Welcome to Sgt Al's spot for information, advice, opinion, dialog, and brainstorming on anything related to automobiles, traffic enforcement, the police, and the law. Got a moving or parking ticket and need advice on what to do? Have an issue with DMV relating to your car? Need information regarding traffic issues? Stop by here and let's figure it out together! Feel free to contact me using the form at the bottom of this page or leave a comment! Follow me on Twitter @SgtAlCastro!
HELLO SERGEANT AL:
My Flushing, Queens neighbor has been stealing
traffic cones and poles from the city and placing them in front of his own
residence to save the street parking for his own private use. I complained to the New York City's
311 non-emergency hotline number, and got a claim number, but when I checked the status it said,
".........The police department has determined that police action was
not necessary."
How can this be? You mean I can actually block a
street parking spot in front of my house by stealing a cone from DOT (NYC Dept. of Transportation) or Con
Edison? What can I do? Please help me. --PARKING VIP IS NOT FOR ME
DEAR NON VIP: MY GOODNESS: unofficial reserving of parking spots in Queens is such a NYC thing a lot of suburban household NYC residents do. It is quite annoying, illegal, and quite frankly, SELFISH. JUST BECAUSE A PARKING SPOT IS IN FRONT OF YOUR HOUSE DOESN'T MAKE IT EXCLUSIVELY YOURS, OK FOLKS?
You see this happening more frequently in the NYC outer boroughs like Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and especially Staten Island, and more particularly and notoriously in the working middle class neighborhoods like Flushing, Bensonhurst, and Morris Park, where parking spaces are few, houses on top of each other are plentiful, and the residents have a sense of entitlement when it comes to parking in front of their own houses. You see this particularly after a snow storm when a resident has shoveled out their car to assume with entitlement that the shoveled space has now become theirs. But the law says differently:
The "Unofficial Reserving of a Parking Space" section of the New York City Traffic Rules s.4-08(n)(7) specifically states:
"It shall be unlawful for any person to reserve or attempt to reserve a parking space, or prevent any vehicle from parking on a public street through his/her presence on the roadway, the use of hand signals, or by placing any box, can, crate, handcart, dolly, or any other device, including unauthorized pavement, curb or street markings or signs in the roadway."
311 wasn't particularly helpful in your case NON VIP because the cops probably did go by to observe the condition but couldn't take action because:
A) The violation probably went away. Your neighbor had already parked his car to no longer need his detour of stolen traffic cones and pylons, or
B) The cops need to be present to observe your neighbor actually setting up VIP reserve parking or see him standing by the detour with the expectation of reserving parking.
These chairs are not set up for a Sunday afternoon high tea social . . .
The next step I suggest is simply moving the objects out of the way and park your car as you are entitled to do under the law. Don't let your neighbor stop you from parking your car in what is a legal parking spot for ALL citizens, not just his!
If you are afraid of vandalized reprisals to your car however, then the next step is snapping a picture of your neighbor's unlawful parking detour, preferably make a video of him setting it up, then go into your police precinct station house with the 311 claim number and show your photo evidence by speaking with a supervisory officer, either the desk officer or the precinct commander or the executive officer, then put the coals to his or her fire to make sure that his/her cops follow up to make sure that your "RESERVED FOR VIP PARKING" neighbor gets the message that reserving spots on the street are illegal and won't be tolerated on your block!
Good luck!
P.S. If you actually ask me, this is how I would personally solve this problem of someone who illegally reserves a parking spot on the street: CLICK HERE:
For those of you following me
on Twitter, I will continue posting interesting news
articles that are somehow related to my posts, so I suggest you click here
to follow so you can get interesting stories related to
traffic, transportation, vehicles, the police, the law, and crime. Keep
on re-pinning and following me on Pinterest with my unusual and
interesting photos, and if you by chance find me using one of your photos to
your praise or objection please let me know. If you have any questions to ask
me, don’t be shy: use the form below or leave me a message after each post.
HELLO FOLKS: It’s me again. Hope all is going well. I’ve
been working lately, so trying to answer your questions will take a little more time,
so please be patient. For
those of you following me on Twitter, I will continue posting
interesting news articles that are somehow related to my posts, so I suggest you click here
to follow so you can get interesting stories related to
traffic, transportation, vehicles, the police, the law, and crime. Keep
on re-pinning and following me on Pinterest with my unusual and
interesting photos, and if you by chance find me using one of your photos to
your praise or objection please let me know. If you have any questions to ask
me, don’t be shy: use the form below or leave me a message after each post.
