I’ve wondered whether wrong way parking is a genuine crime, as I have done it a few times in my old truck in front of my house, as a way to avoid an Armstrong-steering U turn. When I saw this VW bus with a ticket, I decided I’d take a look.
Sure enough; $25 worth of wrongness. I understand the rationale, in denser, urban areas. Just a little bit further out, where I am, there’s very few cars parked on the street anyway. And if I do it again, I will know for sure that I’m breaking the law.
For times like this, a guy needs one of these!
Not a lawyer but technically speaking it’s not a “genuine crime” even if it indeed is a civil violation.
That must be a fix-it ticket for the turn signals behind the parking cite.
I know that here one is not likely to get ticketed for wrong way parking unless it is downtown, or the police officer is really, really bored and wants something to do. In my neighborhood it is not uncommon to see cars parked on the wrong side; occasionally some neighbor will get worked up over this and call the police. Typically when this happens the police might send someone to look at the situation and the officer may leave a warning with the offenders. I can’t imagine getting a “real” ticket for wrong way parking in front of my house.
The only reason I could see for outlawing wrong-way parking is that it necessarily involves some wrong-way driving to accomplish it.
I’d say that is basically what the comment in the Remarks section at the bottom of the ticket implies. “Must park with flow of traffic”
When I lived in suburbia, there was an old guy on our street whose hobby was calling the bylaw officer. If anybody parked the wrong way on our (dead-end) street, he would have been on the phone promptly. They eventually put a note on file to not act on bylaw complaints made from his phone number!
I’ve encountered quite a few old men who had that particular hobby. Retirement starting to bore the crap out of you? Become the neighborhood parking warden!
Back when I lived on a very narrow 2-way street, I used to park facing the wrong way all the time, and never got a ticket for it, but I occasionally got ticketed for being in the same spot for too long.
I had two cars and no garage. Here we see my Vega and my ’84 Buick parked facing each other, so they could have a nice chat about what a bad driver I was.
Nice Vega!
Amused by that neighbor daily driving a Datsun B-210… that’s truly a long term sentence.
That blue B210 belonged to my neighbor Bob. Before I got that Vega, I also had a B210. It was an ugly shade of orange (much worse than the color of the Vega in the photo). At this point, I feel compelled to say “but I got a good price on it!” Yes, I have owned two orange vehicles.
I never owned one, but saw enough B-210s, that I definitely remember that orange they came in. Mustard yellow seemed the most popular in my area, with those sci-fi ‘honeycomb’ wheel covers.
Who own the Datsun 280zx and 3rd gen Honda Accord?
Definitely a ticketable offense in Virginia.
Bored suburban cops are probably more likely to write these than city cops who have real crime to deal with. I know the local cops in my burg routinely patrol residential streets looking for expired plates and city (tax) stickers.
What really chafes my butt is WMATA transit cops ticketing cars in parking garages for expired plates or stickers. Transit cops? Really?
I know it’s against the bylaw in my city. Not sure why someone would park reversed like that, other than a boost or exchanging cargo, but… Unless I was only doing it very briefly for a few minutes, I wouldn’t risk it, leaving the vehicle unattended. For whatever reason, it’s just not worth risking it.
But on what seems a very quiet street, I find this ticket seems kind of petty. As the officer, I’d maybe note it for next time I drive down that street… then maybe give the ticket. Or unless there is a complaint of it happening regularly. But bylaw may have strict rules the officer must follow.
But Bylaw earns a reputation in a community too… So, the driver has to use common sense. If bylaw has a reputation for ticketing these offenses… I wouldn’t even try it.
As word like that, gets around… Just my thoughts.
Nice bus BTW.
It should be punishable by death.
Kill’Em All!!!
If it was 1969, it would be easy to explain as the establishment harassing the hippies. : )
It is against the law here in Baltimore County as well. However, it now seems to be used on an “as needed” basis.
A few years ago, the police started to enforce it in several neighborhoods and everyone went ballistic. The cops backed off at that point. Then I know of a case a year or so later when a bar was trying to increase business with summer beach party themed events with overflow crowds parking in the local community. The police started issuing these “wrong way” parking tickets, among other things, as part of the effort on behalf of those neighbors to get some control on the unruly crowds.
What’s going on with that VW emblem on the front? I can’t make sense of it
Me neither.
Is it cut out of a frisbee?
A jack-o-lantern for Halloween?
It’s on the wrong way round.
I dunno. On a busy street, sure; on a lightly traveled side street, this law deserves to be very selectively enforced.
I can remember it being strictly enforced even in a cul-de-sac as a kid in the 60s and 70s in the UK.
I also believe this is selectively enforced.
In general, it’s some smart-aleck kid thinking it’s cool to park against traffic.
I see this in our neighborhood on occasion, but no one seems to care.
Now, my neighbor, whose SIX cars – a 1991 Miata, a 2002 Corvette convertible, a 1984 El Camino, a 2004 SSR, his daily 2012 Sonata and his wife’s daily 2012 Malibu – are sometimes parked all over his yard, really is a sight to behold!
His cars are his “kids”, so nobody kicks about it. He’s pretty cool…
It’s illegal in Philadelphia as well. My parents’ house is situated on the northwest corner of an east-west arterial street and a quiet two-way side street. Our family’s habit has been to approach the house from the east on the arterial street, turn north on the two-way side street, and then park facing the wrong way on the west curb of the side street, next to the house. That way, when leaving the house we can pull out onto the side street without a u-turn instead of taking our chances with the uncontrolled traffic on the arterial street in front of the house.
