Goddamnit, I Got Booted!
Sonuvabitch! Just walked past my car on the way to the office and I’ve been booted.
I got an expired-meter ticket about two weeks ago which I haven’t paid just yet, but I’m thinking, That sure as hell isn’t enough to get me the boot!
So I logged on to the city’s online ticketing system and punched in my plate. This is what I got:
The following tickets issued to this vehicle plate are due:
Ticket Number Issue Date Violation Location Amount
370199314 10/22/2007 P173 2300 BLOCK 15TH ST NW EAST SIDE $60.00
370709931 10/24/2007 P039 0500 BLOCK E ST NW SOUTH SIDE $50.00
370728256 10/22/2007 P173 2300 BLOCK 15TH ST NW EAST SIDE $60.00
371249830 11/19/2007 P173 1400 BLOCK BELMONT ST NW NORTH SIDE $60.00
372899295 11/27/2007 P173 1300 BLOCK W ST NW SOUTH SIDE $60.00
373726404 12/14/2007 P039 0500 BLOCK 11TH ST NW EAST SIDE $25.00
GODDAMMIT! OK, I remember the last one. But swear to God I never saw any of those other five tickets. One or two tickets I could see getting blown away by the wind or stolen by some asshole, but FIVE? Plus, one of those seems to be a duplicate—can I really get ticketed on the same day on the same block. And I know which block that is! The east side of the 2300 block of 15th doesn’t have street sweeping restrictions! It’s on the goddamned hill next to Meridian Hill Park!!!
Christ!
Anyway, now I gotta decide whether I wanna spend almost $400 paying for tickets and late fees I never knew I had or going down to C Street and hoping the line for hearings isn’t too ridiculous.
Your input is appreciated.
14 Responses to “Goddamnit, I Got Booted!”
Leave a Reply
Recent Posts
- Extended Drinking Hours at Inauguration: It’s Official (2
)
The vote is 9-4 in favor of extending hours of alcohol service at local taverns and nightclubs until… - Extended Inauguration Drinking Hours Not a Done Deal! (1)
DCist points to a load of confusion over the District's plans to extend drinking hours in the days l… - Sean Taylor’s Officially Fair Game (0)
On WTEM's "Monday Morning Quarterback" show yesterday, host Andy Pollin led a discussion of Sunday's… - AU Professor Proposes Using Complex Online Scheme to Make D.C. Simple to Understand (0)
Washington, D.C. is a complicated place. Journalists in D.C. bureaus are getting laid off in droves.… - Postcards From Home: Film and Paper Archive (0)
Medical Museum, 1993…
- Extended Drinking Hours at Inauguration: It’s Official (2
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:02 pm
“wanna” ??
really debonis, is that the proper language to be using in this forum?
my vote is to fight the tickets!
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:07 pm
dump the car. ride a bike.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Seriously, donate the car to WABA and spend the $400 on a bike up the block at city bikes. Why you’d want to own a car in the city is beyond me.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:19 pm
You live in the heart of the CITY! As Laura says, get rid of the car. I live in FAR SOUTHEAST and could easily park in front of my house. But passing inspection was about to cost me some $1500.00 (repairs, new tires, etc.). I was gathering the cash while also getting ticketed for a dead inspection sticker. At the same time property taxes were coming due on my house.
Had to decide whether I wanted a ROOF over my head or a SUNROOF.
I now keep a nice sum of money on my METROCHECK CARD!
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Don’t fight the tickets unless you have pictures or some “proof.” I went down years ago and got a snow emergency ticket undone because I took a picture (which they kept) of the only sunbleached Snow Emergency sign on the block that was also like 15 to 20 feet off the ground. Everyone else at the adjudication hearing, and I mean everyone, got screwed and had to pay as well as wasting their day.
And to the others, I am a native and, since it was opened in 1976, Metro has always been too unreliable for me not to own a car. This ain’t NYC.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Ugh. Here come the bike absolutists…
For the record: I have a bike. I ride it most places I go in the city. (I know several staffers and commenters can vouch for that.) About to head down to the Wilson building on my bike right now, in fact.
I also have a car. There are some things, as I reporter, that I need a car for. I use it about twice a week on average. Could I get a Zipcar account? Yeah, but I already have the car, it’s paid off, and the insurance is next to nothing at this point. So sue me.
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Oxygen acetylene torch costs way less than $400.
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Eaton, you might have to drill out the cylinder on the padlock, the way those boots are built a torch might not get to the shackle.
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:18 pm
I wouldn’t want to get a torch anywhere near tire rubber. Otherwise you’d have some “Kenyan pro-democracy protester” fires burnin’ on ur wheelz.
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Check this method out:
http://web.mit.edu/dryfoo/www/Info/boot.html
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Very nice find, Eaton. A buddy of mine found a boot on his car in DC, but they lazily did not even close the lock. Maybe Mike should check to see if it is even locked?
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Don’t feel bad Mike.
About three months ago, I was parked in front of my home on Wisconsin Ave where I am suppose to move my car by 7 AM or risk a ticket.
Well, It 6:54 AM and my car had already been booted and towed.
When I went to get my car out, I refused to pay. Why?
It appeared that I had three tickets for the same offense.
I mean.
Ticket 1 7:01 AM $100.00 DPW
Ticket 2 7:05 AM $100.00 DPW
Ticket 3 7:09 AM $100.00 MPD
I got am immediate hearing that morning at Traffic Adjudication and brought two witnesses that it was not even 7 AM when we were out there and the car had been booted.
The adjudicator was shocked that I got 3 tickets for the same offense that not only did he agree to cancel all of them but he got on the horn and got DPW to release my car without cost to me.
Also the two tickets issued by DPW was issued by the same lady.
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Not trying to be preachy about owning a car, but its not as cheap as you think, despite being paid off. Look at your $400 worth of parking tickets for example. As you said, you could easily just use zipcar. I’m betting you come out cheaper at the end of the year, not to mention the aggravation and trouble of parking tickets, taking it to get service, inspection, etc. etc. Hard to put a price tag on that.
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:22 pm
True, jeff, but also hard to put a price tag on being able to take off and go wherevers pretty much whenevers you want.
I am an American, after all. The open road is my birthright!