American Experience

Saiyanthou · 18 Apr 2010 at 16:25

Okay so this is one experience but it wouldn't have happened in the UK.

I was working in Houston and went into town on a Saturday and parked in a "Free to Park after 4pm" space, great. Because there was a Rockets game on (Wtf, how was I supposed to know) that street needs to be cleared, no signs of any kind. I arrived back as the vehicle was being loaded onto the tow-van, rushed up and explained my ignorance to the situation, the police weren't very helpful. The tow guy told me that it was $70 to release the car and that in no uncertain terms he could only take cash, I said I could run to an ATM machine but the police said he could take me to one and he was happy to do so.

We proceeded to drive and he then told me because we'd moved the fine was now $140. He then drove out of view of the police around the corner and proceeded to take my credit card details.

Now, was that guy just a complete ass or is that a prime example?

SourChipmunk · 18 Apr 2010 at 16:28

Typically heard when travelling 'round to other States here: "Ignorance of the law is no excuse."

Surely I wouldn't be able to claim "dumb American" if -- for example -- I was busted for driving on the wrong side of the road in the UK.

scorza · 18 Apr 2010 at 16:35

This sort of thing used to happen quite a lot in the UK, particularly Westminster.

Fortunately in the UK we have the Daily Mail to get the public OUTRAGED! :mad:

about this sort of thing and so the politicians eventually have to reverse their retarded decisions.

mavers · 18 Apr 2010 at 16:35

they are sneaky.

I got a fine for backing into a car parking spot! (dont ask me why you arent meant to do this! i was always taught that this was the safest parking method!)

Guess there was a notice somewhere, but wasnt anywhere clear or near the meter.

Gackt · 18 Apr 2010 at 16:41

Raist said:
Surely I wouldn't be able to claim "dumb American" if -- for example -- I was busted for driving on the wrong side of the road in the UK.

Probably not, but that's rather obvious. I'd hope so, anyway, lol.

But with things like that, if there are no signs and no warnings, then there should be cause for leniency. Same goes for any offence made when there is sufficient evidence to prove that the person was unaware that what they were doing was wrong. Obviously I don't mean just be like "okay, no problem, sir" and if it's serious they should obviously still be made to pay for what they have done (community service, etc, perhaps) but to hit someone with the full whack when they had no idea they were doing something wrong is unjust.

But we are talking about America...so, I guess it makes sense.

SourChipmunk · 18 Apr 2010 at 17:02

So, wait... was a ticket issued by the police, or was this just a fine levied from the parking area? That changes everything there.

Saiyanthou · 18 Apr 2010 at 18:18

It was a police fine "Parked in a Towaway Zone" but the Tow guy was my main distress, bit of a scam there.

Vixen · 18 Apr 2010 at 18:18

mavers said:
they are sneaky.

I got a fine for backing into a car parking spot! (dont ask me why you arent meant to do this! i was always taught that this was the safest parking method!)

Guess there was a notice somewhere, but wasnt anywhere clear or near the meter.

You're not supposed to reverse into parking spaces because US cars only have licence plates on the back and police are lazy.

arknor · 18 Apr 2010 at 18:27

Saiyanthou said:
Okay so this is one experience but it wouldn't have happened in the UK.

I was working in Houston and went into town on a Saturday and parked in a "Free to Park after 4pm" space, great. Because there was a Rockets game on (Wtf, how was I supposed to know) that street needs to be cleared, no signs of any kind. I arrived back as the vehicle was being loaded onto the tow-van, rushed up and explained my ignorance to the situation, the police weren't very helpful. The tow guy told me that it was $70 to release the car and that in no uncertain terms he could only take cash, I said I could run to an ATM machine but the police said he could take me to one and he was happy to do so.

We proceeded to drive and he then told me because we'd moved the fine was now $140. He then drove out of view of the police around the corner and proceeded to take my credit card details.

Now, was that guy just a complete ass or is that a prime example?

for those who didnt quite get at what happened.....

he obviously said he could only take cash to get the car moved so he could double the fine.

-|ScottFree|- · 18 Apr 2010 at 18:29

scorza said:
This sort of thing used to happen quite a lot in the UK, particularly Westminster.

Fortunately in the UK we have the Daily Mail to get the public OUTRAGED! about this sort of thing and so the politicians eventually have to reverse their retarded decisions.

.. and so we thank god for The Daily Mail.. what a great Newspaper

SourChipmunk · 18 Apr 2010 at 18:53

Vixen said:
You're not supposed to reverse into parking spaces because US cars only have licence plates on the back and police are lazy.

Not likely, this. Most states require front and rear tags. Michigan is an exception.

There could be many reasons for not reversing into a spot. 1: it could cause a delay with traffic if done on a main road; 2: the lines are marked diagonally as to go with a traffic flow; 3: safety of pedestrians who may be walking near the vehicle; 4: obstructions at the rear of the spot aren't easy to see and can cause wrecks...

OP, your post makes no sense. If it was a ticket issued by a real police officer, you would not be able to get your car off the tow truck without going to the station, paying your fine, and pulling it out of impound. I think you were gipped by a rent-a-cop probably from a privately owned lot.

Vixen · 18 Apr 2010 at 19:12

Raist said:
Not likely, this. Most states require front and rear tags. Michigan is an exception.

There could be many reasons for not reversing into a spot. 1: it could cause a delay with traffic if done on a main road; 2: the lines are marked diagonally as to go with a traffic flow; 3: safety of pedestrians who may be walking near the vehicle; 4: obstructions at the rear of the spot aren't easy to see and can cause wrecks...

