$640 for a Parking Ticket

Here's the deal – a woman parked for a few minutes in a "yellow striped" space next to a handicapped space in front of the courthouse in Arlington TX. Read about it here. She was cited, not for parking in the handicapped space, but for "blocking" the space. You can visualize it – she parked in that spot that would be a spot except that the handicapped space is extra wide and the space next to it isn't big enough so its marked off. That space also gives the handicapped person some extra room to maneuver around their car. All this is fair enough.

Now comes the ringer – Her fine was $640. That's twice what she would pay if she was going 70 MPH in a school zone. I think we need a sense of proportion.

As you know, I'm the biggest cheerleader for the disabled. They need access and should get it. People who park in their spaces should be towed and fined. However – fining a person for parking next to a handicapped space twice what she would have been fined for endangering the lives of school children is over the top. Full Stop.

This is what happens when different divisions of government don't talk to one another. What seems "fair" to the judges issuing fines in court for speeding is inconsistent with a parking fine. Time for some consistency here.

It does tickle one's sense of irony that the person receiving the $640 ticket was running into the courthouse to pay for a $240 speeding violation.

Hat Tip: Charles DeBow

JVH

Comments

[Brian H]

The law views equal protection for the actual disabled space and the associated loading zone.

She should have just borrowed someone else's placard or gone to Macarthur Park to buy one for herself. Apparently that's what everyone else does in LA.

[Bob N]

The space next to a handicap isn't marked off because it's not "big enough". Its marked off as a federally required access aisle. One is required for each space (or one shared between two), and a larger than normal access aisle is needed for "van accessible" spaces.

Fines for violations in a disability space, or an access aisle, are dictated by state law.

On a personal note, why would you park illegally in front of a courthouse? And in Texas of all states!!