As the City of Seattle tries to carry out a program to enforce parking laws on its worst offenders, city officials have acknowledged some major legal loopholes have severely hindered their efforts.
It was reported that in Seattle:
– More than 10,000 people or businesses have three or more unpaid parking tickets;
– 502 car owners have ten or more unpaid tickets;
– The 502 top offenders have a combined total of 9,077 unpaid parking tickets;
The first loophole allows drivers with out of state licenses to rack up fines without the threat of the ultimate punishment. They are expected to resolve their tickets, but the city cannot boot their vehicles as an inducement.
The second loophole gives the truly devious the option to register their car under and different name and, in one fell swoop, clear their record of all parking infringements.
“I think there are still some loopholes we’re working on trying to close because it’s obvious we’re not getting some of the biggest violators out there today,” said SPD Parking Director William E. Edwards.
He said the department has lobbied, unsuccessfully, to close the holes in city and state law.
There are about a billion laws in our country – and a lot of them contradict each other. Leaving these loopholes open undermines the parking authority and shows the general public that its city’s policies are convoluted and ineffective.
Read the article here.