I've heard it's the reason you're not supposed to reverse into spaces in Florida. Your reasons for not reversing make no sense - if you drive into a space then you still have to reverse out and have exactly the same risks, only this time the obstructions are potentially other cars on the main road

.

steinooo · 18 Apr 2010 at 19:19

Saiyanthou said:
Okay so this is one experience but it wouldn't have happened in the UK.

I was working in Houston and went into town on a Saturday and parked in a "Free to Park after 4pm" space, great. Because there was a Rockets game on (Wtf, how was I supposed to know) that street needs to be cleared, no signs of any kind. I arrived back as the vehicle was being loaded onto the tow-van, rushed up and explained my ignorance to the situation, the police weren't very helpful. The tow guy told me that it was $70 to release the car and that in no uncertain terms he could only take cash, I said I could run to an ATM machine but the police said he could take me to one and he was happy to do so.

We proceeded to drive and he then told me because we'd moved the fine was now $140. He then drove out of view of the police around the corner and proceeded to take my credit card details.

Now, was that guy just a complete ass or is that a prime example?

Are you taking the mick?! worse than this would happen in the UK for certain.

mavers · 18 Apr 2010 at 19:23

Raist said:
Not likely, this. Most states require front and rear tags. Michigan is an exception.

There could be many reasons for not reversing into a spot. 1: it could cause a delay with traffic if done on a main road; 2: the lines are marked diagonally as to go with a traffic flow; 3: safety of pedestrians who may be walking near the vehicle; 4: obstructions at the rear of the spot aren't easy to see and can cause wrecks...

I have no idea. it was a carpark. and the ticket was from the Laguna beach PD.
it did state it in a few motels and carparks.. but this one i just didnt notice anyhting.. and it was so dead. lesson learnt the hardway. 40 bucks fine, then they charged me an extra 3 bucks as i did it online :rolleyes:

SourChipmunk · 18 Apr 2010 at 19:32

@ mavers, you could have fought the $40 fine if you were to take it to court. A polite judge might dismiss it as you are not native, and there's always the chance the officer won't show up to back up the charges anyway.

@ Vixen, here's what I mean about parking on diagonals. Obviously if you were to back into these spots you would have to go against one-way traffic, therefore it would be illegal.

Reason 4 above would be, for example, in a parking garage where it would be much easier to back out of a spot into a wide-open area than to back into it with walls and pillars and such.

I've never heard that rule about Florida, though I admit I haven't been there since I started driving. Thank you for the warning.

Begbie · 18 Apr 2010 at 19:51

Ignorance is no excuse.

Von Smallhausen · 18 Apr 2010 at 20:42

Even when the cops fine you they are extremely polite about it.

While I'm sure there are exceptions, I find the customer focus ethos and customer service in the USA unmatched to all the places I have been. Slightly o/t I know.

Saiyanthou · 19 Apr 2010 at 00:06

Raist said:
OP, your post makes no sense. If it was a ticket issued by a real police officer, you would not be able to get your car off the tow truck without going to the station, paying your fine, and pulling it out of impound. I think you were gipped by a rent-a-cop probably from a privately owned lot.

The ticket I'm not disputing, I agree ignorance is not an excuse (albeit better signed, probably true in many cases), my 'beef' is with the blatant lying tow-van-man.

Berserker · 19 Apr 2010 at 00:23

Raist said:
Typically heard when travelling 'round to other States here: "Ignorance of the law is no excuse."

This - same as everywhere else to be fair.

Raist said:
OP, your post makes no sense. If it was a ticket issued by a real police officer, you would not be able to get your car off the tow truck without going to the station, paying your fine, and pulling it out of impound. I think you were gipped by a rent-a-cop probably from a privately owned lot.

And this. It's exactly the same sort of trick that wheel clampers in the UK use. Private rent-a-cop set-ups seem much more common in the US. Either that or you were unlucky enough to be on the wrong end of a 'bent' cop. There's always that bad apple, sadly.

Von Smallhausen said:
While I'm sure there are exceptions, I find the customer focus ethos and customer service in the USA unmatched to all the places I have been. Slightly o/t I know.

There is of course money to be made out of providing good service given the tipping culture, but even so I agree.

I don't even have a problem with the tipping culture per se, though I do wish they'd be a fair amount less 'in your face' about it (to the point that I complained when a waiter got a marker pen out to highlight the gratuity I was expected to give, yet went out of my way to give a bus driver a $5 tip on a $1.25 bus fare, just because he was obviously going out of his way to provide good service).

drunkenmaster · 19 Apr 2010 at 00:27

Saiyanthou said:
The ticket I'm not disputing, I agree ignorance is not an excuse (albeit better signed, probably true in many cases), my 'beef' is with the blatant lying tow-van-man.

tow van guys are, rip off merchants, its their entire job. As are traffic wardens running around the UK to screw everyone out of every last penny they can.

What on earth has it got to do with Americans, almost every single person I know who drives has an identical story (almost everyone I know lives in London, not sure what its like elsewhere). Getting a ticket for parking somewhere for 7 seconds longer than permited, coming back and finding a guy already giving you a ticket.

Your entire post seems to be, this is classic american BS, and it wouldn't happen in the UK. Its exactly the opposite in general.

I was literally just watching American Unchained, Dave Gorman is it, who is trying to get around the US without using chains of any kind. He failed, ran out of gas and had to call for help.

The local place drove out, gave him a few gallons of gas, he went there to fill up and asked how much it would cost. They said theres no call out charge and he was shocked saying, you wouldn't get that, in the UK, no matter where you'd get absolutely screwed for having to call out help and he's right.

Every single experience I've had in the states(been to around 8 different states now, including the supposedly unfriendly New York) and everywhere with no exceptions people were nicer and kinder than those in the UK.

Most people I know have experience the same, theres plenty of a-holes in both countries, and the guy wanted to screw you, thats life, it happens here constantly.