(no subject)

[learnedax]

Last week I got a parking ticket (for $40, which seems unusually high for the area to me, but maybe Somerville is just generally more severe that way) on some friends' street, where no one ever gets ticketed, and where there aren't any obvious signs declaring the legality of parking there. Annoying, but oh well. I went to pay it online last night, and noticed a) the ticket number didn't seem to exist in their system, but more importantly b) the registration on the ticket isn't mine. Shares no characters in common with mine, in fact. It's still for a Saturn, color "GY"*, and there did not seem to be any other Saturns nearby... but it's not issued for my car.

So should I pay it?


*Which komos believes means "GreenY" (it's a sort of metallic wintergreen) and I believe means "GaY".

Comments

[umbran.livejournal.com]

As far as the system is concerned, it is not your ticket. So, clearly, there will be no repercussions for you if you choose not to pay. Failing to match any character on your plate is not a simple error. So, either it was for another car, and someone's trying to stiff you, or it is a complete fabrication on the part of a traffic cop trying to fill a quota (which aren't supposed to exist anymore, iirc).

The only things at issue, then, are your desire for good karma and/or sense of "fair play". If you want to give a gift to some other motorist who tried to stiff you with his check, pay it. Otherwise, don't.