how do i get off a parking ticket??

[mma]

i recently got a parking ticket for parking in a handicap spot. before anyone gets mad, it was a total error on my part. i didn't know it was a handicap spot. it was on college st. and when i parked it was at night and i couldn't see the signs. i didn't even know that they had handicap spots on the street. anyway, i would really like to get it cancelled. any advice??

thanks

[nopn]

take some picture?
and bring it to the court ?

[M.D.]

i recently got a parking ticket for parking in a handicap spot. before anyone gets mad, it was a total error on my part. i didn't know it was a handicap spot. it was on college st. and when i parked it was at night and i couldn't see the signs. i didn't even know that they had handicap spots on the street. anyway, i would really like to get it cancelled. any advice??

thanks
so..you're admitting its your fault yet you want to get out of paying the ticket :confused:
if its the city signs that you can't even see or recognize because of old faded paint, like the above poster said, take some pictures to prove it and you could fight it off in court.

[actng]

how do i get off a parking ticket??

pay it

[15-20_God]

and when i parked it was at night and i couldn't see the signs. i didn't even know that they had handicap spots on the street. anyway, i would really like to get it cancelled. any advice??

just tell them that you honestly didn't see the sign and you would really like to get it cancelled. say it nicely, that always works. because i think by law, if you don't see the sign or didn't know it was a law, they you technically didn't break it.

[xilinx]

just tell them that you honestly didn't see the sign and you would really like to get it cancelled. say it nicely, that always works. because i think by law, if you don't see the sign or didn't know it was a law, they you technically didn't break it.

LOL?!?!?

so errr...i killed my friend...and i didn't know that was against the law soo...could u drop those 1st degree murder charges?

lmao. pay the ticket dude.

[Cas77]

just tell them that you honestly didn't see the sign and you would really like to get it cancelled. say it nicely, that always works. because i think by law, if you don't see the sign or didn't know it was a law, they you technically didn't break it.

That's one of the major problems with any judicial system (not only Canadian). There are many laws citizens must obey...and 'not knowing' cannot be used by any defence in any court. Even judges consult their law books when making rulings...yet we can't use ignorance as a defence.

[boonjaca]

That's one of the major problems with any judicial system (not only Canadian). There are many laws citizens must obey...and 'not knowing' cannot be used by any defence in any court. Even judges consult their law books when making rulings...yet we can't use ignorance as a defence.

Yeah, ignorance is no defense. The only way that you might get out of it is if the sign was placed in such a messed up placed or so faded that you couldn't tell. Even then, it's still an uphill battle. Where about on College did you get this? I know there's a sign infront of Kensington public school that is hard to see.

[thebigcmb]

I think you're out of luck.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignorantia_juris_non_excusat

That you didn't know that there are handicap spots on the street or that you didn't see the sign because it was dark is not going to fly.

[Bullseye]

I not sure whether I should feel bad for 15-20 God, who's dry wit eludes some, or for the people who actually miss out on the humour.

[FastFokker]

I not sure whether I should feel bad for 15-20 God, who's dry wit eludes some, or for the people who actually miss out on the humour.I feel worse for 15-20's God...

They say ignorance is bliss and I think being oblivious is pretty close to ignorance. :confused:

[thebigcmb]

That's one of the major problems with any judicial system (not only Canadian)...
I can see the attraction of the seeming injustice of being found guilty of an offence that you did not know you were committing. However, can you imagine the difficulty of prosecuting anybody for any offence if it were acceptable for them to just say: "I didn't know."

It's not just a question of the difficulty of proving whether someone was actually ignorant of the law.

There was a case a few years ago in California where a man from a particular culture in another country, shortly after arriving in the US, abducted a woman from that same culture (who, however, had been in US much longer). His culture practiced something called "marriage-by-capture," where a man abducts a woman to marry her. The practice calls for the woman to show her virtuousness by protesting the man's advances. I realize that it may seem strange, but I assure you that I'm not making it up (it was a 1985 case called People v. Moua). Do we really want to allow that person off because he did not know it was a crime to kidnap her?

It does not have to be limited to "cultural defences." If we accepted ignorance as a defence, there would be a premium on "being dumb." A person could be convicted of doing something while another gets off for doing the exact same thing because he was careful not to actually learn the law beforehand.

I'm not trying to compare parking violations with kidnapping. I just wanted to address the complaint that "ignorance of the law" is a major problem with the justice system.

BTW, even my beloved Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles was recently convicted of parking in a disapled parking spot, and he even had a doctor's note saying that he was in the hospital at the time.

[mma]

thanks for all the input guys. yeah, i know ignorance is not a defense. but what i was kinda looking for was some sort of technicality to fight it. i once broke a red light and got a ticket for it. i went to trial and asked the police officer some questions that he couldn't answer properly. and wow! i got it cancelled. is there any type of technical defense for this type of parking ticket. normally i would just pay the ticket, but the fine for a handicap spot is $300!!

thanks!

[gei]

parking tickets are next to impossible to get out of. plead your case to the justice of peace officer, tell him you're a student and poor, etc etc.. and they may lower the amount

[thelefteyeguy]

it's a good lesson...next time you park, you should read the signs whether it's a parking / standing allowed etc.

[Trinidad]

I would just try what Gei suggested. Go to the justice of peace and explain to them and in some cases they either decrease the fine, or they feel sorry for you and let you off the hook. It's worth a try.

[15-20_God]

thanks for all the input guys. yeah, i know ignorance is not a defense. but what i was kinda looking for was some sort of technicality to fight it. i once broke a red light and got a ticket for it. i went to trial and asked the police officer some questions that he couldn't answer properly. and wow! i got it cancelled. is there any type of technical defense for this type of parking ticket. normally i would just pay the ticket, but the fine for a handicap spot is $300!!

thanks!

tell the judge you're visually impaired.

[dark169]

here in calgary you can apply to have a parking ticket reviewed online.

i'd go and just explain your situation, wosrt case nothing changes, but odds are you'd beable to ask for more time to pay, a reduced fine or both. Just be nice and profesional.

[belgiangenius]

tell the judge you're visually impaired.

Uh-huh...and when it doesn't say so on your license, you're then facing another charge of fraudulently obtaining a license or failing to report the impairment.

[15-20_God]

Uh-huh...and when it doesn't say so on your license, you're then facing another charge of fraudulently obtaining a license or failing to report the impairment.

how else do you explain not seeing the sign?

[FastFokker]

Uh-huh...and when it doesn't say so on your license, you're then facing another charge of fraudulently obtaining a license or failing to report the impairment.If they ask about that, then tell you're also mentally impaired and thats why you didn't mention your visual impairment when getting the license.

[CheapScotsman]

:arrowu: or that you are verbally impaired and that you tried to tell them but that the words just wouldn't come out.

[rangermcfadden]

If they ask about that, then tell you're also mentally impaired and thats why you didn't mention your visual impairment when getting the license.

So basically he should say that he's just like every other Toronto Driver?