Self-Correcting Parking Meters
An interesting statistic: "Two-thirds of all District [of Columbia] parking meters reported broken turn out to be operational when a repair crew arrives on-site."
One reason is that people falsely report meters as broken when they're not, but another explanation, according to the DC Department of Transportation, is that the meters are designed to be "self-correcting". They're not really broken. The evil little things are just pretending:
Basically, the parking cops are going to get your money, one way or another. Just resign yourself to that truth.
One reason is that people falsely report meters as broken when they're not, but another explanation, according to the DC Department of Transportation, is that the meters are designed to be "self-correcting". They're not really broken. The evil little things are just pretending:
a person who parks at a meter displaying a “fail” message may return an hour later to find a working meter flashing zero time and a ticket on the windshield — a process that may repeat several times a day.
Basically, the parking cops are going to get your money, one way or another. Just resign yourself to that truth.
Comments
No, what this post is telling us is that the gov in the District of Calamity is anything except "for the people".
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 03/02/09 at 11:48 AM
Hey,how much does parking cost where you are? Here in Ottawa, it typically costs $1.00 per 12 minutes downtown. I remember my friend went back to our small hometown (Timmins) and put a few dollar in the parking meter without thinking. He then realized he had paid for a couple hours of parking.
Posted by kingmonkey in Athens, Ontario on 03/02/09 at 12:10 PM
Robometernators! Brought to you by OmniCorp/Skynet, a division of Haliburton.
I'm surprised that they haven't come up with meters that take a photo of the car's license and send a phone page to the nearest parking control officer to come and issue a ticket.
I'm surprised that they haven't come up with meters that take a photo of the car's license and send a phone page to the nearest parking control officer to come and issue a ticket.
Posted by StanFlouride on 03/02/09 at 12:20 PM
I don't know about sending a message but the photo thing sounds familiar.
RoboCop would have wiped out those pesky meters in a heartbeat.
RoboCop would have wiped out those pesky meters in a heartbeat.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 03/02/09 at 01:13 PM
Kingmonkey, you can get an hour here for fifty cents. The downside is that you have to go feed the meter every hour since you can't have more than that. I think they hope it's annoying enough that people will use the parking garages instead.
Posted by Nethie on 03/02/09 at 04:53 PM
kezatwork-
that's true here in the US too. That's why parking officers chalk the tires of cars and if you're caught it's a HUGE fine.
that's true here in the US too. That's why parking officers chalk the tires of cars and if you're caught it's a HUGE fine.
Posted by StanFlouride on 03/02/09 at 08:19 PM
Here in Virginia Beach, the parking meters are only in place from memorial day to labor day. Parking is free for the rest of the year. If you're a resident, you can park in the city garages for a dollar after 5PM.
Posted by Silbakor in an altered state on 03/03/09 at 08:09 AM
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Category: Motor Vehicles