Everyone knows there's a large municipal force in Los Angeles devoted to writing parking tickets. Each officer averages about six citations an hour, and 80% of those who receive tickets pay their fines, averaging about $37. Gross collections ran to $125 million in 2001, and $93 million of that was net, going into the city's general fund.
But there are aspects of the parking laws and their enforcement that remain obscure.
For example, it is against the law to leave a vehicle parked on the street, even in front of one's home, for more than 72 hours without moving it at least a mile. It is also illegal to park a car on the front lawn, even for the transitory purpose of washing it.
Many are aware that the city no longer tickets cars parked beside broken meters. But how many know that a car parked beside a broken meter may still be ticketed if it remains beyond the posted time for parking?
In other words, if the sign says the parking limit is one hour, a motorist cannot legally stay more than an hour, even if the meter is not functioning.
As Jimmy L. Price, chief of parking enforcement, explains, assuring there is adequate "parking turnover" is one of the main purposes of meters; even feeding a meter every hour takes a driver out of compliance with a posted one-hour limit.
The city has contracted with the firm of Affiliated Computer Services to process citations. The Atlanta-based firm receives $2.78 for every parking ticket routinely collected, and 18% of the fine for collecting delinquent tickets. When tickets are delinquent, the fines are doubled, so these collections net Affiliated an average of more than $13, and it may reap $126 on a delinquent ticket for parking without the proper placard in a zone reserved for the handicapped. The basic fine for that is $350; the doubling for delinquency brings that to $700.
Robert Andalon, chief management analyst for the city's Parking Operations Support Bureau, says nearly 30% of cited motorists do not pay their tickets on time and must be pursued as delinquent. About one-third of those eventually do pay up.
The law sets the statute of limitations for parking citations at five years, but those who don't pay usually don't make it that far. To register their cars or renew their licenses, they must pay outstanding tickets.
If a vehicle has changed hands, it's the owner at the moment that a ticket is issued who is liable, Andalon said. Just when a car was sold is often an issue during adjudication of the ticket.