In the thirty years our family has been in the house we’ve gotten one ticket for wrong-way parking. About a year ago my dad came out one morning to a ticket on his van written at around 2AM by a presumably bored cop.
Should the CC Effect result in my getting ticketed while I’m at my folks’ house over Christmas, Curbside Classic will cover my ticket, right Paul? 😉
My wrong way parking ticket on a quiet suburban street in Virginia set me back $65. Oregon is a bargain.
I got several tickets for doing this at my old house. I just chucked them. Never heard a thing about them in the decade since.
It’s probably illegal everywhere, but not always enforced. In my father-in-law’s neighborhood in Chicago, no one has garages, so everyone parks in the street. They’d have to ticket probably 35% of the cars — that’s how many people park the wrong way.
Whaddaya mean wrongway round that van is the only one doing it right, for this part of the planet anyway.
Nice one!
+1!
I’d never heard of the laws against this until I got a ticket for it. I had a 65 Corvair with some missing teeth somewhere in the transaxle or in 1st gear. About a quarter of the time, when I went to take off from a dead stop, something would give and the car wouldn’t move. However if the car had a rolling start it would be OK. At home I’d park on a hill to do this, but I’d have to be pointed the wrong way. I got a ticket, and there was nothing I could do about it.
Everyone in Pittsburgh parks this way. Its just the norm.
This is a classic example of a selectively enforced law. In our neighborhood, they would go through once every 3-4 months and ticket everybody. Then, a local officer moved in across the street, and in an amazing coincidence, no more tickets. We must have order!
In San Francisco the ticket is for Parking 18 inches off the Curb. $65.
…
It took me a minute to get it when I got that ticket. I am 18 inches away, from the “proper curb”
Our narrow crooked street is about 1 car width wide between cars parked on both sides of the street. Wrong way parking was common, until the SFMTA made it a priority. I saw 9 cars ticketed for this in one day. Now everyone parks “correctly”
J
The same logic is used here too, too far away from the curb on the other side of the street. My street is the same width and it happens occasionally, and is enforced by local government officers slightly less occasionally.
On a wider road I can understand the need for it, but in narrow streets I don’t know what harm it causes other than people being worse at parallel parking the wrong way.
Coming from Europe I have no idea whatsoever why this is considered wrong. Do people think others will get confused if they see a car that’s facing the wrong way?
It’s not a new phenomenon. 30 years ago, my college roommate borrowed my truck for the first time and got one of these. He was pretty peeved as he didn’t realize it wasn’t ok. Since it was a small college town (Potsdam, NY) and I had college and fraternity decals, there may have been a town-and-gown element to the ticket. Luckily for me he paid it immediately.
It coukd be sign oif good news, of course.
Because it must mean that the problem of bikes without lights has been solved!
Where I come from the side streets alternate parking. One side only 1st to 15th and the other side 16th to end and it’s ok to park wrong way on the side streets. Main streets are a different story. No wrong way parking. Most people have to read the signs a couple of times to figure it out as the alternating side street parking is only April to November and one side only during those winter months.
The only time you get a ticket is during the days when it switches sides so those people without driveways must move to the other side.
This alternating parking ensures two things. First, the pavement wears out evenly on the side streets such that there’s an equal number of pot holes in front of everyone’s house. Second, since the winter parking is on the other side of the street from me the snow plow will always come down the street in the same direction and compact all that mess into the end of my driveway.
CC effect works in the Great White North too. After not seeing one in years I followed an Aerostar van on the way home from work today.
They will hand out tickets for this in my area too and I’m fairly sure they are more money than that too.
I’m in Portland and a coworker got busted for this. I always assumed people park the wrong way just out of laziness; they don’t wanna have to circle the block to park in front of their house or do a 3-point-turn.
This is the type junk that makes me happy to live in the country.
In Volusia County, Florida, wrong-way parking is also illegal. When I moved here 7 years ago, the first few nights I parked alongside the wrong curb. A single $10 ticket put an end to that real quick. No warnings, no signs, etc.
It’s a revenue generation tool, nothing more.
Parking against the flow of traffic? I did it once. It felt like shoplifting or ripping the tag off a couch.
This is one of those that is the law nearly everywhere in the U.S. as far as I know. So all of you scofflaws had better straighten up! 🙂
On alternate parking streets as they usually are on one-way streets, it’s not an issue, but on a two-way street, it is … when parked wrong-way, as driver, you’re not placed correctly to see incoming traffic before being seriously engaged on traffic and at night, your headlight beam aimed to the right side of the road (left side for those who still leave in knight times :P), will glare incoming drivers. Hence this law …
I got a ticket for wrong way parking my Type 3 in Arlington, VA in 1976.
If you’re too lazy to park the correct way, then you have to wonder what other “shortcuts” that driver will take when on the road. No turn signals so everyone can guess where they’re going? Texting while driving, thus not paying attention (I see that a lot lately – both young and old drivers). Parking in the no parking lane and the market just because we’re going to “run in and get one thing.?” Parking in the handicap spots without a permit? Just plain carelessness and selfishness.
I used to park this way so I could give my 90 year old dad room to step out of my truck into his wheelchair, Sometimes the only way he could get out. On low traffic sidestreets only. If parking was hard to find I would leave it until we returned from appointment, Sadly, He passed on November 21st. Never got a ticket.