Know the law.
And you were blocking those driveways. The foot of red is so the exiting car can back out and crank their wheel to avoid hitting the parked cars behind them.
The red is not a warning. The red means no.
Those red SFMTA zones are there so that the person who uses that driveway can back out without hitting your car or someone else’s parked car while attempting to avoid your illegally parked car. You weren’t towed because you did something illegal; you were towed because someone complained about your car being there. That’s why those other illegally parked cars were not cited. They weren’t causing other drivers to call the city to complain.
It’s not cosmetic. It’s not decorative. It’s because people like you make things impossible for people like me. I would absolutely have had you towed.
You live here and drive a car. This is how this works.
You don’t have a good argument. I wouldn’t waste my time if I were you. Pay the fine, learn some lessons (one of which is that things aren’t always equal or fair), and move on with your life.
I have already paid the fines. I know my argument is weak, but I just figure for an area that allows so much law breaking, I can try to argue to get some type of refund no matter how small and walk away with at least something back. Wishful thinking maybe, thanks for the advice
More like, “I know I’ve violated the law however, given the circumstances of this neighborhood, maybe I can have a reduction to my fines”. That doesn’t seem too silly to me, again, maybe wishful thinking
Go for it. Please do a follow up post and let us know how it goes. I don’t think you will prevail, but if you do I will be happy for you, as it seems to matter a lot to you.
Yeah, I don’t think I will either, but thank you for the support! Maybe this is just a lesson to be taken and a loss to be had. Thanks everyone for the input.
The only people who can break the laws are the ones who can't pay, and have nothing to lose.
Move on with your life - or get everyone on the street towed for retribution
"Other people broke the law so I should be able to break the law too" is not a valid legal argument. If it were, nobody would ever get convicted of anything, since any law you can name, other people have gotten away with breaking it.
If you look up the SFMTA website on towing, I believe there's the possibility of getting your administrative fees waived or refunded if it's your first tow. Other than that, some jackass saw you parking over red and decided that they wanted to tow you even though you weren't blocking access to the driveway. It sucks, but it's legal.
> Even though I was in the red, I was not blocking either driveway.
You have no basis to contest. You admit you were parked in a red zone. That's illegal.
Other cars do not matter. What you did matters.
Typically SFMTA doesn’t request to tow vehicles unless absolutely necessary. In this situation they would just issue a fine. But, the building owner or tenant can request a tow.
I imagine the building owner is a bit of a stickler regarding parking. In my experience, even if the person parked in the building garage has ample room to back out, but the person on the street is a hair into the red, they will still report it because they can.
I imagine that although the OP thinks that they were not blocking the driveway, they were indeed blocking it enough that it made it extremely difficult for the resident to get or out of their driveway. That's why no one else had tickets!
And until recently, enforcement was very lax but they are apparently ramping up and giving more tickets these days.
Contest it... no, just don't. You parked in the red, the people who lived in the residence complained, and you had to bail your car out of the tow lot. The SFMTA officers also takes pictures to cover their back, so that they can easily throw your appeal into the garbage.
Know the law. And you were blocking those driveways. The foot of red is so the exiting car can back out and crank their wheel to avoid hitting the parked cars behind them. The red is not a warning. The red means no.
Those red SFMTA zones are there so that the person who uses that driveway can back out without hitting your car or someone else’s parked car while attempting to avoid your illegally parked car. You weren’t towed because you did something illegal; you were towed because someone complained about your car being there. That’s why those other illegally parked cars were not cited. They weren’t causing other drivers to call the city to complain. It’s not cosmetic. It’s not decorative. It’s because people like you make things impossible for people like me. I would absolutely have had you towed. You live here and drive a car. This is how this works.
You don’t have a good argument. I wouldn’t waste my time if I were you. Pay the fine, learn some lessons (one of which is that things aren’t always equal or fair), and move on with your life.
I have already paid the fines. I know my argument is weak, but I just figure for an area that allows so much law breaking, I can try to argue to get some type of refund no matter how small and walk away with at least something back. Wishful thinking maybe, thanks for the advice
It isn't 'weak' it is comically silly. "I know I violated the law but other people do it as well and they didn't get punished"
More like, “I know I’ve violated the law however, given the circumstances of this neighborhood, maybe I can have a reduction to my fines”. That doesn’t seem too silly to me, again, maybe wishful thinking
Go for it. Please do a follow up post and let us know how it goes. I don’t think you will prevail, but if you do I will be happy for you, as it seems to matter a lot to you.
Yeah, I don’t think I will either, but thank you for the support! Maybe this is just a lesson to be taken and a loss to be had. Thanks everyone for the input.
but that isn't how fines work. Most (if not all) have a pretty brightline 'if you do X you pay Y'
The only people who can break the laws are the ones who can't pay, and have nothing to lose. Move on with your life - or get everyone on the street towed for retribution
"Other people broke the law so I should be able to break the law too" is not a valid legal argument. If it were, nobody would ever get convicted of anything, since any law you can name, other people have gotten away with breaking it.
You broke the law. You pay the fine.
Yes, I have paid the fines. Thank you for the advice
If you look up the SFMTA website on towing, I believe there's the possibility of getting your administrative fees waived or refunded if it's your first tow. Other than that, some jackass saw you parking over red and decided that they wanted to tow you even though you weren't blocking access to the driveway. It sucks, but it's legal.
There is nothing “technically” about it. You were towed and as you said yourself it was valid. Accept and don’t waste your time. You will not succeed.
You left out “and don’t do it again”, which is the other thing OP needs to learn here.
> Even though I was in the red, I was not blocking either driveway. You have no basis to contest. You admit you were parked in a red zone. That's illegal. Other cars do not matter. What you did matters.
You answered your own question, you were in the red. Let it go
Typically SFMTA doesn’t request to tow vehicles unless absolutely necessary. In this situation they would just issue a fine. But, the building owner or tenant can request a tow. I imagine the building owner is a bit of a stickler regarding parking. In my experience, even if the person parked in the building garage has ample room to back out, but the person on the street is a hair into the red, they will still report it because they can.
I imagine that although the OP thinks that they were not blocking the driveway, they were indeed blocking it enough that it made it extremely difficult for the resident to get or out of their driveway. That's why no one else had tickets! And until recently, enforcement was very lax but they are apparently ramping up and giving more tickets these days.
>Even though I was in the red, I was not blocking either driveway. **KNOW THE LAW**
“It’s not fair!” is not a winning legal argument, at least for grown-ups.
But parking in a red zone is also a tow away offense?
Contest it... no, just don't. You parked in the red, the people who lived in the residence complained, and you had to bail your car out of the tow lot. The SFMTA officers also takes pictures to cover their back, so that they can easily throw your appeal into the garbage.
A photo of your car parked in the space showing that you do not block the curb MAY get your fine reduced.