Last week we posted a note from Carrie, who got a parking ticket in front of her own residence. The post, aptly titled “Please, Drive Your Car Regularly” prompted 35 comments & questions, including a few about the 72 hour rule.
The question of vacation & business trips came up — will we be ticketed if we go out of town for a week and leave a car in front of our house?
There were also questions about whether vehicles are ticketed any time they’re in violation of the rule, or only when someone complains (presuming that on a block where neighbors know one another’s vehicles, tickets are unlikely).
We got Seattle Police spokeswoman Renee Witt on the phone, and she cleared things up. Sort of.
- “You will more than likely be ticketed if there is a complaint.”
- “Typically, the police ticket cars after a complaint is made. But that’s not to say the city doesn’t enforce the 72 hour rule if they see a car that’s in violation.”
- If no complaint has been made but parking enforcement sees a car that appears to be in violation of the 72 hour rule, they will often run the license plates “to see if the vehicle belongs where it is.”
Not very definitive, but perhaps somewhat reassuring?
It’s probably a good idea to make sure your vehicle’s registration is up to date & reflects your Wallingford address. Unless you’re driving grandma’s car, then you might need to employ some anti-ticket mojo, surround your car in white light, or place 3 round metal objects in the northwest corner of the car.
It’s also important to remember not to park in front of a driveway, even if it is your own driveway. Driveways are considered fire access to your home, and it is illegal to block them.
I live in Fremont and was ticketed while parked in front of my house for expired tabs. Then ticketed in my driveway the next day, for not yet having put my new plates on the car. (They were on the front seat.) I was ticketed a few days later, again in my driveway, because I was in the part of the drive that crosses the planting strip (for which I pay taxes, mow the grass, prune the trees and keep trash-free). No part of my car was in the road or on the sidewalk. I’ve owned this house for over 8 years and have never been fined before here. (Although I have had my car totaled while parked in front of my house and no one in uniform showed up then.) An officer I spoke with when paying my $105 ticket said that this – parking violations – is how Seattle makes it’s money. Now I know why they were so anxious to zone my neighborhood against all neighborhood protest.
Knowing the ropes of a town makes much more sense to me than guesswork. I’ve lived in several – also other states – and they are all different. Thanks Jack for one more piece of the Seattle puzzle. Any others to share? Blocking city sidewalks is actually federally regulated (Americans With Disabilities Act, George Bush I, 1990). In my experience, just because something isn’t ardently enforced doesn’t mean that it won’t be. IF Seattle/Washington had state income tax, the tax field would be a more even one, less reliance on parking tickets and really high sales tax that just keeps on climbing (bad for small businesses as it adds almost 10% to any purchase).
Are people also aware that it’s illegal to park within 20 feet of a marked or unmarked crosswalk? (Almost every intersection has unmarked crosswalks.) I don’t see that rule enforced often.
Here’s a PDF with most of the rules:
http://www.seattle.gov/police/publications/Brochures/Parking_Guide.pdf