Should I appeal?
Discussion
Bit miffed about a parking ticket.
Here's a screenshot from a video I took, which shows how dark it was, and shows the end lines separating the public bay from the restricted ones.
Here's a google streetview snapshot. My car position is marked with an x. You can probably see the problem now!
The story goes like this -
When I'd parked, I saw the pay station ahead (red circle). When I got out, I noticed the parallel end lines mostly obscured under the VW. TBH, the lines looked exactly like a normal bay divider that just happened to have two lines between bays, like plenty of off street car parks do. Didn't grab my attention
- barely registered. If there had been fewer parked cars, I would have noticed straight away that the parallel lines were a one off, and therefore probably weren't bay dividers. However, the street was rammed with parked cars.
I didn't notice the small gap in the dashed line that runs along the road. Didn't grab my attention, because it could have been just a normal space between the dashes.
The restriction sign (red circle) behind my car said 'car club permit holders only'. However, unusually for that road, my car was facing backwards (towards the pay station and oncoming traffic, away from the restriction sign). I would have had needed to turn around to notice the sign. However, my focus was on the pay station, and there was nothing else to indicate to me that there was something odd. Therefore, I wasn't in the mindset to turn around and look behind me for any signs. In any case, the sign wouldn't have caught my peripheral vision because it wasn't catching any light from the streetlamp. ALSO, I used an app to pay for parking, so I didn't need to walk back to my car to put a ticket on the windscreen, in which case the restriction sign would have been in front of me and I might have seen it.
Summary of potential argument:
Unclear - Lines were unclear, given how close the pay station was.
Mitigating circumstances - lines mostly obscured under VW, my car was facing wrong way to see restriction sign, didn't need to turn around because I paid by app, very dark, high number of parked cars.
Had any one of those SEVEN things not happened, I wouldn't be in this position.
Please let me know if you think my chances of success are low or how you might argue (never done this before).
Here's a screenshot from a video I took, which shows how dark it was, and shows the end lines separating the public bay from the restricted ones.
Here's a google streetview snapshot. My car position is marked with an x. You can probably see the problem now!
The story goes like this -
When I'd parked, I saw the pay station ahead (red circle). When I got out, I noticed the parallel end lines mostly obscured under the VW. TBH, the lines looked exactly like a normal bay divider that just happened to have two lines between bays, like plenty of off street car parks do. Didn't grab my attention
- barely registered. If there had been fewer parked cars, I would have noticed straight away that the parallel lines were a one off, and therefore probably weren't bay dividers. However, the street was rammed with parked cars.
I didn't notice the small gap in the dashed line that runs along the road. Didn't grab my attention, because it could have been just a normal space between the dashes.
The restriction sign (red circle) behind my car said 'car club permit holders only'. However, unusually for that road, my car was facing backwards (towards the pay station and oncoming traffic, away from the restriction sign). I would have had needed to turn around to notice the sign. However, my focus was on the pay station, and there was nothing else to indicate to me that there was something odd. Therefore, I wasn't in the mindset to turn around and look behind me for any signs. In any case, the sign wouldn't have caught my peripheral vision because it wasn't catching any light from the streetlamp. ALSO, I used an app to pay for parking, so I didn't need to walk back to my car to put a ticket on the windscreen, in which case the restriction sign would have been in front of me and I might have seen it.
Summary of potential argument:
Unclear - Lines were unclear, given how close the pay station was.
Mitigating circumstances - lines mostly obscured under VW, my car was facing wrong way to see restriction sign, didn't need to turn around because I paid by app, very dark, high number of parked cars.
Had any one of those SEVEN things not happened, I wouldn't be in this position.
Please let me know if you think my chances of success are low or how you might argue (never done this before).
So you were parked virtually next to the sign saying club members only, you would have got out of the car practically next to the sign and by your own admission you noticed the lines separating the bays yet you think they aren't signed or marked well enough?
Good luck with that
Good luck with that
Edited by Nickyboy on Friday 14th December 23:06
Nickyboy said:
So you were parked virtually next to the sign saying club members only, you would have got out of the car practically next to the sign and by your own admission you noticed the lines separating the bays yet you think they aren't signed or marked well enough?
Good luck with that
Yeah, I think another point I would need get across to them is that there's actually two signs close to my car. The other one says you can park, and was also quite close to my car (middle circle). Pay station was also close by. As the lines were unclear in the dark, partly covered by another car, and because the whole row was obscured so I couldn't see the line pattern, the lines just didn't grab my attention and it really came down to which sign I happened to notice. Good luck with that
Edited by Nickyboy on Friday 14th December 23:06
But I see your point. And submitting a google streetview photo from the daytime when there's no cars around won't do me any favours because it looks bloody obvious.
Sadly on this one I'd say you're bang to rights. No harm in appealing though, if it's your first time they may let you off and if you appeal quick enough I believe it puts the charge on hold at the discounted rate.
Be apologetic, include photos of your ticket you paid for, say it was your first time there and you were confused as it was late at night and unlit, pass the attitude test etc.
Be apologetic, include photos of your ticket you paid for, say it was your first time there and you were confused as it was late at night and unlit, pass the attitude test etc.
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