[Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup
Several months ago while away I had two cars parked on the street towed by my municipality for some little known violation of exceeding the maximum extended on-street parking time. The law is poorly worded and makes it unclear as to whether it is a two week limit followed by a two week warning period or just a straight two weeks. They towed after about two weeks. Both cars were anonymously reported as being abandoned through an office line outside of the 911 system. This is made worse by the town’s poorly worded warning form placed on the car and the erroneous information the police and town staff give out when questioned about this rule both before and after the cars were towed. Why should I not believe the lieutenant in charge of traffic?
I think some neighbor reported the cars because we have previously had issues, both verbal and a broken windshield. After the cars were brought back from being towed one had the windshield broken and the tires slashed. So far the detective assigned since it is up to felony level in NYS has done little to nothing and basically says there is nothing he can do. After being pressed he offered a camera system but it has poor resolution and can only watch one spot so it is basically useless. Either way, we haven’t fixed the damaged car yet as it is old and we may just junk it.
The police claim that this parking law is not required to be publicized under NYS law. Either way, that doesn’t excuse the lack of clarity, to the point that even the staff and law enforcement are confused. Of course, when confronted they claim the are not confused, but I know what they have told me.
Oddly, the cars were never ticketed, but I had to pay towing and impound for two cars, ~$600. A warning was placed on the car. So far I have put in a notice of claim, but I am unsure how to best proceed. The place is quite corrupt and it will not be easy to get money reimbursed. The same lieutenant claims there are about 500 abandoned cars a year in a town of 35,000 people which I find very hard to believe. He also told me about a year ago that before towing they run the plates and try to contact the owner which he now denies.
I once had a similar issue with a larger city where they towed before the towing regulation went into effect and had an administrative hearing where a police officer said they can tow for any reason if the police feel the car is in the way. It was complete madness, but as it was out of state I let it drop. They did ticket the car and there was no impounding fee. This time it is local and more money at stake.
posted by 69.113.1...
, Tue, 4 Dec 2007 11:37:29
, Sun, 2 Dec 2007 18:52:09, Mon, 3 Dec 2007 06:17:15
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
