A WOMAN has appeared in court after her car was towed twice after owing more than $2,400 in fines.
The driver revealed that she suffered a nervous breakdown after the fines left her “on the brink of poverty”.
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Marta Roberts, 71, appeared before the Senate Permanent Committee on Transportation in San Francisco on June 17, 2023.
The woman pleaded her case in support of Assembly Bill 1082 to ban “poverty hauls.”
Marta detailed that she reached an all-time low after suffering the loss of her vehicle in December 2022.
“My car being towed last December overcame extreme difficulties,” she said before the court.
Read more about parking fines
“This has made even the basic principles of human subsistence truly impossible.”
She went on to share that she suffers from PTSD and ADHD before revealing that she “went through one of the hardest times in 50 years of adult life.”
Marta detailed the difficulties in finding a house and, when she did, it was still a difficult time for her financially.
“The apartment I found is on a steep hill, so the layer that made it all unbearable was facing the impossible decision of risking driving my unregistered car and getting towed or not going to doctor appointments and getting groceries.”
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In her time of struggle, Marta said she received numerous parking tickets that she was unable to pay.
“At the time, I had received parking and traffic fines that I was unable to pay. Very quickly, the fines reached $2,400,” she said.
“I should mention that there was no court during COVID.
“I didn’t have the money to pay for the tickets and the registration, so I paid the registration and the smog, but the DMV wouldn’t give me the sticker because of the tickets,” she continued.
“So I continued to be in a circular situation of needing to drive but not wanting to risk it until my car was towed twice.”
The 71-year-old said: “Both times left me on the brink of destitution, potentially homeless, and asking for help to pay my bills.
How to Fight a Parking Ticket
You can avoid being fined by following all published laws and regulations, but sometimes mistakes are made
Like any form of citation, parking tickets can be avoided by reading and obeying posted signage. However, when visiting a new city, or state, or in a hurry, things can be missed and mistakes can be made.
Suddenly there’s a ticket you weren’t prepared to pay for. If the ticket comes as a surprise to you, there are some things you can do to help your case when appealing a parking ticket.
- Read the ticket carefully. Look for errors such as incorrect street names, license plate numbers, vehicle make and model, time and date, etc. Errors would render the ticket invalid.
- Take photos. The vehicle in the space, lack of signage, or other vehicles that were not cited for performing the same parking service. If the ticket involves parking too close to something like a fire hydrant, a photo showing a reasonable distance would help your case. Make sure metadata with time and date is accessible. Signs that are obstructed by trees, or on crooked posts, or that are not “obvious” are also great things to photograph.
- Make sure the statute that was violated is listed on the ticket. If it is not listed, the ticket is not valid.
- Immediately follow the appeal instructions on the ticket. All legitimate tickets will have appeal instructions. Waiting until the last moment weakens your argument and can result in late fees.
- When in court, avoid these phrases as they reduce your credibility and weaken your argument:
- “I didn’t know the law.”
- “I was going to move my car.”
- “I can’t pay this ticket.”
- “I’ve been doing this for years.”
- “I checked with the parking officer, who said everything was fine.”
- Contact a lawyer. If you are facing obstacles and feel stuck, you may want to contact a traffic lawyer in your area. Many have free case consultations.
Source: Reader Summary
“After the second time my car was towed, I finally had a nervous breakdown.”
After pleading her case, Marta asked the Senate Standing Committee to “cease these harmful and counterproductive tows.”
AB 1082
According to the Western Center on Law and Poverty, the bill aims to prevent the towing of vehicles “as a debt collection mechanism due to unpaid parking tickets.”
It also states that “AB 1082 would also prohibit immobilizing the vehicle in this case or sending just an unpaid parking ticket to the DMV to suspend the renewal of the driver’s registration.”
It also makes paying unpaid parking tickets affordable through payment plans for low-income California residents.
In the end, Bill 1,082 was approved by the assembly on May 31, 2023.
The project is expected to reach the Senate on August 15, 2024 and, if approved, will be turned into law.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