Here’s another interesting question that someone asked me recently via the form
you fill out below in my blog:
DEAR SERGEANT AL: It is my understanding that to be guilty of
driving with a suspended license in California (Los Angeles County) you need to
be aware your license was suspended. I had a ticket that became a Failure to
Appear warrant in February. I was stopped and ticketed in April for running a stoplight
and not warned or cited that my license was suspended. On May 10 in Downtown
LA, a LAPD officer stopped me for a malfunctioning brake light, in the
investigation he found my license was suspended - it had only been suspended on
May 5, five days prior. Since I was ticketed in April after my February
warrant and that my license was only suspended 5 days prior to the brake light
- is this an appropriate and likely defense to fight the suspended license
ticket? –LICENSE
IN SUSPENSE
DEAR IN SUSPENSE: Thanks for asking for my opinion as you raise excellent issues, but you are better off letting a traffic lawyer determine if this is a good excuse or not. I think your defense is iffy and probably doubtful, but better yet and above all else, I strongly suggest that you go
talk to a traffic attorney since a license suspension or revocation right next
to things like excessive speeding (31 or 41 mph or more over the speed limit) or passing
a school bus with flashing lights is the most serious of traffic violations that begs for a lawyer.
A traffic attorney might be able to weed out the root cause of the suspension, determine if your excuse might be a good defense for you, and perhaps lay another defense in court to find a way to get your license suspension lifted. Depending on the circumstances, a license suspension in California is a misdemeanor. Also to consider: California does things a bit differently than other states when it comes to suspended driver's licenses in that a California prosecutor must prove that you knew that your license was suspended. I understand that this might be a bit tricky but not impossible to prove. You might have something with the April car stop that might help you with a defense. So after reading this please go speak to a traffic attorney.
It is these
kinds of questions and circumstances surrounding a license suspension that
remind us all that driving is a privilege and not a right.While it is the
responsibility of the Department of Motor Vehicles to try within reason to
notify you with the contact info you supplied them of an impending license
suspension, you generally do not in fact need to be officially notified for your license
to in fact become suspended. If the DMV made every effort to notify you to no avail, they will go ahead and suspend you, as they did in your case. If we had it your way either nobody would take the
licensing process seriously, or nobody would become suspended to avoid at all costs of being notified of a suspension. To address some
of the issues you raise IN SUSPENSE, consider the following that a prosecutor might use against you:
1."I had a ticket that became a Failure to
Appear warrant in February," means that: If you were properly identified at any car stop by the police with your ID, the mere
fact that you were issued a ticket for a traffic violation with a return date
to appear in court that you had to sign for (if it was in fact issued in
California) and you decided not to show up, is prima fascia evidence that:
a)
you were aware that you were stopped for a violation by a police officer, b) the
officer informed you of his/her observation of the violation, c) you were issued a ticket and the officer notified
you of the court date that appears at the bottom of that ticket should you decide to either
take no action or plead not guilty, d) regardless of these circumstances you in fact DID NOT appear in court on that date to respond to the charges against you, and e) you continued driving with reasonable cause to believe knowing your priviledge was revoked or suspended, or f) a judge in open court SO ORDERED the suspension, or g) the police confiscated your license on a previous ticket, or h) a DMV notice was sent to the right address and not returned as unclaimed or undeliverable.
You have therefore set yourself up for
your license to be suspended for non-appearance. Remember that a ticket is an accusatory instrument that is issued in lieu of a lawful arrest. Instead of arresting you at the car stop for a traffic violation (yes the police can do that if they want to), the officer is letting you go with an appearance ticket to appear in court to answer the charges. That's what a traffic ticket is all about. The onerous is on you, and not
the DMV or the court. Some possible defenses you could use are:
a) you were never notified of the suspension by mail, b) you had an emergency that gave reason to drive, c) computer error, and/or d) mistaken identity.
2. Even though the Failure to Appear Warrant was issued in February, it
took until May 5th for your license to become suspended. This might be
because of a computer error, or that it took time to try to notify you
to success or failure. DMV maybe was trying to get in contact with you. Since you last applied or renewed your license, has your address
changed? Do you have a different residential or mailing address than what
might appear on your license? Have you taken U.S. Mail Forwarding off your old or temporary mailing address
since you last moved or were on vacation? These are the kind of things we often
overlook that often finds us with warrants or notices of violations unanswered,
parking tickets/bills unpaid, car insurance policy lapses, and licenses
or registrations suspended or not renewed. Most states give you one week to update your address, no excuses. Remember that failure to notify the DMV of an address change within a certain time period is a violation onto itself you also can be cited for . . .
