Everyone hates parking tickets. They may be the one thing in these turbulent political times upon which we can all agree, although the wack-ass Chargers logo is looking like a close second. In general, people just pay the fine, ask to have it reduced via mail, or look to a chatbot to end the process because traffic court is the next bureaucratic circle of Hell (right after the DMV).
But, there are cases where you have to stand your ground, and a woman from Providence, Rhode Island did just that. Winning the ideal response from the judge. The woman was fined for parking in a zone that did not permit such activities between 8 and 10pm. She got there at 9:58. When she exited her car, the dashboard clock read 10:00. But, no. She got ticketed anyway and the ticket was time stamped for 9:59:58. Yep. She was fined for parking illegally for two seconds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxPgia7-QRg
The judge saw the absurdity of the fine. Looking down to see the details of the ticket, Judge Frank Caprio muttered, “Oh no.” He and the ticketed woman joked and exchanged a few incredulous looks before he quickly dismissed the case. This sort of human response to the law is what people need in their lives. That man and his mockery of a two second ticket are perfectly timed.
But, it’s little wonder that Providence meter maids are sticklers about the rules. In 2015, the city installed tons of new meters in order to combat a parking violation payment decline of $1.6 million over the previous two years. Due to the lowest percentage of ticket payments in three years, fiscal year 2015 saw the city coping with $3 million in unpaid fines, during a period of powerful budget stress. Without doubt, there was some pressure on parking enforcement to remain eagle eyed and stern of will when it came to handing out citations.
Two seconds, though?!? Come on! Curious about the source of the video? According to the Caught in Providence account that posted the video, this is a real court, with a real judge, and real people. The judge’s brother just films the cases, and edits the best ones together. It used to be featured on local access, until it was picked up by ABC6-WLNE not too long ago. The judge’s brother stills does all the filming and editing himself.
If you are ever in Providence and you run afoul of what are obviously overzealous meter maids, you too may be a YouTube star and get a laughable ticket thrown out. Win-win.
(h/t: BroBible)
