Man receiving parking ticket in his car

5 Myths About New York Parking Tickets

New York State abounds with urban myths and legends. While it remains to be seen whether anyone will disprove the tales of Tarrytown’s Headless Horseman or buried treasure on Liberty Island, there’s one type of New York hearsay easily laid to rest – parking ticket myths. 

Most New Yorkers are no stranger to the many New York parking ticket rumors floating through the city. Here are five of the most popular, along with the legal lowdown on what’s true and what’s a mere fable. 

Myth 1: Pleading Guilty Will Reduce Your Fine

Our list begins with what is perhaps New York’s most enduring parking ticket myth – showing up to court and pleading guilty will reduce your overall fine. 

This myth endures for a good reason – it was once New York City policy. The goal of the fine reduction program was to encourage people to pay their fines by offering a fine reduction if they pleaded guilty to the violation. 

New York City ended the fine reduction program back in 2012, but the myth that a guilty plea can reduce your fine lives on.  

Myth 2: You Can Only Get Ticketed Once

If you find yourself with a parking ticket, it can be tempting to just let the car continue to sit – after all, you’ve already been ticketed. 

It’s untrue that you can only get ticketed once for a parking spot. If you leave your car sitting with a ticket, by the end of the day, you might be facing a pile of violations instead of just one. 

If you dispute multiple tickets for a single park job, judges in New York tend to dismiss follow-up tickets issued in the same 24 hours. However, there’s no law stating they have to do this, so there’s no guarantee that you’ll be off the hook for multiple tickets. 

It’s better to play it safe and move your car as soon as you see that you’ve been ticketed. 

Myth 3: You Can’t Get Ticketed If You’re Sitting in the Car

This popular myth has been known to engage more than a few New Yorkers. Contrary to popular belief, you can receive a parking violation ticket even if you’re sitting in your car. 

If your car is in a place it shouldn’t be, a ticketing agent has every right to issue a ticket, regardless of the owner’s location. 

Myth 4: Ticket Agents Must Treat All Cars Equally

Here’s another of New York’s most frustrating parking ticket myths. You join several cars parked illegally in an ASP spot. Later, you return and find you’ve been ticketed – and no one else has. Perhaps unfairly, that’s a valid maneuver on the part of a ticketing agent.   

Ticketing agents aren’t required to issue tickets to all cars violating parking regulations. If it’s your unlucky day, you might be singled out and made an example. 

Myth 5: There’s a Five-Minute Grace Period for Ticketing

We’ll end on a positive note – no myth here. The five-minute grace period is actually true, and it applies to both metered parking and ASP parking. A ticketing agent is required to wait a full five minutes before issuing a ticket for an expired meter or parking in violation of posted signage. 

If you make it back to your meter a few minutes late and find you’ve already been ticketed, you can successfully dispute the ticket.  

Don’t Pay that Ticket Just Yet

New York parking ticket myths exist for a good reason – parking regulations are complicated, and it’s hard to know when the law is on your side. Parking tickets mean revenue, so no one’s coming forward to save you from an unfair ticket. 

Before you hand your hard-earned money over to the city, contact The New York Traffic Ticket Lawyers. We fight on behalf of clients throughout central New York. We know New York State traffic law, and our knowledge goes to work saving you from unfair fines. Get in touch with us today.

Brandon M. Jones is a paralegal for New York Traffic Ticket Lawyers. Experienced in Traffic Law, Brandon assists our attorneys in traffic-related matters, including DWI, CDL violations, and speeding tickets. If you have any questions about this article, you can contact Brandon by clicking here.