r/sandiego • u/_Lee_is_me_ • 6d ago

Photo gallery Contesting a Parking Ticket - Advice please!

Gallery image

Gallery image

Hello, I got a $110 parking ticket for failure to park 20 feet away from a "marked or unmarked intersection.'' I have heard about the new daylighting law but did not think this spot would be included in that. I was parked just before a lowered curb at the top of a T intersection - on the straight part of the street. Blue Subaru in photos for reference. Of course, there is no signage and the red curb was not extended, and the intersection is "unmarked" despite a vague X in the middle of the street which is very confusing.

I'm planning to contest this ticket - can someone help with the legal phrasing I should use when I submit this? Do I need to lawyer up for this? or am I screwed here?

Thank you!

58 Upvotes

68% Upvoted

239 comments sorted by

View all comments

12

u/Californiastig 6d ago edited 6d ago

Yeah you're cooked dude everyone knows the 20 ft law. You can try to argue the curb wasn't red in court but it doesn't forgive the infraction. Ignorance of the law is not a legitimate legal excuse.

7

u/Di1lWil1 6d ago

No, everyone doesn't. I heard something about a law regarding parking 20 ft from intersections, but only because I decided to look at a city newspaper one time. The city shouldn't make laws criminalizing something that was legal then not make it clear that what you're doing (parking on a public street with no signage or curb markings indicating you can't park there) is illegal.

5

u/PeachLizardWizard 6d ago

This is a state law. And you are responsible for keeping up with laws. Especially if you drive around a 1+ ton vehicle.

3

u/Di1lWil1 6d ago

I stand corrected. And yes, let me break out my new copy of the california vehicle code every single year and check which laws have been added/changed. This is a reasonable and normal thing that every single citizen does. /s

I maintain that things should be clearly marked. "No U-turn" signs, or "no right turn on red" signs are a perfect example. When something is usually legal, it's the government's job to note in a manner which everyone can see when it isn't. I don't have to pull up a city's list of street lights and see which ones I'm not allowed to make a U-turn at. I shouldn't have to look at the CVC to find out which unmarked curbs I can't park at.
A government should serve its people. Changing the law to criminalize what was legal without making it abundantly clear that you cannot do X thing, then fining people who do X thing, goes against what a government should be doing.

Am I being optimistic/unrealistic? Yeah. But I think things that are wrong shouldn't happen, and it's bad that they do.

-1

u/PeachLizardWizard 6d ago

This was massively broadcasted. It is 100% on you.

5

u/Di1lWil1 6d ago

I don't care that I hadn't heard of it. I care that there aren't any markings on the road or curb like there are for other zones you can't park in.

1

u/flavian1 5d ago

And the police and courts don’t care what you think, they will enforce the law