Is A Trailer Attached To A Pickup Truck One Vehicle? Parking Ticket Issue - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

zeronero · #1 11-26-2008, 01:15 AM

First off Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Today I was gifted two parking tickets by the San Francisco DPT for a violation of street cleaning. One for my pickup truck and one for my trailer which was attached to it.

Something doesn't seem right to me here, I do understand that one ticket is deserved, but two, that's BS. If the trailer was not attached to any other vehicle then I can understand the trailer getting a ticket, but in this case since they were attached I would think that it would be one vehicle and only one ticket could be given. The DPT just gives out tickets like madmen, and since fighting them is a hassle they end up winning by default, not this time, at least I hope! I've had no luck in finding an answer to my question on the internet but hopefully one of you will know, and if anyone has any other advice lets hear it.

Brian Carlton · #2 11-26-2008, 01:35 AM

Well, the law would be local and dependent on the municipality.

But, I'd fight it to the end...........it'll depend on the judge.

compress ignite · #3 11-26-2008, 01:41 AM

Meter Persons,Etc.are simply a Revenue Generating apparatus of whatever
jurisdiction they operate in(If your trailer was Burdened with a Vessel ,They
would have most likely written a separate ticket for the Boat also)

BC's suggestion has the only possibility...
(Maybe the Judge has gotten a PT in a faraway city and gotten screwed,Too)

Jim B. · #4 11-26-2008, 06:31 AM

I lived for most of my life in San Francisco, until the end of 2004, so I understand *exactly* what you are going through.

In fact, last month I came back to town and was in the Haight Ashbury. I bought a red T shirt that said "San Francisco DPT: Department of Punks and Thieves" (I think in the Men's store called "True" on Haight) and when I got back to my car......THERE WAS A PARKING TICKET FOR $50 on it!!! I could only shake my head and laugh. Expired meter for 10 minutes, what could I do? The irony was just too much for me....

They are bastards, just generating revenue...the street sweeping tickets are just another one. I am sorry.

Now the meter maids have these handheld laser camera devices that can hit your car a block away.

Tell us what California Vehicle code section was being violated.

You can nail them on language. How was the trailer a "motor" vehicle? What is the legal definition of "Vehicle"? How many axles can it have?

Fight it in Court. Make a big deal out of it.

Once some CHP pulled over my car, back in 1979, the day I moved from Redwood City to San Francisco. My Buick was full of boxes and going down the road with its nose up like a boat. He said he was going to write me up because I could not see in the rear view mirror AND I did not have a right hand rear view mirror attached to the front passenger door of the car.

So, I tossed some boxes on the floor and said now I can see out the rear view miror and the violation was clear.

But the S O B CHP officer wrote the ticket, a fixit ticket, anyway and said it was a $25 fine OR install the mirror, even when the car was empty. He even said "Have a Nice Day"

So I "fixed" the violation. I installed a tiny DENTIST's mirror on the passenger door of the car. The CHP had to issue a notice of correction when I showed them the Language in the California Vehicle Code which said in that situation he was correct, you had to have a mirror, but it did not say how BIG the mirror had to be.

They had no choice. I beat their azz at their own game. It felt so good.

The mirror finally blew off the '72 Skylark's door when I was doing about 100 up by Novato on 101. The SFPD patrol officers used to ask me about the mirror and always laughed at the story too.

***************

And the rules don't apply to the meter maids either. I used to work for the City so I know. A friend that was from Pakistan took the civil service test to become one and passed it.

He told me when they rolled out at the beginning of the shift on those scooters, they would go down the street, and just write parking tickets for EVERY SINGLE CAR on the street, illegally parked or not.

Then they would go into a bar and drink, shoot pool and play cards for the rest of the shift.

They never ever got parking tickets for THEIR OWN cars either. That is because they would leave an empty brown M & M's candy wrapper on the dashboard. It was the secret signal that this was the PERSONAL vehicle of a fellow meter maid, and that it was NEVER to be ticketed.

I have no reason to disbelieve it. As I said, a metermaid himself told me. It was true.

(note: zeronero, are you a "burner" by any chance?)

KarTek · #5 11-26-2008, 06:41 AM

Does your insurance cover a towed vehicle as part of the towing vehicles policy? They do here and I would take that to mean that when the two were joined, they would be defined as one. Just like marriage...