3. The cops don't always run your license every time you get stopped, so sometimes you don't find out about the suspension right away. My intuition tells me that the April officer did not run your license. If he/she did, the officer would have discovered the February warrant. Depending on the jurisdiction in which you were stopped, the officers
who stopped you in all of these traffic stops may or may not have been
obligated to run your license to check if there were any suspensions. Some jurisdictions
require every stop; some require if circumstances warrant or if the equipment
in which to check is available. The fact is that in the real world sometimes
not everyone can get a license or plate check. The police dispatcher can be too busy
or sometimes police duty to a higher calling can abruptly end a traffic stop by a police officer with just a
tongue-lashing, a let-go, or with just a simple ticket and no computer
check because a high priority job just entered the queue and the officer has to immediately respond. This is where you often hear about people who say they talked themselves
out of a traffic ticket, when really nothing was further from the truth. The
fact probably was that the cop suddenly had more important things to do and Mr. Smooth
Talker just suddenly became an obstacle because something like a gun run just came over the air from 911, as
opposed to the focus of attention he was to the cops just a few minutes ago with his shitty
driving. If I had a dime for every time I pulled a motorist over for a
suspended drivers license I didn’t know and didn’t find out, let alone for
being on the FBI‘s most wanted list that got away, I would probably be a
millionaire from doing police work. IN SUSPENSE you may not realize it with your frequent
flier miles with the police these many times that you’ve been stopped for these
too many violations, but sometimes you get the
bear and sometimes the bear gets you.
Now that you’ve been suspended, this is what I
suggest you do if you haven’t already, aside from you being more careful how
you drive so that you do not stand out for another ticket:
1.Turn in your license. Don’t play games, and
don’t get caught driving again: next time you’ll go to jail if the next cop
runs your license. Make a color photocopy of your license to keep for yourself,
and either mail the original in or turn it in to the local DMV. Apply for a
state ID card if you don’t have any other ID so that you’ll be able to catch a
flight or cash a check if you need to.
2.Apply for a temporary
or restricted use license. You can do this at a local DMV office. You still need to drive to
work or school. If you get one, don’t play games with this either. Go straight to where you
need to, school or work, and nowhere else, OR ELSE.
3.Talk to a lawyer. A traffic lawyer
please, and not your cousin Vinny, the real estate lawyer. And don’t be cheap
about it; this is your license we’re talking about, even if you have to
mortgage the house to hire a lawyer to resolve your license suspension. Since this is in
Southern or Central California, please email me back if you want a referral for
a great attorney who deals in traffic law. Plan on spending at least $300 - $1,000 for initially the bail that will eventually become a first time conviction fine and at least $1000 for the attorney's fees, well worth the investment.
Good luck with lifting your suspension(s) and please be more careful driving. The problem here is not necessarily that your license keeps getting suspended that you apparently are unaware, but more that you are getting stopped for violations you need to take more care about to avoid. See my related posts down below on avoiding or fighting a traffic ticket when you get stopped to help you out of this quandary. Thanks for the great question.
HELLO FOLKS: I’m back again. Hope all is going well. I
don’t know about you, but this was the roughest winter I had probably in 19
years and the weather had nothing to do with it. But I’m still here—This time I
was sidelined with personal issues that unfortunately closed some old chapters
and opened new ones over the past preceding weeks. For those of you who know
what I’m talking about, thank you for sympathy, support, and understanding. For those of you following me
on Twitter, I will continue posting interesting news
articles that are somehow related to my posts, so I suggest you click here
to follow so you can get interesting stories related to
traffic, transportation, vehicles, the police, the law, and crime. Keep
on re-pinning and following me on Pinterest with my unusual and
interesting photos, and if you by chance find me using one of your photos to
your praise or objection please let me know. If you have any questions to ask
me, don’t be shy: use the form below or leave me a message after each post.
Here’s another interesting question that someone asked me recently over dinner
I’d thought I’d share with you so here I go:
Watch it this video has strong language.
DEAR SERGEANT AL: Recently I went on vacation to Mexico
and the police stopped and ticketed me for speeding. Right before I was stopped
in my rental car I was lost, so I decided to circle around to retrace my steps.
