Parking ticket

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Zenkai

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Okay, so I got a parking ticket at my university a few weeks ago for parking where I wasn’t supposed to park. I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to park there and I didn’t notice the signs until after I got the ticket. The fine was $30 plus a $10 late fee (as it has been over 2 weeks since I got the ticket).

I went to appeal it today and was told I couldn’t appeal it because it was past the 2 week period. I didn’t know I had to appeal it within 2 weeks, but to their credit, it says right on the bottom of the ticket that I have 14 days to appeal. So I made a little fuss and then they told me to come back on Monday to see if I could appeal it late.

Was any sin committed for not paying the ticket and/or making a fuss about it? And yes, I am scrupulous.
 
Well, sin requires some knowledge and consent of wrongdoing.

Although you didn’t know that what you were doing was wrong (parking in the wrong spot and not paying the ticket), your ignorance was vincible because you should have known better (parking signs and note at bottom of the ticket).

With that said, go easy on yourself …! It is better to focus on how to make this right, rather than focus on whether the act was sinful or not.

Go with the 3 Rs – responsibility, repentance, and restitution. That is, take responsibility for your mistake, say you’re sorry, ask for mercy, and pay the original fine.

Lesson learned. And off you go.

Just don’t do it again. 👍
 
Sin? What sin? Pay the ticket and next time be more careful where you park.🤷
 
Zenkai said:
Okay, so I got a parking ticket at my university a few weeks ago for parking where I wasn’t supposed to park. I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to park there and I didn’t notice the signs until after I got the ticket. The fine was $30 plus a $10 late fee (as it has been over 2 weeks since I got the ticket).

I went to appeal it today and was told I couldn’t appeal it because it was past the 2 week period. I didn’t know I had to appeal it within 2 weeks, but to their credit, it says right on the bottom of the ticket that I have 14 days to appeal. So I made a little fuss and then they told me to come back on Monday to see if I could appeal it late.

Was any sin committed for not paying the ticket and/or making a fuss about it? And yes, I am scrupulous.
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Be scrupulous about your parking. The $40 cost of paying the ticket will assist you in this regard.
 
But $40 is a lot of money for a poor college student. Would it be a sin if the ticket does get properly appealed and I don’t have to pay?
 
Zenkai said:
But $40 is a lot of money for a poor college student. Would it be a sin if the ticket does get properly appealed and I don’t have to pay?
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You can always ask for a mitigation hearing - you have the right to ask for one within the 14 days. This is not even a crime - being a civil infraction. A sin would apply if you lied to the magistrate about committing the infraction.
 
po18guy said:
You can always ask for a mitigation hearing - you have the right to ask for one within the 14 days. This is not even a crime - being a civil infraction. A sin would apply if you lied to the magistrate about committing the infraction.
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Do you think it’s alright if they let me appeal it even though I’m past the 14 days? Or should I just pay the $40?
 
Zenkai said:
Do you think it’s alright if they let me appeal it even though I’m past the 14 days? Or should I just pay the $40?
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The court may allow that, as it is within their discretion. Balance the $40 against the time and distance of the hearing. If it is doable, then go and ask for some consideration.
 
I’ve received three parking fines.

One I knew was fair and paid it.

One I didn’t think was fair but couldn’t be bothered challenging it.

One I thought was very unfair and appealed it. They waived the fine.

It’s up to you as to whether you think the fine was fair in the first place as to whether to appeal. I think appealing something you know was fair is wrong, but it’s fine to appeal something that’s debatable (eg were the signs visible enough) or clearly wrong (you should have seen the signs).

Good luck.
 
underacloud said:
I think appealing something you know was fair is wrong, but it’s fine to appeal something that’s debatable (eg were the signs visible enough) or clearly wrong (you should have seen the signs).
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Sorry, the past part didn’t make sense…obviously meant the other way round…eg wrong if you could not see the signs or signs were missing/lacking/etc.
 
underacloud said:
I’ve received three parking fines.

One I knew was fair and paid it.

One I didn’t think was fair but couldn’t be bothered challenging it.

One I thought was very unfair and appealed it. They waived the fine.

It’s up to you as to whether you think the fine was fair in the first place as to whether to appeal. I think appealing something you know was fair is wrong, but it’s fine to appeal something that’s debatable (eg were the signs visible enough) or clearly wrong (you should have seen the signs).

Good luck.
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Well, there were some visible signs around. However, I didn’t see them. So I’m not sure if it’s fair for me to pay $40.
 
Zenkai said:
Well, there were some visible signs around. However, I didn’t see them. So I’m not sure if it’s fair for me to pay $40.
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Well, the fact that you didn’t see them seems to indicate that they were not sufficiently visible. Nothing wrong with appealing that. Good luck.
 
“the fact that you didn’t see them seems to indicate that they were not sufficiently visible.”

Not necessarily. 😃

Appeal it. Pay whatever they tell you to, and use it as a learning experience.

Nothing sinful in doing that.
 
Newbie2 said:
“the fact that you didn’t see them **seems to **indicate that they were not sufficiently visible.”

Not necessarily. 😃
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My bolding to clarify. Obviously sometimes people miss clear signs, through distraction, carelessness, etc, but often signs should be clearer.
 
The signs seemed visible enough. I’m surprised I didn’t see them. Perhaps I’ll drive by to see how visible they actually were.
 
Ok, just to be sure, there is no sin involved whatsoever, even if I end up not having to pay the $40?
 
Zenkai said:
Okay, so I got a parking ticket at my university a few weeks ago for parking where I wasn’t supposed to park. I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to park there and I didn’t notice the signs until after I got the ticket. The fine was $30 plus a $10 late fee (as it has been over 2 weeks since I got the ticket).

I went to appeal it today and was told I couldn’t appeal it because it was past the 2 week period. I didn’t know I had to appeal it within 2 weeks, but to their credit, it says right on the bottom of the ticket that I have 14 days to appeal. So I made a little fuss and then they told me to come back on Monday to see if I could appeal it late.

Was any sin committed for not paying the ticket and/or making a fuss about it? And yes, I am scrupulous.
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What happened yesterday? Did they agree to let you appeal it late? Did you even ask?

It has been a week since you posted your first comment about this ticket. I’m getting the feeling you want to avoid the problem instead of just dealing with it.

No, it’s not a sin to pay the fine. It’s also not a sin to ask the authorities to waive the fine because you made a mistake and were cited. Finally, it’s not a sin to ask them to accept payment in installments because you don’t have the full amount right now.

It IS a sin if you just keep on procrastinating instead of dealing with the problem.

Clear? Now go fix your problem. Come back and update us when you’ve resolved it.
 
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