Man records his own car getting a (well deserved) parking ticket

Parking fees are required for good reason. And parking enforcement officers do a good job of ensuring that people are motivated to pay their parking fees. It is one of the most thankless jobs imaginable and the officers are often the subject of complaints, whining, and even abuse. But, if they didn't do their job, parking spots would be impossible to find and nobody would pay as they should.

This motorist was in a hurry, as many of us are when we park our cars. Knowing he would only be a few minutes, he pulled into the spot that was ironically, right beside a payment machine. In the moments that it took him to get out of his car, he decided that he would take a risk and save himself the dollar or two, and more importantly, the precious time it would take to pop in a few coins, print a ticket and stick it in his window. He was prepared to hurry to complete his business and beat the odds. There is often a ten minute warning tag placed on a car and the enforcement officers will only ticket the car once ten more minutes have elapsed. But this is not law or policy, and there is no reason to expect such latitude.

As usual, time dragged on and his errand took him a full five and a half minutes. He jumped back in his car, checked his dash cam and found that it had been running while he was away. He pulled out into traffic and continued on. He was quite certain that he had been quick enough that there would be no ticket on the window. In fact, he didn't even think to look before getting in. Surely he was faster than a parking hornet. Then he noticed that there was an ominous yellow paper under his windshield wiper. The parking hornets had impressively stung him in a flash.

The motorist pulls over, checks the ticket and finds that he has a $25 fine. Of course, he can contest the ticket or pay it, but he promptly drives to City Hall and forks over the amount on the ticket. There is no denying that this is one hundred per cent deserved. And there is no defense for such blatant negligence.

Watching the footage on his dash cam later, he realizes that he has caught this whole incident on video. The timer on the video even tells the story of how long it took for the enforcement officer to notice his car and do her job. He was gone just over five minutes. But the officer came along almost immediately and saw his crime. She took a few pictures of the car, the window that lacked proof of payment, and then she issued the ticket. She was completely professional and fair. And the motorist realizes that he just missed seeing this taking place.

Nobody likes getting a fine, but you can't help but laugh at how quickly justice was served on this motorist, especially when the payment machine is so clearly visible right in front of his car. He was amused himself at the instant karma.

Fine paid, lesson learned!