When the officer asked me in Spanish if I knew why I was being stopped by him, I said I
didn’t know. When he told me he was stopping me for speeding I told him I
wasn’t speeding, that in fact I couldn’t have been. I then tried to explain to
the officer that the road where he said was the enforcement area had speed
bumps that would have made speeding impossible. Even though I noticed several taxicabs
flying past me during the enforcement period the cop says during which I was
speeding, the officer told me my car or
the car nearest to me was in fact speeding. He then started telling me I
had a choice to either pay a fine right on the side of the road or take a
ticket and appear in court later to pay a fine. I found out later that the fine
in court is much lower than the one I paid on the side of the road. Did I give
the officer a bribe without knowing it? Was I scammed? –SPEEDY GONZALEZ
DEAR
SPEEDY GONZALEZ: Oh my goodness you were bamboozled. I wouldn’t
say you were unknowingly bribing the officer in that it knowingly takes two to
tango when it comes to soliciting, offering, and accepting a bribe, at least
here in the United States, but this was probably a more clever way for the
Mexican officer to get out of you exactly what he wanted without the fuss and
muss of exacting a bribe. But that’s okay. You were on vacation in Mexico. You got out of this
situation alive and well, and probably better for it though you may not realize
it. When traveling abroad I think you have to factor things like this in when
visiting exotic places to expect that mishaps, inconveniences, and outright
crime or scams might occur, as such places are notorious for such
circumstances, that every tourist should go on an exotic get-away with their eyes
wide open. In spite of this I hope you had a good time. When traveling to foreign
countries you have to be absolutely as careful as possible. But you also must remember that there is
only so much you can do under these circumstances to be as careful as you can.
I would have handled this situation a bit more differently, and I’ll explain
how later below.
First
of all you have to remember that wherever you are in the world, that is NOT the
United States, that that part of the world is NOT America, even if it’s adjacent to it. On the other hand, we
also have to remember that our way isn’t
always the right way of doing things, so that we will respect other people’s culture to
understand these differences are what make living on Earth unique, if not an
adventure. Just because you are an American does not give you elsewhere in the world the entire range
of constitutional and civil rights you are guaranteed here in the States. Mexico
is a classic example. Mexico is our neighbor, friend, and trading partner. As we all know Mexico lately has been a shooting gallery
for the major drug cartels, they say up to 70,000 people have died over that
last few recent years, but as I tell people, the problem there is not necessarily the cartels, as it is more with
the police.
It’s
easy for me as an American to state the following that I love all parts of the
world, but if the rest of the world wants to catch up with the same standard of
living and quality of life as we have here in the West if not just America alone, then those parts
of the world where crime runs rampant have to do something not just about their
criminals, but also about their police. If Mexico wants to stop their problem
with the cartels, they need to first take a look at what they are doing in establishing ethics and discipline with
their police culture. A big part of the cartel problem is that they have corrupt
officers (not all) minding the cartels. The bad Mexican police need to be weeded out. Corruption is a big problem in Latin
America as it is with most underdeveloped and emerging nations that some countries
are starting to see the correlation between corruption and quality of life to start doing something about it by cracking
down on police corruption.
Yes, a real dead person: From http://www.bvbl.net. Cartel drug violence from Mexico.
SO,
given these circumstances, what is a foreign tourist like you to do when
stopped by foreign police for a traffic infraction or any matter? Here are six
steps you need to consider when being stopped by police in a foreign country to
walk away with your body and wallet at least relatively intact:
1.Blend in. “When
in Rome . . . “ Part of your problem is that you got lost, and in doing
so you became a target in the worse way. Thank God it was the police doing the
scam and not the criminals, as I think you might have fared worse: Circle once, shame on you, circle twice,
shame on me . . . Next time if you get lost, act like you know where you’re
going and what you’re doing ANYWAY, and for God’s sakes next time: DON’T LISTEN
TO YOUR WIFE OR GIRLFRIEND, AND DO NOT ASK FOR DIRECTIONS RIGHT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD
FOR EVERYBODY TO SEE. If you must, do so discreetly as possible. Go get gas at
a busy station whether you need some or not. Buy something inside casually then
go ask. Pull into a crowded place and then go in to ask directions. This might also
be a good time to introduce you to GPS technology, even in a foreign country;
you do know that satellites do work elsewhere other than America even if you have to pay expensive digital rates on your phone to get a GPS signal . . .