SwampYankee · #6 11-26-2008, 07:42 AM

It does seem nitpicky but I suppose 2 registrations=2 tickets. Unless the tix were written by a rookie cop, I'm sure the situation has come up before.

catmandoo62 · #7 11-26-2008, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SwampYankee

It does seem nitpicky but I suppose 2 registrations=2 tickets. Unless the tix were written by a rookie cop, I'm sure the situation has come up before.

i'd tend to agree.you do have to buy plates for the trailer,and thats what you are ticketed for.the boat is a motor vehicle but licensed thru the dept of natural resources.

PaulC · #8 11-26-2008, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SwampYankee

It does seem nitpicky but I suppose 2 registrations=2 tickets. Unless the tix were written by a rookie cop, I'm sure the situation has come up before.

X2. Pay the $2.

kerry · #9 11-26-2008, 11:10 AM

Justice=In accord with the will of the judge having jurisdiction

Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

zeronero · #10 11-26-2008, 04:43 PM

I can tell that unless I have proof that the trailer parking tickets isn't justified and was given out under wrong accord then I'll have my job cut of for me in dismissing that ticket.

I do understand that the trailer does have it's own registration, and depending on circumstances can be given it's own ticket, like if it's parked on it's own with nothing attached to it. But, in my situation where the trailer is attached to the truck I would think that it's one vehicle, and that's what I'm looking to prove. I'm sure that somewhere in the California Vehicle Code that it states what that's considered. If I can find that and it does state that it's one vehicle then case closed I win, but if not then I do lose, but will still fight it and hope that a judge will side with me. Any reasonable person has to know that this is BS.

Another thing that relates to this is how auto insurance companies count a trailer attached to a truck, from what I know the truck is the vehicle that is liable if there is an accident that the trailer is involved in since trailers don't need auto insurance (unless a certain type or size). So, say if your pulling a trailer and you sideswipe another vehicle with the trailer then the truck that's pulling it, it's insurance covers it. This seems to suggest that both are one vehicle. I don't know if I'm completely correct about this, so...

As for if it was a boat trailer, and there was a boat on it then I would think that since the boat is on the trailer, being a load on the trailer then it cannot be given any type of ticket relating to the road or parking. I while ago a friend of mine had a car that was not registered on a flat bed trailer in which the trailer was registered, and since the car was the trailer's load which was not on the street but on the trailer it couldn't be touched. Only the trailer could be given a ticket and since it was registered and legal, it was fine.

I'm going to stop by the CHP and say what they have to say, hopefully the vehicle code will state it.

Jim B., yes I am a "Burner", though I would say not to the extent of some. Primarily though, I do frequent most of the parties, events, and festivals. The next major one being Sea Of Dreams, http://www.seaofdreamsnye.com/

kerry · #11 11-26-2008, 04:51 PM

You could make your argument this way: If you got stopped for speeding while pulling a trailer, would you get one ticket or two? If the answer is one, then it seems an analogy could be drawn to a parking ticket.

#12 11-26-2008, 05:05 PM

Are the truck and trailer licensed as one vehicle? If not then they were parked as two separate vehicles.

300SD81 · #13 11-26-2008, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim B.

In fact, last month I came back to town and was in the Haight Ashbury. I bought a red T shirt that said "San Francisco DPT: Department of Punks and Thieves" (I think in the Men's store called "True" on Haight) and when I got back to my car......THERE WAS A PARKING TICKET FOR $50 on it!!! I could only shake my head and laugh. Expired meter for 10 minutes, what could I do? The irony was just too much for me....

$50 for expired meter? Its $3 here in Athens, GA!

TMAllison · #14 11-26-2008, 10:00 PM

Does a truck and trailer take up one parking space or two???

zeronero · #15 11-26-2008, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMAllison

Does a truck and trailer take up one parking space or two???

One in my case. It was parked parallel on the street, but since it was a residential neighborhood there were no meters or marked spots. I could understand that if it was in a metered zone taking up two spots then it could qualify due to that, maybe.

On another note my length was no longer than a RV or Bus.

As for parking fines in this city, they are very high, I'm pretty sure a $50 fine is the lowest. Three weeks ago my friend acquired a $250 ticket for parking in front of a bus stop.