Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Vallone, Jr. vs. the "orange blizzard"
Ticketed-off pol: Slam brakes on summons-crazy agents
By Angela Montefinise, NY Post
It's meter maids gone wild.
Ticket-happy traffic agents are slapping Big Apple drivers with "unfair" summonses, according to a lawmaker who wants to put the brakes on the orange blizzard.
"Over the last six months, complaints about traffic summonses have surpassed anything else in my office," said City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr.
"The way traffic agents are enforcing the law is absolutely out of control."
One complaint came from John Panagiotopoulos, 32, a Queens cafe owner hit with a $135 fine for double parking -- while he was waiting for another car to pull away from a meter.
"I was not blocking traffic," Panagiotopoulos said. "I was in the car, the car was on. All of a sudden, this agent came in front of my car and extended his arm to give me a ticket. It was very aggressive and really unfair."
Adding insult to injury, he lost the spot.
"My customers are experiencing the same thing," said Panagiotopoulos, who paid the ticket. "They pull over for a few seconds to pick up food and they get a $120 ticket. It's hurting business, it's hurting the people."
Vallone is considering legislation that would give drivers a grace period to briefly pull into no-standing areas. He called the legislation "a last resort."
13 comments:
No-standing rules mean no-standing!!! Give anyone an inch & they'll take a yard and the no-standing spots will become permanent ones. Why can't people just follow the rules and stop whinning about them. Honestly!!!!
That's why I dumped my car. Car owners are looked upon as meat on the hoof by New York City. They also love to torment homeowners as well.
yeah, this is pretty silly. drivers are always whining for more and more privileges at the expense of the rest of us. enough!
Remember when the High Poobah Rev. Calvin Butts got a ticket for standing in a bus stop in Harlem? It hit the news when he cried racial discrimination.
Alway carry a camera and use it.
Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one. - A.J. Leibling
"Why can't people just follow the rules and stop whinning about them. Honestly!!!!"
It's about discretion and curbing overzealous ticketing practices. Get a friggin' life you troll!
Drivers always whining. Ok, charge $5 per bus and train ride like it should be and stop overburdening car owners with crazy DMV fees, tolls, MTA surcharges on Electric and Gas Bills. NY is the largest big city with the cheapest ridership fees. Charge those who use the buses and trains appropriately. While everyone always compares us to London, check their ridership fees for Mass Transit.
"drivers are always whining for more and more privileges at the expense of the rest of us. enough!"
Don't ya just love the smell of fresh asswipe in the morning? It is NOT okay to ticket a driver who is in his or her car while waiting for a legal parking spot that another driver is about to vacate. It is also NOT okay to twist the logic of this post so that you can bitch about a topic you know very little about. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that you don't drive in NYC. Please explain what "privileges" you are talking about and how they have an economic impact on us. Here's a thought. Why don't you think before you post?
It is NOT okay to ticket a driver who is in his or her car while waiting for a legal parking spot that another driver is about to vacate.
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Actually, if said vehicle is alongside a legally parked vehicle, blocking a portion of the roadway to the extent that passing vehicles have to maneuver around it, then it is perfectly legal to summons that vehicle, regardless of whether the driver is in the vehicle or whether or not the motor is running. You might not be happy about it, but there is nothing illegal about it. I am sure you wouldn't want to be the person stuck behind a double parked car. From what I see, motorists in NYC get away with double parking ALOT more than they get summonsed for.
the poster above.........are you kidding.If i stop to wait a few seconds to get a parking spoy,i should get hammered? OK! i'll just keep driving around your block so you can inhale more fumes,moron! The problem is QUOTA'S.
Dont double park making it very unsafe for every car going around you in the wrong lane because you didnt find an actual parking space. If you have to double park do it on a less busy street and put lights on without stopping abruptly like your world is the metal box around you and thats it.
Glad I leave early enough to avoid most of that.
the poster above.........are you kidding.If i stop to wait a few seconds to get a parking spoy,i should get hammered? OK! i'll just keep driving around your block so you can inhale more fumes,moron! The problem is QUOTA'S.
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I never said you SHOULD get summonsed, I said you COULD get summonsed, legally that is. By the way, I agree that they should do away with quotas. They should just let the traffic agents write as many tickets as they like. And I couldn't care if you keep driving around the corner for the rest of your life....you jackass!
As a practical matter, no one can drive around the block and expect the spot to be there on their return. This ranks up with the idiocy of Rockaway Beach cops who felt that people should come to the beach without blankets or clothing or at least be willing to take them into the water when they swim so they won't "litter" the beach.
These technicalities are straight out of Kafka.
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