2.Hire a Sole
Driver from the Host Country for Your Entire Trip. Yes I know
this might be a more expensive proposition here in America, but remember you
are hiring a driver in a foreign country, not here. You open yourself up to
more scams if you take a different cab to anywhere you need to go, but by
hiring a sole driver you stand a more reasonable chance of not being ripped off
if you are generous with the gratuity to let him know you’ll take care of him
to form mutual trust. By doing this you also may gain a guide to find out where
the hot spots, bargains, and bad places are to head toward or steer clear from.
Ask your travel agent or tour guide or front desk or concierge for tips for
finding a good driver that can map your entire trip. Just make sure you pay
your driver in increments over the course of the trip and not one lump sum.
3.Be Careful
with what You Rent: I know we all like to once in a while go up to that rental
counter at the airport and grab the keys to that Cadillac or Lincoln, maybe
even a Rolls Royce or a Bentley, especially when we are on vacation, but that
may not be the right thing to do in a foreign country, especially in a
developing or an emerging nation. Under such circumstances renting cheap and
frugal might be the right way to go so that you don’t stand out.
4.Obey the
Law:
You know how the speed signs here in America say the limit is so much that
everyone goes over the speed limit anyway for only a few to get caught? Well
don’t do that in a foreign country, even if all the natives are doing it, and
yes, actually drive a bit slower than the speed limit allows. Make sure you are
going KPH verses MPH where applicable, and when the light turns yellow SLOW
DOWN TO STOP instead of SPEEDING UP to fly by. But also don’t forget step one
about blending in as well.
5.Don’t Argue
with the Police: It’s one thing to do this here in America that even then I
think it’s a VERY BAD IDEA, EVEN WORSE WHEN YOU DO IT IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY: NEVER NEVER EVER EVER ARGUE WITH A POLICE
OFFICER DURING A CAR STOP. EVER. By having a traffic trial at the side of
the road as a curbside lawyer with a foreign police officer, you are opening up
the situation to make matters worse, if not dangerous. Even if the cop is
acting like a prick, as I often say, if
the officer is not going to mind his behavior to take control of the car stop,
then someone else is going to have to, and that person has to be you for your
sake. Calm down, don’t get upset, don’t argue or debate, be polite, and be
nice. When asked “do you know why you are being stopped?” or “how fast you were
going?” in any language, INCLUDING ENGLISH, your
stock answer to the officer to appease the situation without admitting guilt
should be: “Officer if I was stopped
for speeding I apologize: I did not intend to put either of us in danger.” And
leave it at that.
Strong language on this one too.
6.When in
Doubt, Take the Ticket Option: I can’t tell you for sure what might
have been the best way for you to get out of this tricky situation, SPEEDY GONZALEZ, that it might have taken a coin toss to
decide which was best, but if you follow this rule of thumb, the next time
might be easier if you can negotiate yourself through any language barrier to
determine what option you have: READ CAREFULLY: If you can pay a ticket without going to jail or posting bail BY MAIL /AND/OR taking
it to court, as opposed to paying a fine on the side of the road, then take a
ticket instead. The worse that might happen is that you’ll have to hire a
lawyer to handle the ticket. If this was an attempt at a bribe or a scam, you
neutralize the situation by taking the traffic stop to court. As in your case SPEEDY GONZALEZthe court fine was lower than the roadside
‘fine.” If
you feel you have been wronged, then you will have a greater chance (however
great that might be) at true justice in a courtroom as opposed to at the side
of the road. By taking the ticket option you eliminate the officer from being a
judge in any part of the equation. Taking a ticket may also buy you more time
to assess the situation and determine later what to do if you’re not sure what
to do right there and then. On the other hand, however expensive it might be,
by paying the roadside “fine” you immediately resolve the issue to let the
problem go away and not let it linger after the trip is over. The choice,
depending on the circumstances, is yours . . . Oh, and by the way, make sure you have enough of the foreign cash on hand, just in case . . .
Regardless of where you are in the
world, justice, like life, can be a complicated thing, including when we are on
an exotic vacation and get stopped by the police. In many cases being smart for yourself verses being smart for the
law might be the right way to go! I hope this incident doesn’t stop you from
your next trip. Safe driving!
Humbly Yours,
SERGEANT AL
CONFIDENTIAL TO WILLIAM: You were a big source of the questions I
published here in this blog, so I dedicate this site to you. Wherever you are
looking over us, I shall never forget your inspiration and help you’ve given me
over the past three years. You delivered me to my promised land here in
California; little did I know my job coming here was to deliver you to yours .
. . Thank you for being more than a great friend, and I wish you happiness and peace on
your journeys hereafter . . .
