zone without the registered owner of the handicapped plate present, that's a ticketable offense and the disable person can lose their handicapped parking privileges.

Also, in some cities having a disabled person plate/placard entitles the person to free parking at meters. This is not a universal waiver, and you should check with each city's law enforcement to be sure. The ones who offer meter exemptions usually do so on the very considerate understanding that a handicapped person should be permitted to park as close to their destination as they can, rather than hunt for a handicapped-designated spot. Of course, the city gets more money if they aren't wasting perfectly good meter spaces by tagging them as disabled-only spots.

[Jester]

hmmmm im not going to say mesa cops cant be jerks, cause they can but ive never meet a phoenix cop who didn't look at me like i was a criminal just waiting for him to turn around to enact my evil master plan.

I was just going on my own experience, in which, due to my propensity for quick travel (speeding), I got to deal with cops from departments throughout the Valley, especially in the East Valley where I lived and spent most of my time. Even the Phoenix cops that arrested me were generally rather polite about the whole thing. (Traffic tickets, no show for court, bench warrant, all totally my fault and thus all warranted, if you'll pardon the pun.)

Please note: I am a 5'3" eye glass wearing nerdtastic over weight girl who has only ever shoplifted as a child who wears a ton of pink and silly t shirts believes in wear things that are going to make her look adorable instead of hot sexy or what ever and wear penguin socks.

unless they believe i can build Dr.Horribles StunDeath ray with the contents of my pockets they have very little to worry about with me.

Mad men don't always look like mad men. Mad women too, I suppose.

You don't even need a quick car for that, just a lead foot. (So sayeth my first car, a Pontiac Sunbird with a single-cam 4 banger and a 3-speed auto)

True, but when you have both a lead foot AND a quick car, it helps.

Don't jinx it Argabarga, now that you've said that I fully expect hear about someone actually doing it later this week

It's happened. Seen it myself many years ago at a job, though this was a bar and not a Starbuck's.

The brewpub I worked at would allow motorcyclists to park their bikes on part of the sidewalk in front of the place. One day, some idiot with a brand-new-to-them Harley was attempting to do just that. I use the word "attempting" because he failed spectacularly. Somehow, he got the throttle stuck open, the bike took off, he let it go, and it went crashing through the front glass doors and careening through the dining room, taking a small chunk out of the hostess stand, knocking over a couple of chairs, taking a big gouge out of the floor, and stopping at the counter that separated the dining room from the pizza kitchen, behind which was a small Guatemalan cook, who may or may not have had to change his chef pants afterwards.

No one was hurt, as it was not a busy part of the day (though the small Guatemalan cook in the pizza kitchen was very shaken up, and may still have nightmares about a large Harley crashing through doors and coming screaming right at him), but for a few days we had to have a security guard at the front doors after business hours, since there were no longer any front doors to speak of. And the policy of allowing motorcyclists to park on the front sidewalk was changed to not allowing them to do that, which none of them objected to, having seen or heard of what happened. Most of them were very unimpressed with their fellow rider's mishap, to say the least.

[otakuneko]

Dang it, the last three seconds of that video makes me want to get this anime (as if I don't have enough already).

You must. K-On! is full of goodness and cuteness.

[cewfa]

You forgot Arizona, Atlanta, Atlantic City, Alaska, Arkansas, Alabama, Aruba, Antigua, the Antilles, Anguilla, Argentina, Angola, Antwerp, Austria, Australia, Arcadia, Austin, Annapolis, Arvada, Albany, Augusta, Apache Junction (gratuitous Arizona reference), Ajo (another gratuitous Arizona reference), Ahwatukee (you guessed it....yet another gratuitous AZ reference), and Ann Arbor, not to mention Kentucky, Kansas, Kalamazoo, Kingston, Kingman (AZ, of course), Kemah (for you texans), Kuala Lumpur, Kauai, Knoxville, Kent, Kyoto, and Kyushu.

I happen to live in Kalamazoo.

[Kit-Ginevra]

I happen to live in Kalamazoo.

We feel your pain.The sympathies of us all go with you